Defender dismisses any move
HE is in high demand, but star Modewarre defender Matt Farrelly says he is going nowhere after tasting the spoils of a premiership.
As flag celebrations continue for the Warriors, former Geelong and Bendigo VFL listed Farrelly has made his intentions clear.
“I can’t see myself leaving,” he said.
“I’m from Echuca, so to win a flag for Echuca would be a massive feat. But I’m rapt with being at Modewarre and can’t see myself leaving in the near future.”
Having turned his back on a VFL career to help bring success to Modewarre, he felt Saturday’s drought-breaking premiership was a “reward” for commitment.
“VFL is time-consuming and it consumed a lot of my earlier years of living,” he said.
“Playing here, it’s a lot more relaxed and I’ve had a bit more fun and I’m just enjoying it.
“It just lifted a bit of weight off my shoulders and I’m really happy I got this success because it’s not easy to step away from a high level.”
Winning an under-16 premiership, Farrelly has endured lean times with the Cats and Bendigo Gold, who was in the VFL. But it matters little now. “Playing into two grand finals and winning one is definitely the pinnacle,” he said.
“I definitely thought we’d be here. Earlier in the year, we were struggling, that’s no lie. But we’ve worked our arse off to get here and I knew on the day that we could beat them.”
Part of a strong defensive unit, Farrelly paid tribute to veteran Seamus Orr, who returned after a season off to bolster the back six.
“I think Orry’s massive for our backline,” Farrelly said.
“He’s spent a lot of time at Essendon and Geelong and he knows the systems, and he probably sets us up, instructively, the best.
“Then you’ve got blokes likes ‘Sturzy’ (Daniel Sturzaker), ‘ Morgs’ (Morgan Fenton), ‘Ritta’ ( James Ritchie), they all just compete and do exactly what you need them to do and that allows me, ‘Clarkey’ (Jacob Clark) to just run off when we can and create.
“So it’s a dynamic backline and we fit in perfectly.”