JONTY: Welcome to another episode of Let’s Talk Sport, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day for footy on Saturday, Marcus, what was the best action you saw?
MARCUS: On the topic of sun shining and fast ball movement, my best action is a bit unique. Tom Hillard from Pakenham, he rushed a behind under pressure, then wrapped his arm around the goalpost and slung himself back into play so he didn’t lose momentum when he crossed the line. He hit a defender at halfback who hit Jake Thompson at half forward and within 10 seconds they had gone from deep under pressure in their backline to kicking an important goal early in the last quarter.
JONTY: That sounds like nice work from Hillard, what about you Dave?
DAVE: Thanks Jonty, and hello to all the mums out there, we hope you had a great Mother’s Day on Sunday. Last year, Tooradin won the premiership in West Gippsland. Until the weekend, they were 3-1 but they weren’t playing very well. They were a bit flat. If they averaged 80 point victories against some teams last year, they were probably winning by 35 this year, that sort of thing, not disastrous but noticeable. My best action was seeing them reinvent themselves. They just shuffled things around and the whole theme of the day was Tooradin 2.0…they’re trying to recharge the batteries. It was fascinating to watch. Adam Oxley, the star halfback of the competition stayed forward a lot more. It wasn’t little pieces of the puzzle, it was a pretty significant restructuring. I also have to give a big shout-out to Steph Grentell from the Pakenham women’s team. She copped the best falcon I have ever seen in my life. A girl picked up the ball and slammed it into her face from two metres away and it echoed around the ground. She came off, had a blood nose and said ‘Kenny, wipe the blood off my nose, I’m going back out there!’…great stuff Steph, that was second best thing I saw on the weekend. Not the falcon…the courage.
JONTY: I’m going to give a shout out to Jesse Naylor from Hampton Park, he played his first game of the season in the ones. He started in the reserves after being a promising player last season but some players went past him at the start of the year. He played an important negating role in the first half and then dislocated his shoulder so missed a large chunk of the second half and it was really obvious. The player he had kept quiet came into the action and was able to give Murrumbeena a bit of run and that contributed to the result in a nine-point margin. He didn’t do anything eye-catching but was disciplined to work his way into the team and play a role.
DAVE: How old Jonty?
JONTY: I’d say early twenties.
DAVE: Sounds like he had a real impact playing a pretty tough role.
JONTY: Yeah, he did, but the full impact wasn’t noticeable until he went off…his role was significant.
VFL PROSPECTS
JONTY: I have a fair few players I want to reel off, I’m not sure about you, so I’ll throw it open: who from your competitions do you think could play VFL footy?
DAVE: That’s a very broad question mate, because so many players have the talent, but not the desire to take it further. But on pure talent, I’ll name a few.
Hayden Bruce: He’s from Phillip Island and stands out with his blonde hair and he’s really quick and explosive. A left footer that stands out when he gets the ball. I could see him playing a higher level of footy, he reminds me of Jimmy Trezise last year at Tooradin. He’s got jumping beans in his legs and just does explosive things. He kicked a goal a few weeks back that was quite incredible.
Nathan Voss: A Kooweerup boy, he’s only in his mid-20’s I’d say and he has a heap of talent. He loves his mates at Kooweerup but he’s six foot three and can play any position. If he dedicated himself and got himself as fit as he could be, I reckon he could be a VFL player.
Taylor Gibson: He’s 28 or something like that from Kilcunda-Bass. He loves the country lifestyle, he’s six foot four, plays centre-half-forward and can pick it up off the ground like a rover. Kicked 10 last week in his first game of the season and had another five on the weekend.
But Jonty, this topic reminds me of Michael Tuck. He didn’t used to like it when people said ‘this bloke could’ve done this, he could’ve done that.’ He’d say ‘but he didn’t’. To be an AFL player, you need talent, dedication, character, sacrifice, so these blokes we see have identified definitely have one aspect but maybe not some others. And there’s probably 10 others that you need beside pure talent.
JONTY: The other thing to point out is that it’s one thing to kick 10 goals at local level but when you go to VFL/AFL and need to empty out, have those running patterns and that sort of thing, it may not be conducive.
