FATHER, SON SET FOR GFL FACE-OFF:
ROWAN McSparron jokes he has his lines prepared and son Wade is ready to give some lip to his old man.
The two will be the fourth father-son pair from opposition clubs to feature in the same GFL match when the Colac coach and his Bell Park defender son meet each other at Hamlyn Park on Saturday.
Wade came around for a family dinner on Sunday night but Rowan kept the banter up his sleeve.
“I’ve got to be careful otherwise (wife) Bianca will give me a clip over the ear if I get too cheeky with Wade. I’ve got to be mindful of that,” Rowan said.
There’s been three occasions in the GFL of a father coaching against his son: Terry and Michael Bright (Geelong West-St Peter’s and Bell Park), Matt and Riley Kershaw (Lara and St Joseph’s), and John and James Fitzgerald (Bell Park and St Joseph’s).
Rowan said he and Wade had “gone about our business as per usual” this week but he might “hang a bit” on his young bloke the night before the game.
One asset McSparron Sr will need to nullify is Wade’s long-kicking left boot.
“He’s got a bit of a weapon with his left foot,” he said. “Hopefully, he’s not getting in the right positions, and the Bell Park boys are ignoring him and not giving him the footy. That would be handy.”
Rowan was on hand to see Wade presented with his Bell Park jumper before Colac’s night game against St Joseph’s last weekend.
The two also played senior football together at Geelong Amateur at the tail end of Rowan’s accolade-filled career.
It was a proud moment for the family to see Wade make his GFL debut at the same club where Rowan was a club great, McSparron Sr said.
“I snuck out the back and saw him get his jumper presented with Tim Sheringham, who I got to play some footy with as well, so that was a pretty proud moment,” he said.
“The first little bit that I saw, he did pretty well. I’m obviously proud, and it’s good to see him running around at GFL level.”
Wade said he was ready to offer his old man some advice in the heat of the game.
“Hopefully if the ball goes over there (to the Colac coaches box), maybe a little bit of chirping back and forth,” Wade said.
“At the end of the day, I’ll just worry about trying to stop whoever I’m playing on and try to get the four points.”
McSparron Sr replied there might not be any Christmas or birthday presents this year if Wade was too lippy.
“I’ll let the boys out on the grounds take care of him,” he said. “I’ll keep pretty quiet, I think.”