DAVE: G’day boys, it was a great weekend of sport but bloody cold when that breeze picked up. I had the privilege of meeting up with a 90-year-old Beaconsfield premiership player from 1953 – Max Excell. He is the only surviving member of the team and it was fascinating to think of the history of footy and how much he’s seen it change. Also a special shout-out goes to Beaconsfield historian, and a former premiership player himself, Lawrie Canning for doing such a great job of presenting Max and the 2013 premiership team as well. If every footy club had a Lawrie Canning boys…the footy world would be a better place.
MARCUS: Did you go to school with Max?
DAVE: (Sarcastically): Very funny smart-arse, he’s got 36 years on me! Let’s start the way we always do. Let’s start with our best action from the weekend. Jonty, what was the best thing you saw?
JONTY: Pretty straight forward, the Dandenong Stingrays pulled off a comeback from nowhere against Oakleigh, which really they should have smashed by about 50 points, Oakleigh was missing 13 players and four of their best six to school-boy footy. It took Dandenong until the last 10 minutes to get going and they led for less than three minutes of the whole game but won. A shout-out to three players in particular who led the turnaround. Matt Nelson from Berwick Springs played on a wing and impacted defensively several times and so did Ben Hopkins and bottom-agers Cooper Hynes and Harvey Langford as well. Hynes, as a bottom-ager, kicked three of the last five goals and made an important aerial contest inside 50 which led to another one of those goals.
DAVE: Jonty, you’re our Coates League expert, I’m going to put some pressure on you mate. Come the middle of November, who are going to be the number one and two Stingrays picked in the AFL National Draft?
JONTY: Cooper Simpson will be number one – and should be discussed as a top-10 chance overall…but isn’t being.
DAVE: Type of player, quickly.
JONTY: Polished midfielder who can hit the scoreboard. And Sam Frangalas from Berwick. A big-bodied physical player who can go through the middle and play forward.
DAVE: Marcus, what about you?
MARCUS: As an Essendon supporter it’s very tempting to go the Sam Durham goal but, locally, it has to be Tom Toner. He kicked a goal from 60 out on the run from a centre clearance when Gembrook was trying to mount a bit of a charge against Narre Warren. The Brookers kicked a couple of goals in the last quarter and Toner said…not today boys.
JONTY: Wind a factor?
Marcus: No wind. I was finishing writing my notes from the previous goal and suddenly he was streaking from the front of the stoppage, so I nearly missed it.
DAVE: My best action at Beaconsfield, against Montrose, was sitting between the coaches boxes and seeing how hard those blokes were hitting. It’s a bloody good standard of footy. Brandon White is a class above, ex-St Kilda AFL player. He took almost as many intercept marks as Darcy Moore and he crunched a Montrose player with a massive hit on centre wing, right in front of us all. He had the angry pills on a bit but it was great to see. The invite to Beacy took me away from my regular post in West Gippy, but I enjoyed the day.
PICK A COACH
DAVE: Talking about local footy clubs, we talk internally here about whether clubs need a rebuild, or what do they need to fire a struggling club back up again. The question to you Marcus is: If you were to start a club from scratch and set it up for long term sustainability, who, of the coaches you deal with in your leagues, would you appoint, and why?
MARCUS: The first name that came to mind would be Steve Hughes at Noble Park. He has the champion’s pedigree having won the premiership last year with the Bulls. He’s honest when he speaks to me and I’m sure he’s just as honest with his playing group. Players want to play for him, we see that with Jackson Casey and Shane McDonald making the move to the club this year from Bonbeach, where he had coached them previously. He has that lure of success.
JONTY: (Smiles) Well summed up Marcus. I have always said, as long as I’ve dealt with him, that if I wanted to play under someone and they were going to get the most out of me as a player it would be Nick Cox, Stingrays coach. But from a local perspective, Hayden Stanton. Hampton Park got him in pretty much for that reason, they wanted to rebuild, they wanted a re-branding in a sense, and the next generation to lead that. He’s set the standards. There were some players who were older last year and maybe to some degree getting games on reputation. He has come in and now they’re playing reserves footy…you have to earn your stripes. That’s been evident in their ability to win some games against fellow teams chasing to play off in the Grand Final against East Brighton. Has a strong coaching background and both his brothers coach, too. Hayden’s coaching rubs off on his son, too, who has played VFL footy and is now at the Redbacks, Tanner.
DAVE: Very good Jonty, yep, ‘H’ is a ripper! There’s quite a few West Gippsland coaches I could pick but listening to Mick Fogarty up close on Saturday, I’d pick him. He’s an elite coach with an impeccable record but he just gives his players the clear fundamentals to focus on when running onto the ground. Instructions to players on the weekend were to win every contest, and if you can’t win it, halve the bloody thing. Obviously there was a lot more going on at that level, but he just got it right and every player had eye-balls on him…he’s got respect!
