By Marcus Uhe
A sign of a good team is how well they respond.
Whether that’s to a coach’s message, a challenge or adversity, a team builds its reputation on how it tackles circumstances not in their favour, and puts plans and instructions into place.
Sitting last on the table and with the relegation format confirmed during the week, Gembrook Cockatoo was as vulnerable as it had been all season in Outer East Football Netball’s Premier Division ahead of Saturday’s clash with Mt Evelyn.
Add to that a malfunction with its light towers on Thursday night meaning they couldn’t train, and the odds were stacked against Michael Firrito’s side heading in to a must-win game against a side gunning for a finals place.
Forced inside on Thursday night, Firrito was forced to dig into his coaching bag of tricks and take the squad through a film and education session of their upcoming opponents, while they also took the rare opportunity to sit down for some heart-to-heart chats about where they sat with five rounds to play, and their reflections on the season to date.
In hindsight, the opportunity to discuss their challenges and issues may prove a blessing in disguise.
What it revealed was a lack of synergy between the lines, to the point where Firrito felt as though there was “three teams playing together” in reference to the forwards, midfielders and defenders.
“We had a look at a few things during the week and said that we can’t just expect these things to happen,” Firrito said.
“We are quite a young side but a lot of us have now played a fair bit of football together and there’s a lot of respect amongst the boys, whether that be Josh Tilly who was captain today, or Konner Allcott who’s probably one of our youngest players, it doesn’t matter – the boys get on really well and we can have those tough conversations.
“One of the hard things about being out in Gembrook is we’re a long way out from any other club.
“It is hard to recruit, but a lot of the blokes that we’ve got, they’ve known each other from high school and primary school.
“It’s not a matter of, they’ve only known each other for a couple of years, they’ve got long-lasting friendships and relationships.
“I guess it makes it easier to have those conversations and some of the boys, we have been letting each other down, not through undisciplined things but not being all on the same page.”
On Saturday he asked for 22 coaches on the field, and what he got was that to an absolute tee.
Gembrook Cockatoo was organised, dogged, determined and hungrier than Mt Evelyn for four quarters, embracing the sloppy conditions to record a brilliant, emotional win.
The Brookers kept the Rovers goalless for three quarters and looked the more cohesive unit, thriving in the choppy winter weather to notch their best win of the year, winning 8.11 59 to 2.8 20 at Gembrook Recreation Reserve.
And Firrito could not wipe the smile off his face.
“Often in these conditions it’s about how you buy-in, crack-in and that sort of thing.
“Conditions like that, everything’s a wet, heavy track and a lot of it comes down to effort.
“There is a lot of heart, character and grit in this side, so once we fine tune the dry weather stuff, I think there’s a heap of upside.
“All the skills go out the window today, it’s just about want and being on the same page and we’ve been able to do that in both of those games.”
Signs were ominous for the Brookers in the opening term as they struggled to move the ball out of the back half for protracted periods, but led by the returning Daniel Walsh and Ben Schultze, Gembrook Cockatoo’s backs ensured the visitors had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
Against the run of play, the Brookers kicked a three goals in five minutes late in the term to open a considerable 16-point margin and have wind at their sails at the opening break.
Dante South made the most of a sliver of space at a forward 50 stoppage to squeeze home a quick snap, a Welsh run-down tackle deep in defence started a transition that finished with a desperate Myles Wareham goal at ground level, and Tilly’s work in traffic sprung Brad Frater free to turn the game on its head in the early stages.
The home side hit the first huddle vibrant and full of life, pleased with the opening but knowing there was three quarters left to play.
Having goaled twice from forward 50 stoppages in the opening quarter, Firrito made it a third in the second term, the beneficiary of Wareham’s ruck work and follow-up from a boundary throw-in.
23 points ahead in a mud heap felt like 53, and given the Rovers’ failure to mount a credible scoring threat, the Brookers were right on top.
While a 24-point lead at the half was not insurmountable for the visitors to overcome, particularly for a side playing to stay in the hunt with the top six like Mt Evelyn was, it wasn’t going to take much to put the game beyond reach.
Deputising for injured skipper Damien Volta, Tilly sensed the gravity of the situation and played a starring role in instigating the Rovers’ demise.
Midway through the quarter with only behinds added to both sides, a forced turnover in the forward half by the Brookers saw a kick to the top of the goal square fall into the arms of Tilly, who goaled easily from the resulting kick.
Less than a minute later, Wareham got on his hands and knees to feed a handball out to the vice-captain, who snapped truly on his right foot under pressure.
It was a piece of skill that defied the weather and circumstances of the game, and a minute that ultimately put the contest to rest halfway through the third quarter, as the home side moved 37 points ahead.
At three-quarter-time, the Rovers had as many goals as they started the contest with, such was the dominance of the Brookers on this wet afternoon.
Over an hour of football passed before the goal umpire at Mt Evelyn’s end was required to use his flags, but the effort was soon nullified by Wareham.
Again showing his versatility at ground level, Wareham got busy after his marking contest and poked the ball home, just crossing the goal line after losing momentum in the heavy mud.
Caleb Marshall made it a 46-point ball game deep in the quarter after sneaking out the back of a Rovers’ press, but a late goal to the visitors saw the final margin settle at 39 points.
Along with Tilly, it was Aaron Firrito, Ryan Hillard and Brayden Weller that were instrumental in the result, and Schultze “won on points” in the eyes of his coach against Mt Evelyn star Callum Urquhart, whom he kept goalless.
It would be easy for the men in green to fall away in the dying stages of the season, but a performance like Saturday’s proves there’s plenty to be gained in the final few weeks.
“We want to make sure we finish the season on a high, and get a bit of momentum heading into next year,” Firrito said.
“We just need to make sure we can build on it.
“We’ll take a few things out of today and there’s still lots of upside, but it helps with personnel, getting the right guys back.
“It doesn’t matter what level of football, you need your best players out on the park and fortunately we were able to do that.”
Elsewhere in the second half of the Premier Division’s split round, goals were similarly hard to come by in Upwey and Monbulk.
That is, for one side in each respective contest.
Berwick Springs scored three of its total four goals in the final quarter in an 86-point loss to Upwey Tecoma, and Olinda Ferny Creek could only manage one against Monbulk, with the Hawks winning by 74.
Upwey Tecoma already had 11 on the board by the time Jett Kearney opened the Titans’ account midway through the third term, as the Tigers feasted on a side battling to reach the end of a long and draining year.
Kearney finished with two goals, with Connor Guley, Justin Markulija, Matt Soutter-Smith and Chris Johnson all named in the Titans’ best.
Monbulk, meanwhile, got back to its remarkable season recovery mission against the Bloods, wining a sixth game in seven matches after an 0-7 start to the year.
