Modewarre’s tough wait
BFL Grubbers’ hard lesson
MODEWARRE will sweat on the outcome of multiple injuries and a report on star big man Daniel Sturzaker after booking its place in the semi final against Barwon Heads.
The Warriors limped over the line against Ocean Grove in Portarlington yesterday, with three injury concerns in the 47-point win.
Modewarre playing coach Josh Finch was last night admitted to Geelong’s Epworth Hospital for stitches inside his mouth following a head knock.
Finch’s teammate Tom Worpel was knocked out in an incident that will be examined by AFL Barwon’s Match Review Panel, while Luke Forbes battled knee soreness.
To make matters worse, Sturzaker was offered a two-match ban for striking the Grubbers’ Travis Gavin in a fiery elimination final.
Speaking under a little duress post match, Finch said he would require treatment with his gums detached from his lip. “I had two guys land on me in the contest, there was nothing untoward about it,” Finch said.
“It was just really awkward. I landed face first on the ground and split my lip.
“I can’t feel my jaw and it’s just stinging.
“It’s not something that will stop me playing a game of footy or (playing) next week, it was just an awkward injury.”
Forbes, who had ice on his knee post match, was taken from the ground for precautionary measures.
“Again, it’s a no risk policy,” Finch said of Forbes.
“He just landed (awkwardly) and it was a jarred knee. We were up by 30-odd points at that stage, so there was no point him continuing.
“He’ll be fine. We’ll rest him up and get him through.”
Worpel copped a knock “off the ball”, according to Finch, in the third quarter and played no further part in the game.
“It was concussion, but what do you do?” Finch said.
“We’ll get a doctor’s report and see if he’s available to play.”
Sturzaker faces a nervous wait, having allegedly struck Gavin in the second quarter.
“I was there and I didn’t see much in the incident, but I can’t comment,” Finch said.
“It looked like he retaliated because Trav gave him a knock first and that’s generally what happens, the retaliator gets seen. We’ll deal with it during the week.”
Finch said he was pleased with the performance of his side, who answered a host of challenges from Ocean Grove.
“It felt like we controlled the first 10-15 minutes of the game, but in the second half of the quarter they got on top,” Finch said.
“We stemmed the flow in the second and had a really productive quarter and set the foundations for the rest of the game. We won the next three quarters pretty convincingly.
“Our team defence was really good and our ball movement was good as well.” “TOO big, too strong, too good”.
That’s how Ocean Grove coach Paul Lynch rated Modewarre, who ended the Grubbers’ finals campaign with a 47-point thumping yesterday.
Lynch was full of praise for the rampant Warriors, who overcame an eight-point deficit early in the clash to cruise into the semi-finals.
“I thought we outplayed them in the first quarter, but then they got a little bit of supply on the outside and hurt us,” Lynch said.
“Their outside players are really dangerous and they move the ball well.”
Visibly disappointed to be outed in week one of the finals, Lynch said he was pleased with the Grubbers’ season.
“Internally, we’re realists and we didn’t think we were quite good enough,” he said.
“We thought if we progressed deep into the finals it would be a little bit of a fluke. We probably need a few more players and to develop a few more.
“We thought we were the third, fourth or fifth-best side in it, so we’ve been realistic about where we are as a footy club.
“We need to develop from within and get a little bit better.”
Ocean Grove’s elimination final performance was indicative of its season: flashy and brilliant at times but inconsistent across the board.
“We’ve had some really good games where we’ve beaten good sides, but (consistency) comes with age and experience. You become a hardened football side and that’s probably one thing we’re not at the moment,” he said.
“We play up one week and we’re no good the next.”
Star Kelly Williams played little part in the match after half-time with a hip injury, while key-position player Matt Caldow also played under duress.