JUSTIN: Alright boys, what a weekend we’ve had. Collingwood’s had a resurgence, our first taste of footy grand finals with Hallam winning a flag so things have been really interesting and I’m super excited to be hosting this week’s edition of Let’s Talk Sport. We won’t waste any time, we’ll kick it off with your best action Jonty.
JONTY: Best action for me was very, very clear on Sunday at Shepley Oval. The wind was absolutely howling.
DAVE: What direction?
JONTY: If you were in the grandstand, to your right. I had a chat with Jonah Walker’s family at halftime and they said “jeez, you undervalue him in the paper and you never put him on Craft of the Draft” and it’s true, I don’t. But he was absolutely outstanding on Sunday. Without him, Gippsland doesn’t win, it’s as simple as that. The one piece of action I’ll boil it down to was his big booming kick. They trailed by 14 points at three quarter time, coming home with the wind. 26 seconds into the last quarter, he kicked a goal from 65 metres out from a stoppage. You knew the moment it left the boot that it was gonna go through and he celebrated towards the crowd and really energised Gippsland to the big comeback win. From a Geelong Falcons point-of-view, they just had to keep the ball out of his zone and that was a huge moment and probably the loudest the crowd was all day.
BLAIR: I got down to Devon Meadows and Pearcedale, a huge prelim clash. Devon are through to the grand final so it’s massive for the club. My best action goes to Arnold Kirby from Devon Meadows, he’s a genuine cult figure. They love him at the club, there’s chants of Arnold, he’s on their profile pic on Facebook. Coming into the game, he’d kicked six goals this season but five against Pearcedale, so he goes forward and hits the scoreboard. In the first half, he’d beaten Huw Jones all day and had plenty of the footy but he hadn’t hit the scoreboard. That changed in the third quarter and that’s where my best action comes. Firstly, he took a juggled mark and went back and put through a set shot, pulled out a bow and arrow celebration to the crowd, got them up and about. Only four or five minutes later, he just took it out of the ruck contest and snapped it and went crazy. Two goals in five minutes for the big fella and best-on by an absolute mile, one of the best individual performances I’ve seen in quite a long time.
DAVE: Better than big Levi Dare?
BLAIR: He’s on a similar level, they’re both dominant. He hasn’t passed Tommy Toner but I love watching Arnold Kirby play.
DAVE: What a weekend of action. Nar Nar Goon was in a real battle against Tooradin-Dalmore on Saturday, it was five points the difference at halftime and their big gun forward Dermott Yawney hadn’t kicked a goal. Midway through the third quarter he’s on a lead, gets hit up beautifully from Jed Smith and takes a chest mark, then kicks one from the boundary line from 50 metres, bang. He kicked four in the second half, so that was a highlight. On Sunday, two playing coaches were on the ground with Jimmy Munro a co-coach at Cora Lynn and Cam Pedersen a playing coach at Phillip Island. Pederson doesn’t get stopped and he had the ball and was running full tilt. But if there was one bloke you wouldn’t want to run into at full tilt, it’s Jimmy Munro.
JONTY: I was going to say, Cam Pedersen doesn’t get stopped but Jimmy Munro doesn’t not stop anyone!
DAVE: Exactly, it was like two immovable forces, a collision. Munro stuck the tackle and won the free kick. That was in the third quarter, 18 minutes in and it was sort of a symbol of what was to come. Cora Lynn just got over the line and it was a battle of will, not a battle of skill. But the best action of the whole weekend has to go to Matty Ryan, a centre half forward at Cora Lynn. He always lives in the shadows of Nathan Gardiner, but in the last quarter the Cobras needed two goals in the last few minutes to win and he takes a huge pack mark and kicks one from the boundary line to get them closer. He then picks one up from the same pocket and dribbles one through to win the game for Cora Lynn. Matty, you don’t normally get a lot of kudos but you were the best player on the ground and you’ve got Cora Lynn through to a prelim.
JUSTIN: In terms of production for my player, Bailey Humphrey, most people would say he’s a star for Warburton Millgrove because he boots lots of goals. But if you asked the crowd on Saturday, they’d probably say he’s an irritant. He kicked his first goal and got right into the Pakenham defenders, he was up and about. In a very Geelong-Brisbane-esque way, he drew a free kick for an off-the-ball hit in front of goal as a result of being knocked down. He slotted that, then about two minutes later, he’s back in the contest again applying pressure to Jayden Silva after the ball came in. Silva picked up the footy but felt the heat as Humphrey went to tackle, handballing it over the boundary line and he got pinned for deliberate. Humphrey got the free kick in the right pocket as a right footer and he just bent the most beautiful checkside through for his third goal in a matter of minutes. He sure let the Pakenham boys know about it again.