MARCUS: Connor Smith: Wandin has a star-studded midfield so I could probably name five or six from there. Smith finished second in the Eastern Ranges best and fairest last season, he trained with the Western Bulldogs in preseason. His issue is size, he’s only 173cm. His coach Nick Adam has said if he was three centimetres taller, he would have been drafted. He’s a speedy in-and-under midfielder.
Harry Van Duuren: Another Wandin Bulldog. He was a state athletics competitor in 800 metres as a junior so I think that’s a trait that will separate him as well as being a good footballer, he finished top five in Wandin’s best and fairest last season.
Patty Bruzzese: Another midfielder from Wandin and another class act. Silky smooth ball user who has played plenty of senior footy now, despite being in his early 20s. Came second in the league best-and-fairest last year behind Jake Richardson, but another whose size my count against him.
Lachlan Benson: Ruck/key forward from Narre Warren who has the mobility to be considered a legitimate player at either position. Moves well for a big man.
Tom Nelson: He’s at Berwick Springs. He’s trained at Coburg, his older brother plays at Coburg and younger brother is at the Stingrays. Tom is copping a bit of attention from talent scouts. Even though he’s in Division One, he’s putting his name forward. Took another hanger on the weekend.
DAVE: Another player I want to mention is Lewis Hill, he’s listed at Richmond VFL and got shuffled around on the weekend. He went into the midfield and did really well for Tooradin.
JONTY: Matt Wetering: A Springy Districts player, played Collingwood VFL last year, there’s no doubt he could do it again as a target inside 50 if he wanted to. Two bags of seven already this year at local level.
Makaio Haywood: A Hampton Park player, a young talent coming through, classy and polished in the midfield and a graduate of the renowned Rowville Sports Academy.
Lochie Benton and Lachie Lamble: The Dingley boys. I’ve spoken about how highly a lot of opposition teams rate Benton who has played GWS VFL and Sandringham Dragons. Lamble has the pace and x-factor and flair on the outside – my favourite Division One Southern player to watch.
Tyson Barry: Small forward from Cranbourne with all the tricks, speed and goal sense. Trained at Casey in preseason.
Simon Marchese: Lauded for his professionalism and loves his footy. Hasn’t been an absolute standout but it’s been an emotional start to the season for Keysborough, expect his dedication to pay off long term.
Brodie Howie: They reckon he’ll play a lot of senior footy for them, it’s hard to judge having seen him only twice but he’s not afraid to crack in and you see glimpses he’ll be very good at this level at least.
WEATHER
JONTY: Next topic, the team in your competition who’s best to worst varies the most dependent on the weather.
MARCUS: I think Gembrook-Cockatoo would benefit from wet weather. They’re really physical but not top-heavy, a bunch of big bodies you’d want at the contest in the wet. It wasn’t wet specifically last week but the ball was still slippery. Michael Firrito was one-touch, you could tell he had played at the elite level for over a decade. Gembrook-Cockatoo wouldn’t get pushed off the ball in slippery conditions. Conversely, Pakenham need dry weather on their side to be at their best. Their ground in Toomuc is bigger than a lot of the grounds you’ll get in the Yarra Valley and they’re struggling to score in general. Missing Matt Debruin up forward has hurt, wet weather makes it more difficult to score so Pakenham will be hoping the rain stays away in 2023. They played really well in patches on Saturday and their best footy relies on quick ball movement.
DAVE: The best footballers get better in the wet when it comes down to the basics. I think the good teams just win by less in wet weather. Warragul Industrials are a top six team who don’t probably have the overall skill level and pace of the other five teams so if it stays tight and defensive, it suits them.
JONTY: Hampton Park, it’s known they don’t have a heap of height so they have to play a certain way when they advance it forward. Combined with the fact that their defenders are dour, they don’t offer a lot on rebound. They just get it out of there which you can get away with in the wet. In the wet you can get it to ground more easily which allows their smalls to get to work rather than have repeat entries against them. Conversely, Dingley have become a team which like to transition the ball and in the wet that can make you susceptible to turnover, it obviously becomes a territory-first game. Anyway, it’s an interesting discussion. Good to chat as always boys, and hopefully we get another cracking weekend of footy.
