McSparron says grand final heartbreak will galvanise his group
COLAC coach Rowan McSparron insists his side won’t be scarred by a gutwrenching, last-gasp grand final defeat, confident it will galvanise the group.
As he continues to agonise over the Nick Connors matchwinner that sunk Colac with two seconds left, McSparron is adamant his side can overcome the mental demons.
Although it won’t be easy, McSparron says, with his players still coming to terms with the dramatic two-point loss on September 21.
“You never forget McSparron said.
“That’s as brutal as it gets … that,” two seconds (left) and it decides a grand final. The footy gods weren’t on our side.
“As I said on grand final day, we didn’t get that 50-50 chance, it all went against us.”
In a dramatic final term, Colac took the lead for the first time at the 20-minute mark and appeared destined for glory when holding a fourpoint buffer beyond the 30minute mark.
But the Saints, staring down the barrel of a fourth-successive grand final defeat, willed themselves over the line with an inspirational finish, culminating in Connors’ heroic goal from outside 50m.
Weeks on, McSparron was still grappling with a handful of intense moments where St Mary’s seemingly had the rub of the green.
In a tough run of events for the Tigers, Lochie Veale pulled the ball out of the ruck at the river end of the ground and snapped towards goal in a bid to give his side an important six-point buffer, only for the ball to go out on the full and keep the margin under a goal.
With just seconds remaining, Dean Felekos desperately soccered the ball out of defence, only for it to hit the umpire and bounce into the arms of Saint Jarryd Garner. He handpassed to Doug Bond, who booted the ball to the teeth of the goals, only for it to be touched on the line by a desperate Lachie Simpkin.
Holding a four-point lead at the kick out, Simpkin drove the ball long down the line to ruckmen Veale and Zach Zdybel, with Colac well placed to shut the contest down.
Tyler Murnane was poised to collect the ball and make a crucial clearing kick, only for it to bounce on its head and allow Tom Lang to tap it into the path of Connors, who streamed forward and iced the grand final with a booming right-foot kick.
But they weren’t the only moments that will leave the Tigers shaking their heads.
“Travis Woodmason gets hit after the kick and nine times out of 10 it’s down the ground and they (umpires) brought it back to the 50,” McSparron said.
“Jarryn McCormack is in the hands of the trainers and the (St Mary’s) player takes about half a dozen steps and Jarryn tackles him and he throws it out and it’s play on. All those things that don’t go your way and it can have a big impact, but to be brutally honest, it was the first 25 minutes that cost us, not the last five.”
Despite the heartbreak, McSparron remains bullish his players can put the devastation behind them.
“You’ll always have it in the memory bank, but the boys have confidence that they can compete in big games on the big stage,” he said.