Vicars’ classy response to Bannockburn grand final axing

BRAYDEN Vicars walked up to Peter Riccardi on Sunday morning and gave him a hug.

The pressure forward didn’t really need to say anything — the action said it all.

Vicars and speedster Callum Hetherington were the two players dropped from Bannockburn’s starting 22 on Friday night, making way for Alex Hyslop and Matt Tyquin to come into Sunday’s GDFL Grand Final.

It was a decision Riccardi struggled with, and one the two players undoubtably found hard to comprehend.

But come Sunday, both players were at The Gordon TAFE Oval cheering on their teammates to a droughtbreaking flag.

“I said to them on Friday that there was no easy way to say that you’re not playing. They were disappointed,” Riccardi said. “They pretty much left straight away after the team meeting on Friday night. I sent a text (to Brayden) and said, ‘In your own time, give me a call and we’ll have a chat’.

“He called me up Saturday afternoon and we had a bit of a chat. He said he felt better after having that chat.

“The first thing he did on Sunday was come up and give me a hug before the game. It goes to prove the lad he is.”

Both Vicars and Hetherington had found themselves in and out of the Bannockburn team by finals time.

Vicars injured his shoulder in the qualifying final win over Werribee Centrals, but was recalled for the preliminary final; while Hetherington, who enjoyed a breakout 2019, missed the opening two finals after going on a family trip to Bali.

The holiday was booked before the speedy Hetherington had cemented himself in the senior team.

Riccardi spent yesterday morning watching a replay of Sunday’s premiership win over the Tigers and then caught up with his players in the afternoon to watch it again.

The Geelong Cats great admitted it still had not sunk in that he was a premiership-winning coach.

“That second half, the boys’ will and want to get to contest after contest was amazing,” Riccardi reflected.

“Just watching that, you could see that they really wanted to win.

“Our plan was to stop their uncontested marks, especially across half-back.

“I watched footage and footage and footage, and all I could pick up was not giving them uncontested marks because they get to a point on the ground and then go quick into the forward line.

“They took eight in the first, third and fourth quarter and 20 in the second quarter where they got on top of us.

“Halfway through the third quarter and the fourth quarter, they were un-Thomson-like. They were dump kicking it and that’s when I thought we had them rattled.

“It just goes to show that when you put any side under pressure then they crack.”