JONTY: Welcome gents to another edition of Let’s Talk Sport and we’ll start like we normally do now – with the best piece of action you saw on the weekend.
MARCUS: I was at Berwick yesterday watching them take on the reigning premiers in Eastern, Noble Park. New recruit Nathan Noblett has flown under the radar a bit, he kicked five including one where he gathered a loose ball in the pocket and turned off a couple of steps, near the boundary and 40-metre intersection. It sailed back perfectly over the goal umpire’s head – who did the head tilt back thing. It was right in front of the grandstand and there were some oohs and ahs after that kick. He’s a classy ball user so it’ll be exciting to watch him this year.
DAVE: Very good. I saw two of the best goals from one player that I’ve seen in a game of footy. Brad Butler from Tooradin. It’s one thing to kick a goal on the run after taking two bounces. Doing it when you have a bloke a metre behind you and to have the confidence to continue running and bouncing when the bloke is nearly within arm’s distance is what made it so exciting. At the end of the second quarter he took two bounces and check-sided from 35 and then Tooradin’s first goal of the third quarter was the same thing, but a drop punt at the other end of the ground.
JONTY: Was there a little bit of Lance Franklin and Cale Hooker to that?
DAVE: (Ignores Question) This bloke is the fastest bowler in the Casey-Cardinia Cricket Association, probably hits the ball the furthest and is an absolute excitement machine, and a good bloke to boot.
JONTY: Powerful?
DAVE: (Ignores Interjection) Probably only six foot two, maybe three, but goes in and plays as a backup ruck and he’s got such a leap that he can compete with the biggest rucks in the league. That was my clear highlight from the weekend.
JONTY: For me it would be – a name you’d be familiar with, Dave – a man who has made his mark in his first couple of weeks at Springvale Districts: Daniel Helmore from Garfield and Bunyip. Last week he was one of the better players on the ground and this week kicked the winning goal. It came inside 50, a long kick, he stayed down at the back of the pack, clean gather, banged it on the boot from 20 out, gave Springy Districts the lead and got them to 2-0. Give us a sentence on Daniel Helmore, Dave.
DAVE: He was probably rated as the best medium sized lead-up forward in the competition two years ago and then everything fell apart for Bunyip last year and it didn’t work out for him either. But he’s a really talented player who was highly regarded around West Gippy.
JONTY: He certainly made a hero of himself on the weekend.
ACCESSORIES
JONTY: First topic today is footy accessories necessary for local games in the heart of winter when it is wet and dreary. As a journalist I bring binoculars and a notebook and that sort of thing, but I’m not so much speaking about that. If you are going out as a spectator, what are the essentials to enhance the viewing experience?
DAVE: My number one accessory, before I was a journo, was 100-percent the stubby holder. The back-up plan if you forget the stubby holder is to use the footy record. When it gets colder, you’re a bit silly if you forget your coat and umbrella and it used to be cash, no bloody cards like today. A couple of twenties or a $50 note in the back pocket would see you through the day but now you don’t need to worry about that. Pretty boring answer but the humble stubby holder is my number-one accessory.
MARCUS: There’s more people with puffer jackets than not. Certainly watching the outer from up above at Toomuc, it was more noticeable if you didn’t have a puffer jacket than if you did. They’re super warm and waterproof or come with a hood so it covers all bases. The other one for me and Jonty, I think we’re aligned in this one: I will not put product in my hair unless it’s work or a very special occasion. I’m therefore conscious of the head-wear.
JONTY: You’ve taken mine but that’s okay.
MARCUS: If it’s just cold and not raining, it’s a beanie, but if there is any chance of rain, it’s a cap because you’ve got to keep the visibility up.
DAVE: It’s no stubby holder, but I like it.
JONTY: Head-wear is also essential from a warmth perspective and the footwear is important for two reasons. When you walk onto the ground at quarter time and three quarter time you get dew on your feet if it’s a cold morning – or rain and mud if you wear shoes made of the wrong material. Also, a lot of the time you are standing up watching the footy, you don’t always get a seat at the local grounds so wearing shoes you will be comfortable enough to stand in for three hours is important.
DAVE: Very good, mate. What’s your fascination with caps about?
JONTY: It’s not so much a cap or beanie, it’s the fact they act as a quasi headband to keep my hair out of my face. You won’t see it as much now that my hair is a bit shorter.
MARCUS: What are your dry and wet weather shoes?
