DAVE: Marcus, you and I can still feel finals in the air, we have finals to report on; unlike Jonty who it feels like has jinxed every single team he has reported on this season; Cranbourne and Doveton being the two most recent two to fall. Jonty, kick us off with your best action from the weekend mate.
JONTY: Dandenong played Gippsland in the quarter-final on Saturday, and it was quite a bizarre game to analyse. Dandenong led 42-0 at quarter time, and then after that Gippsland had 23 scoring shots to seven, and still failed to win. It felt like robbery that Gippsland didn’t win, even though Dandenong never trailed at any stage of the game. Gippsland had a very dangerous late-thrust forward, but Elwood Peckett – a St Kilda father-son prospect – took a Leo Barry-style intercept mark, about 40 metres out, and essentially saved the game; the Stingrays winning by six points. So he gets my best action for sending Dandenong into the preliminary final this weekend.
DAVE: Can they beat Oakleigh?
JONTY: No.
DAVE: Hopefully you’ve jinxed Oakleigh this time around.
JONTY: They’re a chance, but I think they’ll lose by a couple of goals.
DAVE: Marcus, your best action from the weekend?
MARCUS: I hope I don’t jinx this guy, because I’ve really enjoyed watching him this year; Jesse Davies, centre half forward at Narre Warren. He’s a big fella but super mobile, and he showed this in my best action. Narre Warren was down by seven points in the third quarter of a tight and tense game against Woori Yallock; there was a ball-in in the forward pocket for the Magpies and Hayden Dwyer just smacks it forward towards the goalsquare (Marcus does the action), with Davies was the first to react. He picked the ball up and spun, and showed the dexterity of a forward pocket – at probably 195 centimetres – and kicked this really critical goal that cut the lead to just one point. He was a key architect in their comeback, and that goal gets my best action for the week.
DAVE: I did the rounds on Saturday Marcus; went to three different games of footy, starting with the Narre Warren v Pakenham under 19s game at Healesville.
MARCUS: Why, Dave?
DAVE: Because I love footy. Anyway, the reason I bring that up is because Healesville looked like the MCG without the grandstands on Saturday; it was glistening and magnificent.
MARCUS: I agree Dave, but not just for the playing surface. The…the…the…
JONTY: Ambience, Marcus!
MARCUS: Thanks Jonty, that’s the exact word I was searching for. The trees in the background, the sun was shining…it was just magnificent. No disrespect to other places, but the grand final venue should almost be Healesville’s to lose each year.
DAVE: Boys, my best action goes to Beaconsfield’s Jafar Ocaa, even though the Eagles bowed out at the preliminary final stage against minor-premier Park Orchards on Saturday. They should have won; had 22 scoring shots (9.13) to 15 (12.3), and peppered the big sticks in the final term. Anyway, Jafar intercepts a defensive exit from Park Orchards and then gathers a loose ball and kicks this magnificent checkside goal from the boundary from 30 out. It cut the margin back to 10, with five minutes left on the clock and was just a terrific goal at a very crucial time. Also, Matt Gentile from Nar Nar Goon kicked a brilliant crumbers’ goal in the final quarter against Cora Lynn that basically iced the game for the Goon. He timed his run perfectly, gathered cleanly, and then had the smarts to pierce the big sticks. It was the final nail in the coffin for a brave Cora Lynn.
HIGH ACHIEVERS
DAVE: Boys, talking about Beaconsfield and Cora Lynn; if you told those clubs they would be key players in a preliminary final at the start of the year, I think they both would have taken it. Beacy, in just its third season in Eastern, has now earned the right to call itself a true contender in Division One, while Cora Lynn emerged as a genuine threat after being on the fourth of fifth rung over the last couple of years. If I could, I would have chaired those players off the ground on Saturday. You don’t have to win a premiership to be a great success story, and I think Beacy and the Cobras fit that bill this year. Marcus, from the teams you cover, who deserves to be chaired off the ground this year despite not winning the premiership?
MARCUS: Three teams, two I’ll put in the same bracket; Berwick in Eastern Premier and Emerald in Outer East Premier. Berwick really did it for Boof (coach Clint Evans) in the second half of the year, staying in Premier Division, when they so easily could have fallen away. In so many games this year they were only a 10 or 15 minute-patch away from competing with teams like Vermont and South Croydon, and that’s with a huge disparity in VFL and AFL talent, that others have but Berwick doesn’t. It was a tremendous effort for them to stay up. Emerald, similarly, started 0-5 and then went five wins from 13. It’s not the best record, but they were staring down the barrel of relegation and won the tough games to stay in Premier Division…so credit to those two teams. And similar to Beacy and Cora Lynn, if you offered Officer the season it had, just missing out on finals, it would have jumped at that with both hands. They kicked themselves out of finals on a few occasions, so whether they deserve a chairing off is probably not at the same level as the teams you mentioned. But it was a fantastic year from them.
DAVE: I won’t mention names boys, but I did hear a massive rumour over the weekend about who might take over from Daniel Charles at Officer next year. My mail is that it hasn’t been announced just yet because the new coach might still be busy in his respective competition coaching finals. Jonty; who are you chairing off? Although it can’t be many because of the jinx you’ve put on this year.
