Who will win final battle between Crocs, Cutters?
WAYNE SHARKIE FOR both the Crocs and the Cutters, this is the culmination of successful seasons where they were clearly the two standout sides.
Both have solid and classy on-ball brigades that can win them plenty of clearances and both have potent forward setups that have kicked them winning scores all season.
So apart from stating the obvious and saying that whoever wins the midfield and stoppage battle wins the game, I’ve chosen to look at how both coaches might approach this game to ensure themselves the ultimate prize in 2019.
Port Douglas coach Brad Cooper will be thinking about getting his side up early, as it’s been the first quarters that have set up their only two losses of the season and against the Cutters they can’t afford to let their challengers gain the early momentum.
They will double-team Jake Roach all day to ensure he doesn’t get clean ball to his midfield, but Port should be starting with their best three clearance players in the middle of the ground to get themselves first use once the ball hits the ground.
After that, Cooper will be focused on making sure that the South Cairns running brigade can’t get outside his men into the wide open spaces of Cazaly Stadium as it was there that they looked most threatening two weeks ago.
Once Port shut down the outside run, they were able to take control of the game, so Cooper will be focused on making sure they control the outside of the contest and squeeze the Cutters into more pressured situations to create turnovers and make life easier for his back six to contain Paul Smith, James Dixon, Josh Barnett and Daniel Lock.
As funny as it may sound, a game with slower ball movement suits the Crocs better than the Cutters and they will always find the right time to break free given the number of talented runners they have at their disposal.
South coach John Tootell will be pointing out that the Cutters have been able to take it up to Port for long periods in every game and urging his men to push themselves just that little longer because their best is good enough.
The question is whether they can play at that level for long enough against an opposition that never stops believing it can win and will continue to Storm coach Wayne Bellamy on the Broncos pokies crisis Saturday:
10.30AM Women’s: North Cairns v Cairns Saints
12.15PM Reserves: South Cairns v Manunda Hawks
2.45PM Seniors: Port Douglas v South Cairns push them no matter what the scoreboard is telling them.
It will be critical for the Cutters to put some time into the Port link men in Josh Mawson, Ash Davidson and Josh Lea as the run and carry that they can generate is what gives the talent-laden Port Douglas forward line the one-on-one match-ups that they crave and the open spaces to lead into.
The balance for Tootell between giving his players the freedom to play fast and loose and their accountability is critical, as this is where Souths can win the game, but it may come at the expense of a high score against them if the Crocs runners get going first and the momentum is all with the blue and white.
The two players that loom large as game-changers for me in the Cutters camp are Jermaine Wardle and Nabako Stow.
Stow sets up a lot of attacking play off half back and he has the ability to transition from defence to attack quickly.
Should Tootell let Stow play his natural game or is he the perfect lockdown on 2019 leading goal-kicker Adam Gross from the Crocs?
Gross had a quiet semi-final but hasn’t had two quiet ones in a row all season and he will surely loom large in the thinking of the Cutters’ selection panel.
Getting the right match-ups against Port is the key to winning, but what’s the cost when one of those is your best play maker?
If Stow does go to Gross, Tootell may be tempted to free up big Wardle and throw him through the midfield more to combat the two guys hammering away at Roach.
I’d love to see a Wardle and Daniel Moore matchup through the midfield and it’s here that a difference could be made as the game wears on.
Wardle had a terrific game in the preliminary and if he can produce that form up the ground again, the Cutters will be in the contest long enough to give Cooper some headaches.
Overall, my feeling is that to win, South Cairns need to give Port Douglas a few things that they haven’t seen before and catch them on the hop.
Port have shown that if the game is played the same way as most games this season, they’re the best team in it, so I’m looking South to see if there’s any surprises in store.
My tip is that Port Douglas will be raising the cup for the fourth time in succession but that there will be a few twists and turns before it’s all over.
Wayne Sharkie is the senior coach of AFL Cairns club Centrals Trinity Beach Bulldogs.