By Jonty Ralphsmith
PULL QUOTE: “He’s just an incredible player and probably the most competitive player I have ever coached in my life.” Cranbourne coach Steve O’Brien on his champion full forward Marc Holt.
When it is a big game, you can back Marc Holt to deliver.
The champion full-forward had some quiet games to end the home-and-away season as others stood up, but the champ kicked five goals in the 10-point qualifying final win against St Pauls McKinnon on Saturday.
There are rumours 2022 might be Holt’s swansong, but coach Steve O’Brien kept the door open for 2023.
The leviathan full-forward will go down as a local legend, but has got only one premiership to his name given – in 2011 – Cranbourne’s string of recent finals heartbreak, and missing the 2016 win through injury.
The Eagles were runners-up each year from 2012-15.
“He’s just an incredible player and probably the most competitive player I have ever coached in my life,” O’Brien said.
“When it comes to these games, he is not going to die wondering, he is going to give everything he has got, that is what he does and he tends to stand up when it counts.
“That’s why we love him.
“We all want to win a premiership, not just for Holty but for everyone, we’ve worked incredibly hard for the five years I have been at the club, and if that was to be Holty’s swansong that would just make it a bit more special.”
The weekend’s result will see Cranbourne face off against Cheltenham with the winner to go straight through to the grand final.
The Eagles lost to Cheltenham by 70 points at Livingston Reserve when they were going through their mid-season form slump.
The Rosellas also won the meeting earlier in the season by 18 points, but O’Brien is unfazed given the horrendous conditions in the teams’ most recent clash.
“There is some great energy about the place, we’re all pretty excited about it,” O’Brien said.
“There is ample opportunity for people within our footy club so we’re excited by the opportunity and challenge.”
The match against St Pauls McKinnon was a tale of two halves.
Cranbourne played some of its best footy in the first half, having 18 shots on goal, but inefficiency meant the 26-point margin didn’t completely shut the door for the third-placed side.
“It was a really good brand of footy and everything we wanted to be,” O’Brien said.
“Our pressure on the opposition was first rate which enabled us to turn the ball over in dangerous parts of the ground and then we were able to get really good looks inside 50.
“We’ve just got to stay brave and stick to our process to maintain that for four quarters and trust that it will work – we might make some mistakes along the way but rather than clamping up, we need to be brave and keep going for it. “
The Doggies came out strong after halftime, kicking five goals to one in the third quarter to close the margin to five points at three-quarter-time and make for a cracking finish.
O’Brien was proud of his team’s ability to stem the momentum and get the game back on its terms.
The coach also praised the games of captain Brandon Osborne, while ruckman Mick Boland gave his midfielders first use in the midfield.
Osborne played on league leading goalkicker Stephen Muller, who averages more than four goals per game, and kept him goalless for just the second time in 2022.
The match was tinged with emotion for O’Brien, who lost a close mate in the lead up and attended a funeral the previous day, but thanked the club for its support.
“I had some great support from old mates who caught up on Friday and said goodbye to our mate,” O’Brien said.
“There have been some guys inside the four walls of the footy club who have been nothing short of amazing for me as well.
“There were a couple of guys who noticed last week that I wasn’t my normal self on the training track, so they reached out and I let them know what was going on and spoke to the leadership group about it and left it there.
“We didn’t want to dampen the mood because there is a really good spirit around the place.”
