By Jonty Ralphsmith
Cardinia’s men’s unit has crowned its inaugural season with the club’s maiden premiership, defeating fierce local rivals Casey in a penalty shootout in the Men’s Metro 2 South competition.
The score was 1-1 at fulltime, before Storm goal keeper Cam Watts took centre stage, saving three of Casey’s four penalty strokes to win his team the game at Hedley Hull Field, Waverley.
It was a just result for a side which has dropped just one game all season – to the eventual runners-up during the home and away season.
Cardinia took the upper hand early in the contest thanks to a Tim Dredge goal.
It was a crucial belief-instilling goal given the absence of forward Gareth Ventom, who has scored an equal-league-high 15 goals in 2024.
It was a rebounding battle thereafter, with Casey having much of the territory but the Storm continuing to look potent when given the opportunity to counterattack.
After maintaining possession in their front half for a prolonged period in the last quarter, Casey scored a goal late in the game to send it to extra time.
Forced to defend repeated short corners late in extra time, the defence, led expertly by Adam Welcome, and goalie Watts staved out the Cannons’ attack to send the match to penalties.
As well as Welcome, vice-captain Dan Albrecht, and fellow backs Travis Fonceca, Brandon Rose and James Bowen have been the unsung heroes of the flag.
While the attack was reasonably comparable with the rest of the finalists, Cardinia was statistically the best defence by a long margin.
The Storm conceded just 11 goals in the regular season – the next best defence was runners-up Casey, which conceded 27 goals.
Watts gives the defence great credit for that record.
“Going through the season, I know their strengths and weaknesses and I know Adam (Welcome) is always going to control the backline and see things from different angles that I can’t while I’m defending the goals,” Watts said.
“While we’re attacking, I have that 10-15 seconds to say ‘this is what I’ve seen’ to Adam, who passes it on to Dan (Albrecht) which makes it easier for my decision-making.
“Adam has a really good defensive IQ which he impresses to everyone up the field.”
Watts saved the first two penalties of the shootout which gave Cardinia the upper hand.
“I pretty much had the idea that it’s not up to me to save it; it’s up to them to score a goal and if they don’t, I win,” Watts said, explaining his mindset.
“Agile movements aren’t my go… I’m just there trying to make my feet and legs as wide as possible and having my hands down low as well to make everything as large as possible.”
After the third penalty found the back of the net thanks to an expert fake, Watts sensed the Cannons would try to use the same strategy, which proved a match-winning intuition.
“I knew the fourth guy would try to do the same thing so I laboured a little bit to my right knowing he would go around to my left,” Watts recalled.
“He’s put the ball too far out in front of him and from that, I was able to close down all the angle he needed and then everyone started celebrating.”
Coach Peter Turner was full of praise for Watts.
“Our goalie went into beast mode in penalties,” he said.
“He’s so experienced and has played hockey his whole life.
“He’s been involved in different scenarios which really shone through.”
It was a richly deserved flag for the competition frontrunners, which finished the regular season with a 14-3-1 record under the tutelage of Turner.
After starting as a female-only club in 2023, Turner established the men’s unit in 2024, luring several former players back to the game to kickstart the Storm.
Their progression throughout the season has been a significant narrative which has underwritten the premiership success.
Taylor Rae and skipper Scott Burnett were quick in adapting back into pace of senior hockey and became crucial ingredients in the team creating a winning culture.
Rae was significant on grand final day, limiting the Cannons’ run and carry, while Burnett’s pressure in the forward line led to Cardinia’s early goal.
As well as the elder statesmen, several juniors including Harry Byron and Jean Blignaut were part of the flag.
Blignaut was another who was given a different role on grand final day due to Ventom’s unavailability, locking down one of Casey’s key playmakers.
The teenager’s development has been a great success story of the Storm, whose development has him in line to represent his state in underage hockey later in the year.
Boosting participation and instilling belief into a team that was unsure where it sat and how quickly it could improve was a key motivator for Turner.
He now has the blueprint to show those within and outside the club what is possible with commitment, sacrifice and the right people in off-field roles.
“It was really exciting for all the boys to be involved in a premiership,” Turner said.
“It really drives the culture and what we’re trying to build.
“It should kickstart a good era for the club.
“We absorbed the pressure, kept doing our things and played for each other on grand final day.
“We listened to our supporters and channelled out all the other noise around us.
“I knew the guys we brought in would be good players in that space and the fact we gelled together so quickly made me confident we would be in finals and pushing but a few of the boys were quite surprised.
Cardinia will be promoted for the 2025 season.