JONTY: The Pakenham Warriors women’s team deserve a lot of credit. At the midway point of the season it looked like last year, another season that got away, and the competition in the Big V Championship had got even fiercer. For them to find a bit of form, and have a really clear game style that was impressive offensively, they get a pass mark from me. They won a final, which is what they set out to achieve at the start of the season, but a lot of people thought the coach was delusional for saying that; that the roster wasn’t good enough to achieve that goal. They proved the detractors wrong. I’d also like to chair off the following players from Hampton Park, whose shoulders should be recovering after carrying the Redbacks this year. Declan Brunell, Dylan Morris, Jayden Weichard, Jye King and Tanner Stanton; without those players I think Hampton Park would have been closer to relegation talk than winning a final this year. Those five basically carried the teams and ensured the Redbacks had some talent on each line. And the Stingrays, they entered the year with three draft ‘certainties’ and then Sam Toner, Charlie Orchard, Riak Andrew, Elwood Peckett and Jordan Doherty have all emerged as clear draft prospects. To have five that are now in contention, after not being spoken about early doors, is a credit to the Stingrays program.
MARCUS: Is Riak Andrew the one being floated as the potential Mac Andrew incentive, for a club to draft and lure Mac as a result?
JONTY: Yes, but that’s a ridiculous storyline.
DAVE: Boys, I also want to chair off Kilcunda-Bass for making finals for the first time in WGFNC this year, and to the Cora Lynn A Grade netball team for doing the same thing on the netball court. The Cobras actually won a final after finishing with a 3-15 record last year. And Nar Nar Goon A Grade as well, they snuck into the finals by a whisker in round 18 and then won two finals; and were then in front in the last quarter of the preliminary final against Dalyston on Saturday. If I could chair those teams off as well, I would, but my right shoulder is stopping me from playing golf at the moment…so I better not push it!
AFL PREDICTIONS
DAVE: Back on March 20 this year, we made some predictions around what might happen in the AFL. We’re down to six teams now, so it’s timely to do a recap. Jonty, are you happy with your predictions or would you like to change a couple now?
JONTY: I’m comfortable with my Caleb Serong prediction, that he would finish top five in the Brownlow, because I think that is still the case. He was pretty long odds at the time, so I’m happy with that one. I think Nick Daicos will win the Brownlow, ahead of Marcus Bontempelli and Serong, and I think Sydney will defeat GWS in the grand final.
DAVE: I hope you’re right Jonty, because that was my original prediction. Now Marcus, you rolled your eyes this morning when I floated this topic, because you’ve been a fair way off the mark. As Pauline Hansen famously said…please explain!
MARCUS: I predicted that Port Adelaide would win the flag and that would beat the Giants in the grand final.
JONTY: That could still happen!
MARCUS: It could. There have been people who laughed at me at the start of the year, I won’t mention names, that have enjoyed giving me grief about that selection across the course of the season.
JONTY: Schadenfreude!
DAVE: What does that mean and how am I going to spell it? (Boys laugh)
MARCUS: Obviously the wheels look like they have come off at Port Adelaide; that was a debacle on Thursday night. It looked like (Zak) Butters wasn’t right, he got subbed off, Jason Horne-Francis spent a lot of time on the bench, he didn’t look right…however, I am not losing faith…and I’ll give you a few reasons why. They earned the double chance, and if they beat Hawthorn this week they progress through to a prelim against Sydney, a team they dusted about a month ago. And their season really turned around after arguably their worst game of the season when they got belted by Brisbane at home. Ken Hinkley got booed off, their season looked a right off, and so their ability to respond to adversity is there.
JONTY: Underrated you think?
MARCUS: As for the Giants, I think they’ll beat Brisbane on Saturday night and then be playing a preliminary final against Geelong, at a venue which is not necessarily Geelong’s home ground. The Giants don’t play at the MCG that often either, but if they wanted to play any team with a supposed home-ground advantage it would be Geelong. I’m keeping faith in Port Adelaide and the Giants despite their losses on the weekend. And my original tip, Marcus Bontempelli, is probably the player to beat on Brownlow Medal night given he is the Player’s MVP and the All-Australian captain.
JONTY: I really hope he does win it the ‘Bont’…he’d be a deserving winner.
DAVE: A Collingwood supporter who thinks Nick Daicos will win but hopes for Marcus Bontempelli; you’re an interesting young fella Jonty Ralphsmith! My prediction was Caleb Serong, but I don’t think he can win it; but he’ll finish top five or six which I’m pretty happy with. Lachie Neale, he’s now my tip, with Jai Newcombe to be the bolter who finishes with a flurry that coincides with Hawthorn’s impressive winning streak. And I think the two winning teams this weekend will play off in the grand final; with Geelong and Sydney to get beaten. I’m going for a Hawthorn v GWS grand final, with the Giants to get the choccies. Thanks for another great chat boys.
JONTY’S JINX
MARCUS: Sorry Dave, but before we go, you had pencilled in a segment where we give it to Jonty about him jinxing his teams this year.
DAVE: We’ve ran out of space mate.
JONTY: I ruined a few this year. At different times I declared Pakenham Warriors Youth Men and Devon Meadows as premiership favourites, and that was shattering to see them both fail in finals. Doveton, I’ve done it to them as well….
MARCUS: I’ve got more. Fremantle…
JONTY: Yeah, I’ll cop that.
MARCUS: And did you have high hopes for Adelaide this year.
JONTY: Yeah; top four. Collingwood top-four as well.
DAVE: Jonty, Marcus looks zoomed in and focussed on crushing your spirit here; but I’m going to jump in and call it a day. See you next week boys.
