MARCUS: Rightio boys, I’m still catching my breath after yesterday’s incredible overtime encounter between Berwick Springs and Emerald. The only thing better than the footy this weekend though, was the weather, providing perfect conditions for finals footy. But let’s start how we always do; Jonty you’ve got the new ball, right-arm over the wicket. What are you bringing to the table for best action?
JONTY: Brandon Osborne’s smother. If anyone was going to execute a game-saving smother, it was going to be the Cranbourne skipper, who’s made a career out of stopping players. He had a reasonable day, but nothing to write home about, and it looked like Dingley was going to steal it at the death. Tom Morecroft had kicked three goals for the day and had a chaos ball land in his hands two metres out, at the 27 minute mark of the final quarter. All the other quarters were quite short, only about 24, and you thought Dingley was going to win, having not led all day. Then Osborne comes from nowhere to execute the smother, and as the ball trickles over the boundary line in front of the parochial Dingley under-19s, the siren goes. If he doesn’t smother it, Dingley are all celebrating the win. It was the perfect way to finish an enthralling game of footy. You could highlight five or six things from that game where it looked like it was going to be a decisive moment, and in the end it came down to the final kick.
DAVE: From the Cardinia Club end… this happened within 30 seconds of each other; out of all the storylines that are developing in the West Gippsland competition, Trent Armour might be the most fascinating. He’s taken over the leadership at Nar Nar Goon from Brendan Hermann who’s got a bad back, and has been out since round seven. Armour’s leadership, it could propel Nar Nar Goon to a premiership this year.
MARCUS: Is the injury a Hermannated disc?
DAVE: Very good Marcus! In the second quarter, within the space of 30 seconds, he laid a crunching tackle in the centre of the ground and you could see the dust come up off the deck; it was a real bone-cruncher. About 30 seconds later the ball spilt free and he got it, then got crunched and dusted himself off. I thought that personified leadership, what he just did in those 30 seconds. From that moment on I thought, ‘they’re not going to lose.’ So Trent Armour, for being tough and strong and bloody resilient, you get my best action for the week.
MARCUS: I was at Woori Yallock for the Emerald v Berwick Springs game. My best action I’m giving to Tom Nelson, who kicked a goal running parallel to the goal face with a snap on his left foot from about 40 metres out. It was the second goal in overtime, but it was essentially the sealer. It all started with a Hayden Stagg ground ball, who got really low and was taken high on the way through to giving the handball. Emerald players stopped while Nelson took the advantage, and he was able to kick truly. He doesn’t get that goal without Stagg’s efforts. I might need to replace the S T A and G keys on my keyboard by the time this week is over.
COUNT UP OR DOWN?
MARCUS: This one divides opinion and I’m keen to hear where you guys stand on it. The three of us get the best of both worlds in that we watch local footy with count up clocks, but watch games on TV with a countdown clock. Dave, which do you prefer and why?
DAVE: Since you raised this topic, it’s made me think about how much of a weird person I am. I don’t like watching movies much, but if I do, I always ask my wife “what happens next”, because I like to know while I’m watching it. But I’m the opposite with footy and sport; if I’m watching a game on TV and I can see the clock counting down, knowing the time on the clock, you see how it will play out. I’d like to not know, right to the end, So I’m definitely a fan of count up. I think it builds drama and the air of unpredictability.
JONTY: I agree. Teams do so much scenario-based training and you hear Craig McRae talk about it all the time, things like being able to shut the game down with two minutes to go. An element of that discussion is, having practised it and knowing how much time there is to go, you should be able to do it with the confidence and peace of mind of knowing how long there is to go? I feel like, what teams who do it well master, is knowing what to do when you’re not sure of how long there is to go. I think that’s what we all love about footy. So I’m definitely all for count up clock at the ground. But what I would like at Division 2 Southern League finals, is for A clock to be at the ground! There’s no clock at Mordialloc! They always play finals there and it’s a great ground with great facilities, but you can’t not have a clock.
(DAVE HEADBUTTS TABLE IN DISBELIEF)
MARCUS: I don’t think having a countdown clock takes away from anything. I love my basketball, and I think the fact that you can articulate plays right down to the very last second makes for incredible drama. The other thing, think back in the Channel 10 days when they had the ‘five minute warning’ on its footy coverage, when they went to a count up clock to finish the game. If you take, for example, the Nick Davis goal to win the final against Geelong, we didn’t know how long was left. I think there was about 10 seconds. But would it be remembered more fondly if we could say “he kicked a goal with 10 seconds left to complete the comeback?”
DAVE: But does he know that out on the ground? In basketball, they’ve got the same clocks that we see, so they can manipulate their plays to shape the clock. I still prefer the count up clock.