JONTY: I’ve been done too many times where I think it’s going to be dry and it ends up being wet so it’s always wet weather shoes and leather is my go. Would you agree?
MARCUS: I also like to have Blundstones in the car – they are so comfortable. I would just have them on standby in the back seat.
DAVE: I wear the same shoes all the time and it is almost like a stamp of credibility. You go back to the car and feel your socks a little bit wet. You know you have been out and done the hard yards like the footballers. You get the shoes out the following Saturday morning and they still have mud on them. It’s like cleaning the footy boots back in the old days.
2-0 OR 0-2
JONTY: Boys, is there a team in either of your comps that has started either undefeated or winless that has surprised you? I’ll start with you, Marcus.
MARCUS: Easy one for me: Rowville. They’re coming off a grand final appearance in 2022 and they have lost two games in a concerning manner, having given up considerable leads at three quarter time. They have played two really good sides in Brenton Sanderson’s Balwyn and Noble Park, who knocked them off in the grand final, but the circumstances for a young group is alarming.
DAVE: For me, it’s not concerning because of who they’ve played but Warragul Industrials are 0-2. They’ll be 2-2 in a fortnight because they take on Bunyip and Korumburra-Bena.
JONTY: That’s a huge call.
DAVE: No, it’s not a huge call, it’s a very safe call… Harmit Singh will be a very unhappy man if they lose one of them. They’ve both had a mass exodus over the off-season and will fight out the wooden spoon with a couple others. The Dusties will take on Inverloch in round five which will give a clearer indication of what’s going on there. The other one is Beaconsfield. They’re 2-1 and this week are hosting South Belgrave who have come up from Division 2 and are currently on top of the ladder. Beacy recruited well, sitting second, top of the table clash this week so that’s great for local footy.
JONTY: Mine would be Hampton Park, it is difficult to get a gauge of where they’re at under Hayden Stanton. They played Black Rock in round one who are coming up from Division Three but I think word is they’ll really struggle this season, they’re not quite at Division Two level, and they’ve played East Malvern last week. They’ve come down from Division One so we don’t know where they’re at either. East Brighton will be a good test to see if the new run-and-gun game plan will pay off. They’re the benchmark, they beat Doveton by 92 points on the weekend so that tells you the level they’re at.
DAVE: Is that concerning for Doveton? Have they really dropped off the pace that much?
JONTY: I don’t think, so but it was hard to get a gauge in soggy conditions against East Malvern last week. They’ve got players to come back in. I can’t understate the impact Dylan Chapman has for them. They’re saying it’s their worst performance for a couple of years at least but I’m not going to write them off or anything like that. No way.
ANZAC VALUES
JONTY: With Anzac Day earlier this week, we’ve got an Anzac themed topic; which players in your leagues best demonstrate the Anzac spirit?
MARCUS: In yesterday’s game at Berwick, there was a massive clash between Nathan Hillard and Dean Jones in the middle of the ground. You could hear the body-on-body impact. It was a pretty big one, Jones was winded and Hillard had to come from the ground because he had blood streaming from the back of his head. We don’t want to equate footy and ‘battle’ but that looked like the sort of injury you would see on the battlefield, just the amount of blood that was streaming out of his head.
DAVE: Yesterday at Warragul you could have replaced the words ‘Lest We Forget’ with ‘Great Work Proccie’ because Andrew Proctor was at the bottom of just about every pack. It was a high-quality and high-pressure game of footy. He overcame some family tragedy to play in a Tooradin premiership last year and has continued on. He’s a solid bull and he’s a bloke I would be very comfortable running out alongside every week. And Jake Bowd of Beaconsfield. There was a bit of heat in the game against Croydon and every time one of his players was roughed up, Bowdy was in there just showing strength and giving a push and a shove against bigger players to show he is a true leader.
JONTY: I have gone down a similar path with regards to leadership and I’ve said Brandon Osborne. He rises in the big games which we saw in the finals series last year for Cranbourne. He’s one who is willing to throw his weight around and lock down his player. You know every week he will play his role in defence and be willing to come off and help teammates, he understands that defensive role well. So when you speak about selflessness and club loyalty as well, he straight away comes to mind.
DAVE: I rate Brandon Osborne as the best full back I’ve seen in country footy in the last decade. His closing speed is incredible. When I did top-25 players in the league, he would always be in the top three or four – rare for a defender.
Jonty: Big call – in my more limited viewing, I agree. Good chatting, now let’s get working!
