By David Nagel
The showpiece game of the CCCA Premier Division season is unquestionably set to be a last-man-standing affair.
Kooweerup, with club-legend and skipper Michael Giles likely playing his last game, host arch-rival Cardinia, with its menacing and successful captain Jake Prosser to wear the Bulls logo for one final time before heading back ‘home’ to Langwarrin
It has all the makings of a tense, grand final classic!
Giles, a four-time premiership player – two of those as captain – returned to Denhams Road this season after a lengthy absence.
Leading the Demons to grand final glory once again…well it would be what dreams are made of.
“It would mean everything…it’ll probably be my last game…I’m actually getting a bit emotional just thinking about it,” Giles said, just minutes after the Demons semi-final win over Tooradin.
“Personally, it would mean everything.
“I’ve never made my captaincy about me, it’s always about the team.
“What I’ve done or achieved in the past doesn’t matter, but I told the players before this game to make it about me…because I wanted to play one more weekend.
“It will be an emotional weekend, whichever way it goes.”
Giles is confident his Demons are cherry-ripe for a big performance this week.
“One-hundred percent, it’s quite a young group with a few older blokes in there, and it’s not like it was the first time I coached the club,” he said.
“The whole side has changed, but we’ve worked hard to have everything geared around these two weekends, and it’s been that way ever since I’ve coached.
“We didn’t finish on top when we won the two premierships against Cardinia (2014/15), they were the best side all year, but it’s just a matter of being good enough to make finals and then being at your best when you get there.
“It’s got the same sort of feeling this time around.
“We’ve got guys that play differently all the way down the list; there’s younger guys, experienced guys, mature players, immature players (chuckles), we’re all different but we’re all good at cricket.
“I’m more there for my leadership, not so much my cricket skills anymore, but hopefully I can do something next weekend.”
Giles is super-confident in his own ability to handle pressure and make clear decisions on the big stage.
It’s an ability he thought could improve the Demons this season.
“I’m proven in big games, I know I can do it under pressure situations, and there were probably a few decisions made in the finals last year that I wouldn’t have made,” he said honestly.
“That gave me the urge to come back and help the guys more than anything.
“Wombat (Chris Bright) is a champion player, a great person, and one of my best mates, so it’s certainly no knock on him.
“It was one-day cricket, he’s keeping, the best bat, there was a lot on his plate.
“I’ve done it before, know what it takes to win in the two-day format, and hopefully that holds us in good stead in the grand final.”
Like him or loath him…there’s no doubt that Prosser is a winner, and taking home two premierships in his three years at the club would leave a legacy to last a lifetime.
“Later in my career I’ll look back and be proud of those things, but as for this year, regardless of winning or losing this week, it’s been a difficult season for us, and to make it to another grand final and have the opportunity to win it again…that does make me proud,” he said.
“The message is just to enjoy it…because it’s the last time this particular group will be together.
“Just to enjoy the week, don’t overdo anything, we’ve done all the work and don’t put too much pressure on ourselves.”
Pressure is something Prosser has felt released after he announced his pending departure to his group during the mid-season break.
“I’m just looking forward to it,” he said.
“I think since I announced to the group just after Christmas that I was heading back home (Langwarrin), it was a weight of my shoulders and I’ve enjoyed the second half of the season a lot more than the first.
“I’ve been a bit more laid-back at times, tried to relax and enjoy my cricket, and we’ll just try to do the same thing this Saturday and Sunday.”
Prosser believes one critical element will give his team the edge.
“Our commitment to each other, our togetherness, that type of thing, we know that on ability we can do it, we’ve done it before, and we’ll just try to win the big moments in big games like we’ve done in finals in the past.
“We respect them; their history over the last 10 or 15 years is incredible.
“They’ve been at the top most years and we know we’ve got a massive challenge ahead of us.”
THE HISTORY
These two met five times in 12 years in grand finals between 2009 and 2021 with the ledger standing slightly in the Demons favour at 3-2. Cardinia won the most recent premiership decider in 2021, with off-spinning all-rounder Travis Wheller claiming the Lex Duff Medal.
THE BATTLES
There are many key battles this week, the Demons quicks against the Bulls’ top-order is probably the most important, but the match-up between Kooweerup star Gamini Kumara and Cardinia leg-spinner Lachlan Volpe is the most mouth-watering of all. Kumara has the temperament and technique to wear down the Bulls’ most dangerous weapon…and the winner of their battle will go a long way to deciding the destination of the premiership cup.
THE TIP
It’s a real toss of the coin, but we’ll go for the Demons star quality to prevail. It’s Jess Mathers to win an incredible fourth Lex Duff Medal and lead the Demons to premiership glory.
