DAVE: Alright boys, we just heard off the record about Lachie’s weekend, mixing it with the big wigs like Richard Pratt, and who else mate…
LACHIE: Dan Andrews, Josh Frydenberg, Barry Humphries, Hamish and Andy, Guy Sebastian, Cody Simpson.
DAVE: Tyler, obviously Lachie didn’t get the memo about Let’s Talk Sport being local…coming in dropping names like that. I went to a party in Drouin and had to wear a Spiderman outfit – you can’t be at two more opposite ends of the spectrum than that (boys laugh).
My first topic today is teams or individuals that are timing their runs to perfection. Bart Cummings was famous for it, training his horses to the minute to win 12 Melbourne Cups. I’ll talk about the team I have in mind in a minute, but first to you Tyler…do you have any examples?
TYLER: Obviously the Western Bulldogs in 2016 that was a great case of timing your run to perfection but in the DDCA this season there are a few teams that are timing their runs. There’s a bit of a log-jam, one, two and three, with Buckley (Ridges), Springy South and Berwick, but I feel like Berwick is the one sort of going under the radar a little bit, despite having a fantastic bowling attack. They’re in third at the moment, but they seem to be flying under the radar despite winning the flag two years ago.
DAVE: So what is it that makes this happen? Is it the inclusion of a key player, a lack expectation, what is it that makes teams rise at precisely the right time?
TYLER: To time your run, you can’t be on top of the ladder. To be considered timing your run to perfection you have to be the hunted. At the moment Buckley Ridges is the hunted, they’re on top, they’re defeating the best sides comfortably…it’s great for confidence but does put a target on your back.
DAVE: What about you Lachie…any examples.
LACHIE: Yes, there was a lady who ran the 400-metres in Sydney in 2000 named Cathy Freeman…
DAVE: Really…
TYLER: Never heard of her…
LACHIE: She goes to the Olympics in Atlanta, 1996, and gets silver, gold in the World Championships in Athens in 1997, goes to Seville in 1999 and gest gold again and then wins a gold medal in the prime of her life in front of a home crowd at the Olympics…you can’t possibly time things better than that.
DAVE: That’s way too much research for Let’s Talk Sport…stop now! The team that made me raise this topic is Pakenham in the WGCA Premier Division. They lose their first three games, they’ve now won seven on the trot, and they seem to be getting better week by week. Zac Chaplin comes in recently and is hitting the ball like Bradman, and their skipper Dale Tormey makes a telling half century on the weekend in a great win over against top-team Kooweerup. The pieces seem to be coming together. Have they gone too early the Lions…regarding timing their run to perfection?
TYLER: It’s not perfect, but they’re timing it pretty well…but they won’t be underestimated anymore so that sort of takes you outside that ‘timing your run to perfection’ category. But I like what they’re doing…they will be premiership favourites in many people’s eyes now I think.
DAVE: Alright boys, I was a little fuzzy when I woke up on Saturday morning, but I also had a really warm feeling about the time of year. The Blue Diamond Preludes were on, Group-1 racing was in town, Pakenham was playing Kooweerup in a local blockbuster, cricket finals are around the corner, plus footy, it’s just a great time of year. What is your favourite time of the sporting year?
TYLER: September is by far the best month of the year…full stop. Footy finals, cricket starting to ramp up, perfect weather, and to top things off the sun-dresses come out…it’s just the best time of year, without fear.
LACHIE: I’ve gone end of April, start of May. Champions League football, French Open and the US Masters, there’s no better time to get up at 4am in the morning to watch the golf.
DAVE: You’ve triggered some emotion from me here Lachie…for me, my life is not going to be complete until I’ve been to Augusta to watch The Masters.
TYLER: Life not complete, I hope your wife doesn’t read this article (laughs loudly).
DAVE: I do love my family…but that’s the facts!
TYLER: Have you heard the Kerry O’Keefe story, where it’s 1am in the morning and his wife tells him to come to bed and he says “No honey…Virat’s batting”…that’s like with Augusta at 4am.
DAVE: We are so blessed in Australia, we love our sport and there’s never really a dull time of year.
LACHIE: The Indy 500 is also in those weeks I was talking again.