JONTY: Simple messages.
DAVE: Yep. So as a player, I would know exactly what he wants from me if the ball comes near me. The message is as clear for a 16-year-old as it would be for a 35-year-old veteran. He’s so passionate and speaks with a certain tone. I found myself walking towards him when he was speaking, it was almost magnetising…you’d run through brick walls for that bloke.
JONTY: Let’s combine the three coaches we’ve said. You said someone who is really honest, Marcus, I got a standard-setter and Dave has a message deliverer. It’s the perfect combination.
BUILDING A SPINE
DAVE: Following on from that topic, what’s the spine you’re giving your new coach to build his new team around from the players you cover this year?
JONTY: I added an extra caveat for myself to get a player per club of the clubs I cover. That works out pretty well.
Full Back (FB): Brandon Osborne: The only older player I’ve got in there but you need leadership to build a club around. We know how well he can shut down opposition forwards. A Cranbourne player.
Centre Half Back (CHB): Alex Windhager from Dingley. Has done some really important jobs in the last 12 months or so on the likes of Aaron Edwards and Marc Holt. Brother of AFL-listed Marcus.
Centre (C): Makaio Haywood from Hampton Park. He’s classy, gets the footy and wins clearances. Still young and his best footy is still ahead of him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go and play Eastern or VFL footy.
Ruck (R): Dyl Chapman from Doveton, no more needs to be said…he always gets talked about in this segment.
MARCUS: You never stop talking about him, Jonty.
JONTY: I’ll go on.
Centre Half Forward (CHF): Cooper Sheppard: A powerful Keysborough player that opposition clubs have noted seems a class above. Very watchable.
Full Forward (FF): Matt Wetering from Springvale Districts: Has played VFL footy, takes a good contested mark and usually capitalises on his opportunities.
DAVE: Outstanding Jonty. Marcus, what about you?
MARCUS: Pressure is on.
FB: Steve Hughes will get a Noble Park full back in Ryan Morrison. Will help implement the philosophies and structures and has won flags in successful programs at Narre Warren and Noble Park.
CHB: Michael Firrito. ‘Spud’ has been playing forward for Gembrook Cockatoo but with over 250 games of AFL experience as a key defender, he brings critical knowledge to combine with Morrison.
C: Another Bull, Jackson Sketcher. Widely regarded as one of the best players in local footy in Melbourne, he has been close to making the jump to professional ranks.
R: Jesse Cirulis. A Berwick player, he’s been exceptional coming off an ACL. The thing about him is he is a scary operator. He’d have your back at every contest and he’d be someone you’d love to run up the race with. His follow-up at ground level is outstanding too.
CHF: Jake Richardson from Narre Warren. An ideal key forward/second ruck and brings a leadership component. Last year’s league medallist in Outer East premier division.
FF: Lachie Wynd, a 21-year-old from Rowville. He’d be the marquee player of the future to invest big bucks in. 24 goals in five games this year, just under 40 per cent of Rowville’s total goals. He’s 200 centimetres and can ruck too.
DAVE: I’m picturing my new team to have lots of kids with a smattering of experience in key positions.
FB: Brandon White. A little bit out of position but is a really good intercept mark and is absolute class. Will stop us getting blown away in the early days.
CHB: Cooper Shipp: A defender who made team of the year last year as a young bloke. Key post to build around and is a really good intercept mark and spoiler.
C: On-field leadership is important for a young group so Brent Macaffer gets the gig in the middle. The best on-field ‘coach’ I’ve seen covering local footy. He orchestrates so well. Let’s lock him in as our first captain.
R: Cam Pedersen. A big body who dominates. Always impacts in the contest and brings star quality when we need it.
CHF: A young bloke who will be drafted this season, with Gippsland Power. Archer Reid (Inverloch-Kongwak). He’s the one we build our club around for the next decade.
FF: Nathan Gardiner from Cora Lynn. Has tats all over him and just looks big and scary. If I was young, like Archer Reid, I’d want to play next to him and feel protected. He takes a great mark and kick them from 50. Intimidation, presence and gets the job done. The perfect first full-forward for my club…which I’m going to need a name for!
MARCUS: You have three former AFL-listed players, Dave. I have one.
JONTY: And I have the brother of one.
DAVE: That’s it for this week boys. Thanks for the homework. A full page of notes from Marcus, that’s a warning, that’s not in the spirit of LTS. Jonty, you have a quarter of a page…sticking to the LTS philosophies. Well done boys and we’ll chat next week about sport.
