JONTY: Alright boys, another huge weekend of sport. Dave, you and I had finals and Marcus has his coming up, but as always, we’ll start with best action from the weekend. You first, Marcus!
MARCUS: I was keen to see a couple of Woori Yallock players against Narre Warren, in particular Zach Monkhorst in the ruck. He had a moment where he halved a one-on-one marking contest in the forward line, gathered the ball at ground level and kicked a goal on the run on a tight angle. So that was impressive for a guy his size and the whole Narre bench just shook their heads…’you can’t do much about that’.
JONTY: Nice Marcus, Dave?
DAVE: Tooradin-Dalmore v Dusties down at Inverloch was a fantastic game of football. The Dusties kicked the last five goals to win by 14 points. They had a 15-year-old kid playing and a 44-year-old in the ruck. Deep into the last quarter when the game was still alive, the 15-year-old Cody Templeton chased down an experienced Tooradin and won a free kick for holding the ball. Luke Walker and Mark Bradley, who have 80 years combined in age, they were telling him ‘kick it down the line’. Cody kicks this ball 40 metres and it lands half-a-metre inside the boundary and goes out for a throw-in. They both turned around and gave him the thumbs up. It was interesting to see the interaction. He’s still eligible for under-16s next year and played a key role in a senior final…very impressive.
JONTY: What sort of player does he become?
DAVE: Half forward, midfield, kicked an important goal in the first quarter as well. And Dermott Yawney, I felt for him last year, when he kicked no goals in the elimination final. Within two minutes he took a mark on the boundary line and kicked a banana through. It gave the whole team a lift that Dermie was on. Had 10 shots on goal, only kicked five, but was electric, with that shot setting the scene. It just showed real belief in his own ability.
JONTY: My play started with a cool presence down back, and ended with good play up the field. Doveton kicked six goals and won the game so it was real finals footy. Matt Stapleton, he came back halfway through the year from retirement and he orchestrated them down back. He calmly collected a half-volley down back where a lot of players get panicked and tackled straight away. He had that extra split-second and got it to James Gascard, who got it to Brodie Howie, with Dan Zajac kicking the goal off hands. Zajac usually plays off halfback but has been thrown forward recently to help with height, but he got it almost front-and-centre and converted. It was a crucial goal in a low-scoring affair.
BAROMETERS
JONTY: Next topic, which is the team that is most reliant on their top six. This comes off the back of yesterday, Hampton Park’s clear four or five best didn’t deliver. A few of the depth boys went okay and there is the old saying that your top six don’t win you a premiership, it’s your bottom five or six. They just didn’t have the star-power or class in the midfield. So, who is most reliant on those types. This time, I’ll start with you, Dave.
DAVE: I’m going to go a little bit off what you’re saying, Jonty, but with a really good example of what you’re talking about. Six players were missing from Cora Lynn’s best 22, and they don’t look the same without them. Gus Da Costa, a young composed left footer off halfback and through mid…they missed him after breaking his collarbone last week. Jaxon Briggs; they got smashed with speed through the midfield yesterday and he’s probably the quickest mid in the comp, hasn’t played since round two. Lachie Peluso: a lockdown defender who played all 18 games, and more games in the WGFNC than anyone, gets hurt in the last round of the season and doesn’t play finals. Nathan Gillis, a strong goalkicking midfielder. They got smashed at stoppage yesterday and he’s their best stoppage player so there’s four. The other thing, Cora Lynn broke down when they got the ball to centre half forward on Sunday, and Ryan Gillis got brought back to the club to be that player…they got smashed there yesterday without him. And Tom Stiglich, another tough midfielder along similar lines to Nathan Gillis, has missed a lot of footy. There’s your six, that may not have altered the result, that would have Cora Lynn better.
JONTY: I think you’ve answered the question well, Dave. Marcus?
MARCUS: My mind when I saw this question was immediately drawn to the leadership group at Pakenham. That’s skipper Jake Barclay, James Harrison and Jordy Stewart. Stewart has been as critical in their wins as anyone this year. His ability to play at both ends of the ground is important. He generally starts in defence but can go forward and provides that real target aerially that they don’t really have otherwise. Interesting to note the number of times they were selected in the best players, which is obviously a subjective stat: Stewart and Harrison are selected 12 times out of 16 games, Barclay nine, but if you look at Narre Warren and Wandin, the benchmarks, you’ve got Cody Hirst at Wandin on 12 and Pat Bruzzese on nine. Narre’s top players are nine each, so I find it interesting the ones who are reliant on fewer and the ones who like to spread across the field and not rely on a handful, which has happened to Hampton Park by the sounds of things.
DAVE: That’s interesting because I did a PlayHQ analysis of the West Gippy clubs and the players with the most votes were also from bottom-of-the-table clubs.
JONTY: The thing to keep in mind with that Marcus, obviously there’s an agenda, some coaches don’t see the point putting a star player in that always dominates which skews things. Not wanting to alert the competition to someone in white-hot form. Tanner Stanton, 14 times throughout the season for the Redbacks.
