By Jonty Ralphsmith
Over the Christmas period, the Journal’s sports team will be re-sharing some of the most popular stories from over the course of 2023.
Thank you for supporting our newspapers over the course of the year. We hope you enjoy the selection and have a wonderful holiday period, however you choose to celebrate.
There is collective admiration at Endeavour Hills for Matt Peake.
The premiership coach played his junior footy at Endeavour Hills before going elsewhere, the Falcons not having a senior club.
There has always been a vision from long-time club figures to establish a successful senior side, conversations Peake was privy to.
After being a key player and captain in the early days of the club, which first fielded a senior team in 2011, on Sunday he made himself the inaugural premiership coach.
“He’s been working at the club for 10 years to build the culture and he is the club, so he’s amazing,” said long-time servant and skipper Nathan Reid.
“The amount of time and effort he puts in, and care he has for the boys, is second to none and a big reason why this has happened.”
He was behind a series of shrewd moves, both on Sunday and on a broader scale, which propelled the Falcons to the flag.
He has long spoken of the optimism he held for the group last season, despite missing finals.
It drove his decision to remain focussed on achieving the triumph in 2023, despite many externally writing the Falcons off following the loss of Nick Gay.
The introductions of John Rafferty, who goes hell for leather at the footy, and goal kicker Ryan Johnson offset those loss, he was sure.
“In those first couple of training sessions I thought ‘wow’,” he said.
“When we got that first win over Carrum Patterson Lakes (CPL) who I thought was going to be a really good side, the way we did that was crucial, we fully bought into the game plan.
“It’s a round one win but we were 1-6 last year, so the belief was so important.”
Winning the first three games by an average of 39 points aligned the players’ confidence with his.
It was a revolving doors at selection due to injuries, but the system held up as they went around teams before coming back inboard, the skill execution proving even too slick for fellow frontrunner Frankston in round six.
For much of the second half of the season, it was clear in the competition that the two sides would face off in the big dance, despite a Falcons slip-up against CPL.
“Our focus for ages has been trying to figure out how to beat them,” Reid explained.
“For the last two months, they’ve been the measuring stick and we’ve been figuring out how to do it and putting a tonne of work in.
“Through that third quarter, we were under the pump but our midfielders and defenders held up and our forwards supported. “
The Dolphins won the second home-and-away clash between the two teams, as well as the qualifying final.
Half-a-dozen players preached the same message about the qualifying final post-game, illustrating the clarity the coach has provided.
“We felt in the first final we played in straight lines and that’s what they do, they rush the footy but we wanted to switch the footy and cut to the open side,” Reid said.
Three final moments of coaching brilliance on Sunday were instrumental to the result.
At quarter-time, trailing, with two of the Falcons’ goals being fortuitous on transition, Peake changed the midfield setup, with the Dolphins’ engine room on top.
“We tweaked a couple of things and the boys stood up,” Peake said.
“They just lifted and showed real fight.
“We’ve been really good in the midfield for most of the year but in the first final as well, they got on top from the first quarter and a half, but the guys kept going and got it moving our way and put the opposition under pressure.”
Then at three-quarter-time, he notably kept his address much shorter than Frankston counterpart Rich Mathers.
The Falcons players had been standing in their positions for about 30 seconds before the Dolphins broke from their huddle.
And Jacob Grant was standing inside 50, about to produce a sensational final quarter, to both justify his inclusion for Aydin Dikolli and make his coach look like a genius for moving him from the wing.
Teamsmanship and run were the themes of the address.
The positivity and belief was embedded in the conscience of players, with Peake just needing to provide the spark for them to go once again.
“I still don’t know what my emotions are, it means so much to so many of us,” Reid said.
“I’m so proud of everyone for the hard work they’ve put in, especially (Matt).”
