Soul search sparks club
AFTER 20 years as Surfers Paradise president, Tony McPhail had finally run out of answers.
Despaired and dejected following Surfers’ slide into the Greater Brisbane League (GBL) abyss, McPhail came to a crossroads at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
Stay patient or seize the moment. In the end, the decision was all but made for him.
With now-coach Matt Corbitt and assistants Kevin Fenn and Scott Hillier presenting their case to the club committee, McPhail took notice.
“We got to a situation where the three guys said that they thought we were headed in the wrong direction. They put it to me and the committee to say they thought they could do a better job,” McPhail said.
“We had an open meeting with the coaches, previous coaches and some old heads on the field and we put it to everyone to talk about the new direction and we went from there.
“The three guys between him, Matt and Kevin and Scott, were really the instigators for the season. The boys were happy to put their hand up and do the work.”
And so the transformation began.
Second-last in 2016-17, the Bluewave now stand on the brink of a GBL fairytale ahead of tonight’s championship decider against a Windsor side chasing a record-equalling sixth-straight crown.
In a David v Goliath battle, the star-studded Royals took game one of the series 11-6 on Friday before Surfers showed their grit with a come-frombehind, 10th-inning 5-4 win on Sunday.
Key to the Bluewave’s revival have been American imports Jerry Lacayo, Sam Brunner and Ozzy Braff, who stand as symbols of the club’s new direction.
“(At the start of the season) we changed the club view that we didn’t have to boost our stocks with import players. We had to change from waiting for our juniors to get better over time, which was going to take too long and possibly lose them because we weren’t going to be in a (pennant) winning position.
“Part of (the Americans’) deal was the requirement for them to coach the kids in under-14s and below. They’ve jumped at it, it’s been absolutely fantastic.
“I didn’t expect (the turnaround) to happen this quickly but I’m ecstatic and so proud of what the players and coaches have been able to do, even if they don’t win a thing.
“We’ve now got a stepping stone for the future again.”