Time to draw the line

By Peter Sweeney
LEIGH Matthews – arguably the greatest player to pull on footy boots – reckons he has got more chance of playing AFL than Brendan Fevola has of returning to the top level.
Time, often the only and usually the best decider of so much in life, will tell if ‘Lethal’s’ right.
But if the Matthews comment doesn’t inspire ‘Fev’ to get fighting fit, then probably nothing will.
Fev must know he has got a face which is easily recognised. And he must know people like watching him. And talking about him.
Sometimes they tell the truth, sometimes they throw as much into a yarn as an Italian grandmother does into her favourite recipe.
In other words, what happens on this side of the white line can hurt a bloke much more than what happens on the other side.
Such is the case with Fev. He has self-destructed on this side of the footy field; now he has another chance, the last, to show he can reignite himself where he performs best.
If he does or not, only time, there we go again, will tell.
In his short stay at the Casey Scorpions, Fev has already done something for the Cranbourne East based VFL club.
There was a fair chance a lot of people hadn’t heard about the Scorpions until three weeks ago. Since then, they’ve been saturated with Scorpion stories.
“That’s certainly true … and it has been good for the club,” coach Bradley Gotch, who leads his charges into battle in 2011 against the Geelong Falcons at Casey Fields on Saturday night, said. (Coincidentally, the two sides played in the opening match of last year at the same ground).
Gotch said Fevola still had a “lot of work” to do before he made his debut with the Scorpions.
“It’s not just about kicking goals. There’s also chasing, tackling, setting up play,” Gotch said.
“I think for Brendan to get the respect of the group, he would be better in the reserves for a bit.
“I have to treat him as I treat any player. He hasn’t always made the right decisions and we are there to help him.”
Gotch – a terrier when he played the game, when his heart was as big as his body – is excited, but wary, of the new season.
Excited, because he believes his club has the right methodology and are playing the right way.
Wary, because the season will start minus many experienced players. “I think we’re on the right track,” Gotch said.
“We lost our two finals last year by 11 and 30 points. They were the two closest finishes in the finals and we weren’t far away.
“In the second final, we went in without half of our Melbourne (AFL) squad players, with a first-gamer and blokes who had only played two, three or four games.
“And I was pleased with our final practice game last Saturday against Port Melbourne.
“I think they (Port) will be the team to beat this year and we got to within three goals after a few lapses. But the signs were encouraging.”
Gotch is wary, because injuries have already made enormous inroads – and his starting line-up will be far from full strength. “(Evan) Panazzo, (Danny) Nicholls and probably (Michael) Stockdale will miss weeks,” Gotch said.
“And we have lost the services of (Ben) McCreadie and the Melbourne trio of Miller, Hughes and Cheney. But we have recruited a crop of good, local kids, and we have developing youngsters who will have a chance to stand up.”
Summing up, Gotch believes the second half of the season will tell the story of success, or otherwise, for the Scorpions in 2011.
“That’s when we should have everybody fit and firing on the park,” he said.
And, hopefully, for his sake and the fancy of footy fans, that will include Fev.