MARCUS: That’s nice with your dad as coach. (boys laugh).
JONTY: Yeah, I know, but he is always their best and he struggled on Sunday, but he certainly wasn’t alone so I don’t want to isolate him by any means. There’s some things they’ll need to address if they’re going to go deeper, Hampton Park.
LOW SCORING ENCOUNTERS
JONTY: Off the back of my Doveton v Murrumbeena game being so low scoring, yet watchable, I throw it open to you boys, Marcus first, about some of your favourite low-scoring matches to watch. We talked about it with the Matildas, where we celebrate each goal because it means so much, and that’s what these sorts of games can bring out, that emotion.
MARCUS: Initially I thought about the 2019 World Cup final where they tied on 241 which isn’t a huge score…but I can’t really nominate that, given I fell asleep during the second innings. Instead, I nominate the tournament’s semi-final which was played over two days due to a rain delay. New Zealand batted first and made 239/8 and India finished 221 all out. India was 3/5 within four overs with Rohit and Virat back in the sheds for one run each. Dhoni and Ravi Jadeja threatened to do what they do in run chases but Marty Guptill had that sensational run out from the fence, throwing the stumps down from backward point. That was one of the most entertaining games of cricket I have ever seen and I would always take 239 plays 221. The other one I thought of was the 2005 and 2006 AFL grand finals. I was eight and nine years old and it cemented my love for the game. I found it utterly captivating.
JONTY: I hadn’t actually considered cricket, but do either of you remember the Australia v New Zealand game at the 2015 World Cup when we made 151 and seemed down and out, but Mitch Starc bowled us back into the game. They were 1/78 and Starc went bananas, taking six wickets, but we fell short by a wicket.
DAVE: Isn’t it funny, we’re in the middle of footy season and mine’s cricket as well. Kooweerup and Pakenham played in four grand finals in a row and Kooweerup got bowled out for 113 in one of them in a Saturday/Sunday contest. They then had Pakenham 4/12 overnight. The next day Jason Williams and Rob Elston got them to the point where it looked like they were going to win. Then they lost four late wickets to lose by five runs. They got bowled out for 108 chasing 113 having been about 6/89 if I remember right. The tension that day was incredible, every run was like gold. A single was cheered like a boundary so that was the best low-scoring game I’ve seen locally.
JONTY: The one I was going to go to was the Collingwood v Sydney game in 2020 when Josh Daicos kicked goal of the year in the dying stages ‘like his old man’ to win it for us. Really enjoyed that game.
MARCUS: Was that on a Thursday when Isaac Quaynor broke his leg?
JONTY: Yeah, the metal studs broke him open.
DAVE: Geez you blokes have got memories.
JONTY: Coming from a bloke who remembers 6/89 from years ago! It was during Covid, Collingwood v Sydney! There wasn’t much else to do. Also, Jack Newnes winning it after the siren, captivating finish.
SKIPPERS IN FINALS
JONTY: Last one, who are captains who stand up in finals time and time again and big moments from captains. Dave?
DAVE: 2014 Beaconsfield v Cranbourne, footy. Marc Holt captained Cranbourne, Daniel Mislicki, a legend of the club, captained Beaconsfield. Left footer, courageous midfielder, kicked five to put a cap on an outstanding career. Everyone would have picked him as best on ground that day…’Slicka’s’ legacy match!
JONTY: That’s amazing. Marcus?
MARCUS: I don’t know if he was captain, but he was as much of a leader as you can be without the title. Paddy Mills in the bronze medal basketball game at Tokyo in 2021. 42 points, three rebounds, nine assists, he shot 15-31 from the field and played 38 of a total 40 minutes. There was no way we were going to lose and I’ll never forget watching that. At a local level, Ben Wright in the Springvale South v Buckley Ridges DDCA semi-final this year. He hadn’t had a great year, only passing 50 twice. In a tense game where they lost wickets in the middle overs, it was on his shoulders and he scored 41 off 41 and sealed it with a lofted cover drive.
JONTY: Not dissimilar to that, Shannon Henwood didn’t have his absolutely greatest day on Saturday but he scored an important goal in the third quarter from stoppage which put scoreboard pressure on from the start of the fourth quarter. Kaine Bundy, Doveton Cricket Club president, not captain, guided them to an upset win in the T20 comp against Turf 1 team Springvale South, sealing it with a ramp. And Nick Battle has stood up in Devon Meadows two finals wins in their first campaign in two decades. Be remiss not to touch on Luke Hodge: twice Norm Smith as premiership captain.
DAVE: Just before we wrap up a shout out to Kylie Rout. We showed a photo of her giving Nathan Gardiner a big cuddle on Let’s Talk Sport last week and the caption said ‘let that boy go’. (Photographer) Stewie Chambers and I stitch her up quite a bit, and she’s a good sport…we love ya Kylie!
