By JARROD POTTER
VWFL – DIVISION 1 GRAND FINAL
TWO seasons of turmoil on and off the field have galvanised the Cranbourne Women’s Football Club and helped ensure its march towards a Division 1 grand final showdown on Sunday.
After finishing last in the 2014 Division 1 competition – following a difficult season of transition from Berwick to Cranbourne for a number of players – the stability of a proper pre-season this time around has pushed on the young Eagles’ group.
The rebuild has been difficult, but Cranbourne coach Kris Smith believes it’s a club-wide culture that the women have slotted into and they hope to carry on the success the men’s club has sustained throughout the years.
“It’s been a changing year for us,” Smith said.
“Last year was that we were chucked in the deep end and we had to hope for the best, but this year planned and organised and the girls are really a part of the club now.
“We were only just sort of new around there last year and now this year we’re part of the furniture and have great support from the men’s part of the club.
“If you look at the footy club as a whole – the men’s have had plenty of success over the years – it’s infectious and we want to build on what has been created.”
The Eagles will battle long-time cross Knox, who knocked off Seaford in a four-point thriller on Sunday.
It’s been a storied rivalry between the Eagles and Falcons – which extends back to the clubs’ days as Berwick and Scoresby respectively – and Smith thinks having seen a lot of their best throughout the years will serve the club well from the first bounce.
“There are a lot of players in the team that have been there, as the rivalry goes back to 2008,” Smith said.
“Back when we were Berwick and Scoresby then Scoresby went to Knox and the Berwick girls came across to Cranny.
“Got a lot of new players and fresh faces – the ones that have been around a while like Mel Kuys, Al Downie, Amy Mccormack – we know their games pretty well and we’ve prepared the best we can.”
The toughest on-field challenge for Cranbourne will be negating Knox’s ruck Alison Downie – who is a WNBL basketball champion and one of the toughest opponents throughout the VWFL ranks.
It will fall to Eagles’ rising star ruck Cara Moody to shoulder the workload against Downie and Smith thinks the young spring heel has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the champion sporting all-rounder.
“I firmly believe – and if you look at the last month of footy – I think she’s the best tap ruckman in the league,” Smith said about Moody’s prowess.
“When she played (Seaford’s Katherine) Gillepsie-Jones, she pulled her pants down, North Geelong with Maddie Boyd – beat her comfortably too.
“Al Downie is probably one of the best all-round ruckman – tapping and around the ground – so that will be the test.”
Moody will have a fleet of elite midfielders under the taps with Tess McEvoy, Hayley Wildes, Bianca Jakobsson among others who have been sensational at the fall of the ball.
Smith puts it down to organisation and the team’s rotations.
“We’ve done a lot of work at training at being organised,” Smith said.
“If you go in with a star studded midfield and the structure isn’t right, you won’t go anywhere.
“Although it’s those four, we’ve got eight that can go in and play that role and get the job done.”
Cranbourne lost first-year on-the-rise midfielder Bree Phelps to a season-ending knee injury but otherwise go in with a full complement of Eagles to pick.
The VWFL Division 1 grand final starts Sunday at noon, at Coburg City Oval.
