Feathers set to fly. Narre’s Aaron McIver and Cranny’s Matt Thompson were at each others throats last time these two teams met in July and will be back at it again in Saturday’s grand final. 68201 Picture: Donna Oates
By Mark Gullick
AFTER 21 weeks of football, the two giants of the Casey Cardinia league remain.
Cranbourne went through the season undefeated and cruised into the grand final via a 112-point demolition of Berwick.
Narre Warren did it the hard way, having to play every week of the finals to qualify.
Each team is buoyant about their chances, but respectful of their opponents.
“They’re a super team, a super club, fifth grand final in six years, they know how to get the business done,” Cranbourne coach Doug Koop said.
“People are saying, Cranbourne, no worries, but we’re expecting a really, really tough game from an outstanding competitor. They’ve proven over the last two weeks that they’re a very, very good side and you’ve got to play well to beat them.”
The Eagles, spurned by last year’s disappointment, have played stunning football.
“We learnt from last year’s debacle that you have to show intensity early in the game, and (against Berwick) we topped off that intensity with accuracy in front of goals, which gave us the start we were looking for,” Koop said.
“Hopefully, we can replicate that this weekend. Last year has got a bit of motivation for our blokes about how we finished (the season). We base our game on team effort and everyone making a contribution.”
Narre Warren’s incredible finals culture ensures they have another chance at the flag.
“Make no mistake, they’ve been the best side over the course of the year,” Narre Warren coach Chris Toner said.
“But it isn’t a game of tennis, it’s not best-of-three, it’s best-of-one, and we’re getting our chance.”
Cranbourne smashed Narre Warren by 71 points in round 3 and by 57 points in round 14, but that final margin was misleading.
The Magpies held a five-goal lead midway through the third term before the Eagles stormed home … and each coach gleaned a lot of intelligence about their players that day.
“We felt at different stages of that game that we had a chance,” Toner said.
“They were too good then, and I think our boys got a little bit of stage fright. We were playing very strongly and then we thought, gee, we’re in front, and took the foot off the pedal a little bit.”
Koop said that his players took a lot from the win.
“That gave us belief that our game plan works,” he said.
“Up to halfway through the third-quarter, we were doing individual things and the guys started to knuckle down and do the things we need to do to win.”
While there are plenty of big names on show, each club is proud that their team is composed of local players.
“Apart from (Caleb) Tiller, we’ve got pretty much the same side as last year when Narre whopped us,” Koop said.
“They’re a finals experienced side and they play with a lot of passion and desire and they never, ever lie down.”
Toner said Cranbourne’s experience is a telling factor.
“They’re very experienced, with an average age of 25, 26,” Toner said.
“They’ve got a lot of players in that age group and they’ve been very good players for a very long period. The really good thing about it is that both sides are very local.
“Cranbourne are as local as Narre Warren – we’ve got one player that didn’t play juniors with us and they’re very similiar. It shows that if you’ve got your juniors in the right place, then you can play grand finals at senior level.”
Each team has concerns at the selection table.
Lively Eagles forward Michael Theodoridis and versatile Magpies key position Lee Boyle are in serious doubt for the clash after sustaining injuries on preliminary final day.
Incredibly, their respective coaches give them a chance to play.
“I’m not playing games, but he was walking around after the (Berwick) game and has every chance of playing this weekend,” Toner said of Boyle.
“Obviously, he came off on a stretcher, so it looked pretty serious, but the boys went to the pool straight after the game and started recovery and he was with them. He’s important to our structure, being an inter league and team-of-the-year type player.”
Koop believes Theodoridis, who broke into the side halfway through the year and played well in the forward line, might play.
“It’s either a collarbone or an arm injury,” Koop said.
“If it’s his collarbone, he’s a rough chance that he might be able to play.”