SPORTING DOMINANCE
JUSTIN: I’m not sure if you boys are big tennis fans, but Carlos Alcaraz won the US Open final against Jannik Sinner in four sets. The second set that he lost to Sinner in the match was the only set he dropped for the entire tournament, so it inspired me to ask you boys; what are some dominant runs you’ve seen in any sport over the last few years? I’m going to kick things off with Hallam, because they have been a force to be reckoned with over the last two years. They only lost five games on the year last year including finals and three of those were to Hampton, who ended up winning the flag. Hallam then went 18-0 in the home-and-away season this year before winning both finals, so shoutout to the Hawks for an unbelievably dominant run. I also have to mention, the 2000 Essendon Bombers won the preseason grand final before going 21-1 in the home-and-away season. They then won the qualifying by 125 points, the prelim by 45 and the grand final by 60.
JONTY: I’ll give you two, because as soon as I saw this I laughed, you’ve just segued perfectly for me to talk about Buln Buln’s last two years in the Ellinbank League. They were 39-1 and just so dominant. The best thing about their run was that in both of their premierships they won it in different ways. Last year they had Patty Ireland come in and kick 100 goals and completely change the look of that forward line and in 2023 it was probably more to quote Bobby McCallum… “kicked goals by committee” and they knew they all had to chip in. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to back it up this year but 39-1 is an enviable run and I think 17 of those players played in both flags, a very stable core. Also, Gippsland Power will be trying to stop Sandringham Dragons going for a four-peat in the Coates League this week.
BLAIR: I’m going back to my former club where I’m actually a premiership player at Harrow Balmoral in the Horsham District League. In 2023 and 2024, they had two perfect seasons, 42-0 and they had 1000 days exactly where they didn’t lose a game. Since their two losses earlier this year, they’ve bounced back with nine straight wins and they have a grand final this week for a three-peat. Before that, they had a couple grand finals as well so they’ve won four flags out of a possible five.
DAVE: Currently Nar Nar Goon’s on a 26-game win-streak so that’s still got a bit to go before they get elevated up into the stratosphere. Phillip Island won 47 of 49 from 2018 to 2022, they only lost one and drew one during that time. The one that stands out for me was Narre Warren, 2012 to 2013. They won a premiership with the last kick of the season in 2013 to break the MPFNL record of 36 straight wins. But we’ve got a newspaper up in Queensland called Gladstone Today. There’s a team up there called the Yeppoon Swans who won 128 games in a row. On the weekend they won their 11th flag in a row. They have finally lost a game in the last couple of years but it doesn’t get better than that.
EXCITEMENT AHEAD
JUSTIN: As we mentioned earlier, there’s so much good footy that’s happened and we’re spoiled right now as footy nuffies. Pakenham’s under-18s are playing in the grand final this week for what could potentially be the bright spot of the season for that club after the seniors, reserves and women’s football all fell short. Along with those boys, what are some things we’re looking forward to in the world of football this week?
DAVE: AFL-wise, I can’t wait for the Q-Clash. From a Collingwood supporter’s point of view, it just feels like that’s perfect. Whoever wins that game is gonna feel like they’ve just won a grand final, it’s going to be a huge buildup. I’m pretty happy to watch them beat the crap out of each other. Hopefully there’s suspensions for the week after, do you agree Jonty?
JONTY: Yeah I do. Quick tip?
DAVE: My quick tip is Gold Coast to cause an upset.
BLAIR: I’m backing Gold Coast too.
JUSTIN: I’ve got Brisbane.
JONTY: Same, I have the Lions by six goals.
DAVE: From a local front, it’s a rather unusual finish to the season for West Gippsland because for the first time since the competition started, there’s no Alberton League teams in the last two weeks of the season. I find that dynamic rather interesting, the few powerful Alberton clubs have dropped down this year, so that’s something to keep an eye on. It’s interesting, Phillip Island’s been in every grand final in West Gippsland that’s been played since 2018. The two before COVID and every one after, so it’s a really different look for the league. I’m also really looking forward to Tooradin full-back Rory Neate playing on Nathan Gardiner and I think the secret to the Seagulls winning the flag is him playing the key forwards out of the game. But I’m excited to see him step up and he’s probably got the biggest guns in the competition.
JONTY: Tip for the prelim?
DAVE: It’s tight, Tooradin’s been the better team all year but Cora Lynn is playing their best footy for the year. I’ve got a feeling the Cobras have this wave of momentum that will get them over the line in a thriller.
JONTY: Dandenong’s girls making the grand final is enormous. They’ve fallen short in back-to-back prelims against Oakleigh until Sunday, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how they go against Eastern Ranges. Dandenong just executed so perfectly on Sunday, so great credit to Nathan Boyd and the coaching staff. It’s a great testament to the growth of footy in the region and especially on the Peninsula.
BLAIR: You can’t look any further than Devon Meadows. The vibe down there is great and it’s their first grand final in 28 years. There’s genuine belief that they can knock off the Frankston Bombers, so that’s going to be a huge game. The other game that I’m really looking forward to is the grand final between Hampton Park and Chelsea Heights. In both of these games, Devon Meadows are yet to beat Frankston this season and Hampton Park hasn’t beaten Chelsea Heights yet despite finishing first. I’m actually going to pick the sides that haven’t beaten the other in Hampton Park and Devon Meadows.
JUSTIN: Get keen boys. Thanks for another ripper chat, see you next week.
