Ending finals drought
Clark says side will have ‘red hot go’
THERE is a giant sense of deja vu in Geelong West’s bid for a long-awaited finals berth.
In 2013, West was sitting sixth with four rounds to go, after a swift climb up the table from the lower rungs of the GDFL ladder in 2012.
This year, West is again in sixth spot with four rounds to go, after again dragging itself off the canvas from last year’s winless season to be in the finals mix.
Under then-coach Nick Washington in 2013, West was fifth on the ladder going in to the final round of the season, only to lose and slip out.
“It would be nice to win the last four for a start, but basically this week, we’re just going to go out and give it a red hot shot (against Inverleigh),” coach Andrew Clark said.
“If we win, that’s a bonus, but if not, we then have Corio out at Corio, so we’ll just keep winning and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”
Key defender Rob Harding is set to return to the side after straining his calf against Bell Post Hill two weeks ago.
His assignment will be Inverleigh spearhead Jak Kennedy-Hunt, who is closing in on the century with 98 goals.
“I think he will be good to go for this week, but if anyone reading this has a recipe to stop him (Kennedy-Hunt), please let me know,” Clark said with a laugh.
“Realistically, we just need to restrict his supply coming out of the middle, so if that kick is under pressure he’s not getting it lace out.
“Hopefully we can at least keep him to one goal and then he kicks the century the following week (against Anakie).”
Geelong West’s 62-point runaway victory on Saturday was the club’s biggest win since Round 18, 2014, and justice for a side that lost four games by a combined margin of 10 points after a string of agonisingly close losses this season.
“We butchered a lot of the footy in the second quarter, so in the third term we were able to rectify that,” Clark said.
“At three-quarter time we mentioned that we had been in that situation too many times this year and how we desperately needed to carry on and secure the 10-goal win.”
While the hamstring injury of Michael Blain made a sour note, joining Tyson Stott, Tyson Doherty and Aaron O’Callaghan on the injury list, there were still highlights.
Brayden Mitchell enhanced his chances of a potential selection in the GDFL team of the year with five goals.
He has now booted 14 goals in the past three weeks, moving between the forward and midfield.
“Brayden Mitchell is probably the first on the track every Tuesday and Thursday night, he’s worked really hard this year and he deserves all the credit he gets,” Clark said.
“We’re not too sure how much we’ll put him in the middle next week against Inverleigh, if we can get the ball forward obviously he’s the reliable target in his recent form.”