TYLER: Too much research again Lachie. I feel sorry for the families and partners of local sportspeople because when there’s no Covid involved, footy and cricket basically cross over and there’s not much of a break to spend time together.
DAVE: I think, when compared to sport, spending time together is a little over-rated. I got married on April 3, the one weekend between cricket and footy. It’s not impossible to keep all parties happy if you plan ahead.
Alright, before I get myself in too much trouble let’s move on.
The top division of West Gippsland cricket has a club that is in complete disarray at the moment. Cranbourne Meadows forfeited for Covid reasons last week and has simply forfeited due to a lack of numbers this week. Put the Covid thing aside…how big of an issue is playing numbers going to be for many clubs around the region in all sports. Should we be worried or do we think things are going to bounce back to full strength over time?
TYLER: I think it is something we should be worried about. I’ve heard some stories from some footy clubs and their pre-season numbers have been down a lot, and they’re starting to worry about filling their reserves teams which is a real worry. In cricket, I don’t want to go after Cranbourne Meadows because they had some issues at the start of the year and had to pull teams out of certain grades, and we don’t know the full story behind the scenes, but let’s cross our fingers that the club isn’t on the brink of collapse. They’re an integral part of the WGCA so everyone needs them in there.
DAVE: Like all clubs they have a really proud history…Steve ‘Brutus’ Dalgleish, Peter ‘Bun’ O’Hare, they’ve had some legends of the WGCA play there over the years. Let’s hope things improve in a hurry, because it’s a terrible look for an association that is already down to 16 senior clubs. I know some key people in the WGCA are concerned about the number of clubs and what a viable competition looks like moving forward. Nar Nar Goon (B Grade) and Gembrook (C Grade) don’t even have teams playing in the top-flight at the moment. Until that sort of thing is addressed it makes it difficult to put a competition full of integrity on the ground.
TYLER: I agree with you, the second tier of competition has six teams in it; it’s not a great look for the WGCA at the moment. It’s going to be a massive off-season for the league.
LACHIE: As much as we would like to move on from Covid, it’s obviously still having an impact and who knows what impact it might have on the upcoming cricket finals. We don’t want finals being played by just the healthiest players at a club…we want all the best players out there showcasing their talents.
DAVE: We’ve only touched on cricket and footy here, but I think there are some real danger signs in both sports. Warragul Industrials and Tooradin-Dalmore didn’t have thirds in West Gippsland footy last year and the Dusties didn’t have fourths as well. I know both clubs have worked really hard behind the scenes to address it…but numbers are also down at other clubs as well. It’s a real issue, even some previously powerhouse cricket clubs are struggling for numbers in juniors and seniors this season…I think it’s a massive concern.
Okay, last topic, Winter Olympics, I must admit I’ve been a bit slow on the uptake but did have a bit of a squiz over the weekend. What is your favourite Winter Olympics moment or is there nothing compared to the Cathy Freeman moment that Lachie spoke about earlier?
LACHIE: I think there are plenty of moments, the Jamaican Bobsled team, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, Torvill and Dean, but I’m going with Michael Edwards ‘Eddie the Eagle’ from the Calgary Winter Games in 1988…
DAVE: Too much research again…
LACHIE: He just wanted to be an Olympian and he did it. Even though he didn’t know how to jump, fly or land, it was a very courageous thing for him to do. Steven Bradbury, chuck him in as well, the last man standing…
TYLER: Are there any moments left…(rolling his eyes)
DAVE: Come on Tyler, straighten us up here, Lachie is treating the Winter Olympics like an episode of Seinfeld. He’s only seeing the comic side.
TYLER: Like any true-blue Australian, I only know one moment, and that’s Steven Bradbury. I know two things about the Winter Olympics…Steven Bradbury is a hero and you never eat yellow snow!
DAVE: The stories are fantastic. Jaclyn Narracott, or Jackie if she’s a real Aussie, sliding head-first at 120 clicks down an icy mine-shaft. The aerial team are just downright bloody crazy, doing what they do, but I must agree with you Tyler…the story of Steven Bradbury is one that is going to stand the test of time. As we said last week…”Doing a Bradbury” is now part of the Aussie vernacular.
