By David Nagel
It’s time for the painters, decorators and landscapers to converge on the house that Tooradin-Dalmore has built after the Seagulls secured a 23-point victory over Nar Nar Goon on Saturday.
The hardest-work has been done for the Seagulls, whose finals preparations are now at lock-up stage with three rounds remaining in the season.
Upcoming games against Garfield, Bunyip and Dalyston provide the perfect opportunity to apply a lick of paint, choose bench-top materials, and pick some light shades, without the cut and thrust of big-time football.
The Seagulls can’t finish top two or slip out of the finals race; they know their lot in life and can plan accordingly and be cherry-ripe for the most even finals series in living memory.
While fine-tuning and man-managing for finals is certainly the way to go, Seagulls coach Jordan Kelly has been around footy for a long time…and knows things never pan out that easy.
“We’re certainly not going to disrespect those teams, because Garfield has given us trouble, and Dalyston’s midfield gave us a lot of trouble last time we played them,” Kelly explained.
“Everyone can keep you honest on their day, but there are probably a few guys we can manage, and a few things we can try, knowing that we’re mathematically locked into finals.
“We can work on a few things; which is nice.”
The Gulls jumped out of the blocks against the Goon, leading by 17 points at quarter time, but kicked just two points in the next three quarters of footy to trail by two points at the final break.
The Seagulls were forced to traverse a difficult journey through those second and third quarters, with hard-nut midfielder Troy Dolan sent from the field for a high-hit on his opponent just before half time.
He missed the opening 13 minutes of the third; making it difficult for his teammates to express themselves on the attack.
They simply knuckled down, limited the damage, before unleashing a 4.2 to 0.1 final term to race away with an impressive victory.
Kelly was proud of how his team stayed committed and determined through those middle stages of the match.
“We had to change the way we played for a little bit, be happy to grind, because the Goon is obviously a very attacking team and we just wanted to go into the last quarter being in a position to win it,” Kelly said.
“Nothing drastic (at three-quarter time), they’ve got a very good midfield and we flipped the magnets around a little bit to combat that; just a small change in personnel.
“We thought we went pretty well all day, but just stuck to what we were doing and backed our boys in to get the job done.
“We took our chances in the last quarter which was really pleasing to see.”
Kelly and his coaching group have had to fast-track the integration of seasoned performers with a host of emerging talent infiltrating its way through the club.
Given those circumstances, the Seagulls consistency this season has been enormous.
“We’ve had five losses this season, but they’ve been by 13 points or under,” Kelly said.
“Cora Lynn got us good a couple of weeks back but, apart from that, I’m super proud of how consistent we’ve been.
“To be honest, we’re a bit ahead of schedule, compared to where we thought we’d be with all the young kids coming in; which has just been so exciting.
“Our leaders have really put the effort in to get the young kids up to speed with game plans; and the willingness of the young ones to learn and apply themselves to what we say has been the most enjoyable part of all.
“We think our game stacks up against anyone if we come in with that good mindset.
“It’s a good feeling at the moment; but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Brad Butler, Nick Lang and Cooper Shipp all nailed two goals each for the Gulls, while Matt Buntine continued his stellar season by claiming the Matt Wade Medal awarded to best player on the ground.
Luke McKenna and Trent Adams were once again rock-solid performers, while recruit Rory Neate had a great result playing on Dermott Yawney; a week after his battle with Nathan Gardiner.
The Goon did well to fight its way back into the contest, with Trent Armour, Eamon Trigg and Harry Brain among its better contributors.
The Goon doesn’t have the luxury of bringing the painters, decorators and landscapers in just yet; with upcoming games against Cora Lynn (1), Garfield (10) and Phillip Island (2) to determine its finishing position.