JONTY: I saw at a couple of games this year that with flat quarters, you can waste time when the ball goes over the boundary. You might see that unsportsmanlike play seep into footy.
DAVE: Last year in the reserves with no time-on, a Kooweerup bloke called Ryan Wilby did that. There was 30 seconds left on the clock, with Kooweerup deep in defence, and he turned around and kicked the ball over the fence into someone’s yard, which was the last play of the elimination final. The siren went when people were looking for it. Half the people watching thought it was genius, half thought it wasn’t in the spirit of the game.
AFL PRE-FINALS BYE
MARCUS: We’re tackling the big issues here this morning. I don’t think I noticed the lack of AFL footy this weekend because we were so busy with our local stuff, I don’t really feel like I missed out on watching AFL over the weekend. But let’s discuss it anyway.
JONTY: I prefer the bye being there. People say ‘real footy starts in September’ and this is a good way to delineate between the home and away season and finals. What I think the AFL, as the custodian of the game, can do better this week, is really build up the state leagues and promote the VFL. We had four VFL games on Saturday. Could they have a done a Super Saturday or something on the TV coverage? Played Talent League games and built the profile those guys are getting? Even local footy, I don’t think those leagues get the attention they deserve from the casual fan, and can fly under the radar when there is so much other footy around the top tier.
DAVE: For me, I like the bye. Community football gets a kick-along as the sole focus. I had a chat to the Nar Nar Goon president last week and they hosted a game on Saturday, and applied to host on the basis that the bye was going to be on for the AFL, and the club wanted to maximise crown attendance. I also like it because a player who gets concussed in the last round of the home-and-away season doesn’t miss a final. Also, you compare GWS and Carlton; the Blues put the cue in the rack in round 24 where GWS had to fight and scrap and were knackered at the final siren. I think a team like that, in that situation, benefits the most form having a week’s break. They get a week to refresh, instead of going again when they’re buggered..
MARCUS: So we’re all in favour of players getting a rest and the other benefits like the local footy boost. But is it in the right time slot? What if it was over preliminary final weekend, to ensure an extra week before the grand final to recover, AND you could make that gap the local grand final weekend, and pack out the local venues?
DAVE: I really like that.
JONTY: I like it where it is. I love the build up to the grand final as it is. The counter point on GWS too, you often hear that the top four teams are too disadvantaged by the lack of footy, if they win the qualifying final and get a week off. It becomes one game in 28 days, there’s always that headline.
MARCUS: That argument seems to always come from players and coaches, and maybe that’s something we need to take more notice of, as the most important people in the discussion.
DAVE: Inverloch-Kongwak had a bunch of guys come in who have missed big chunks of footy, and talking to one of their guys on Sunday, he said they ran out of legs towards the end of the game. One game in 35 days would definitely take your match fitness away.
TOP FIVE RECRUITS
MARCUS: On the back of watching Hayden Stagg run amok yesterday I thought we could list the top five recruits we’ve watched this season.
DAVE: I’ll start with Tate Short at Inverloch-Kongwak. Love watching him play, he’s a class above. His teammate Will Hams, he’s been outstanding. Jed Smith at Nar Nar Goon, he played really well on the weekend in the guts, he’s important with Hermann going down. Deon Boavida from Nar Nar Goon, he’s kicked 38 goals and given them a different look up forward. And Hayden Bertoli-Simmonds from Tooradin. He quickly established himself one of the best midfielders in the competition.
JONTY: Liam Giove from Springvale Districts was one of their recruits, he’s a real heart-and-soul player. Riley Simmons is a ruck for Devon Meadows who’s come from St Kilda City and learned from Paddy Ryder. Gives their midfield first use. Daniel Helmore at Springvale Districts is expected to win their best and fairest this year, important as a strong source to goal without Tyrone Vickery. Tanner Stanton was the clear best player for Hampton Park this season, a level above with his ball use in Division 2 footy. And Paddy Ryder at one, for obvious reasons. He’s a big reason why they’ve won finals for the first time in two decades.
MARCUS: Hayden Stagg number one for me at Berwick Springs. Named in their best players in 15 of his 17 games. Wandin’s Jordan Jaworski came from Lilydale, a creative forward who could push them over the edge. Jackson Casey at Noble Park, they missed the finals but he formed an excellent combination with Jackson Sketcher and didn’t miss a beat. Dave Johnson at Emerald, an experienced player who finished second in the division one goalkicking this year and was a real loss yesterday when he did his hamstring. Lastly, Chris Johnson at Berwick Springs. He came across from Cora Lynn and they’ve hardly lost when he’s been in the side. Had some injuries, but he really proved his worth yesterday.
