Miracles do happen
Glenorchy coach PAUL KENNEDY shares his views on today’s TSL grand final
ON September 24, 2016, I sat in the Elephant & Wheelbarrow in Melbourne watching the AFL preliminary final classic between the GWS Giants and Western Bulldogs.
When Toby Greene put GWS 14 points ahead in the final term I turned to my father and uttered: “Fairytales don’t usually come true in sports, do they?”
Of course, what happened next is now Bulldogs folklore, as their dreams did become a reality. And today at UTas Stadium, Lauderdale fans will be hoping for a similar run of finals magic.
Aside from their faithful though, few believe Darren Winter’s men can do it — not because they aren’t a quality team, but because North Launceston is.
The Northern Bombers have all the ingredients for finals success — experience, physical strength, versatility, X-factor and a core playing group that knows each other well. But Lauderdale has those ingredients too.
Experience? They will field a team with 15 players over the age of 22.
Strength? Haydn Smith, Thor Boscott, Phil Bellchambers and Jacob Gillbee give a physical presence that tests any opposition.
Versatility? Toutai Havea, Boscott and Bellchambers are interchangeable between the middle and forward, Ben McGuinness and Ryan Wiggins are genuine bookends at either end, and Josh McGuinness can play anywhere.
X-factor? Boscott, Tim Mosquito and Henry Kerinaiua don’t need much football to do serious scoreboard damage.
A core playing group? Bryce Walsh, Alex Hill, Robbie McManus and Bellchambers featured in the club’s first finals campaign in 2012, joined by Wiggins, Boscott, Josh McGuinness and Alex Hevey a year later. Yet despite all that, Lauderdale’s experienced midfield must go to another level around the contest, because their corridor-centric forward set-up relies heavily on direct movement through the middle of the ground.
It’s worked at times this year — they’ve won three of their past eight quarters against North Launceston, outscoring them 15 goals to six in those 90 minutes.
But when that direct movement doesn’t occur, questions remain about their ability to consistently take the ball the length of the ground.
No TSL team works harder than North Launceston to lock the ball inside the forward line, nor harder to help defenders rebound opposition forays. No backline provides better runand-carry and no midfield consistently wins more ball in all corners of the ground.
The workrate of Josh Ponting, Mark Walsh, Taylor Whitford, Brad Cox-Goodyer, Jordan Cousens and Co, combined with their knowledge of Alex Lee’s underrated ruck work, is perhaps what most makes them clear favourites for their fourth flag in five years.
The ability of forwards like Tom Bennett, Bart McCulloch, Dakota Banister, Tom Couch and Cox-Goodyer to lead-up at their midfielders will test Lauderdale’s defence.
The individual match-ups favour North Launceston, no question, meaning the southern Bombers need Boscott, Bellchambers, Nat Franklin and Rhys Sutton to win a lion’s share of ball around the contest so they can play the game in their own territory.
If that happens, then maybe Kerinaiua, Mosquito, Wiggins and Boscott can kick Lauderdale to victory. In the eyes of many, it would be as famous and unlikely a win as the Bulldogs’ effort two years ago.