The Press Box - Episode 45
The Examiner’s Rob Shaw, Ben Hann and Hamish Geale unpack and discuss the sports news across Northern Tasmania.
Transcript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Welcome to episode 45 of the Press Box,
00:10 the Examiner's Weekly Sportscast.
00:12 We've got Tasmanian teams in two national finals.
00:15 We've got major announcements in local
00:17 and national footy this week.
00:18 It's arguably the biggest week
00:20 in Tasmanian sporting history.
00:22 So Brian and Josh have taken some time off.
00:25 Fortunately, the A-team are on hand,
00:26 myself and Ben, and we've got everyone's favourite
00:28 guest presenter, Hamish Long,
00:30 for what should be an eventful ride.
00:32 We can't begin anywhere else this week
00:34 than the NBL final series,
00:37 which since we last recorded has gone
00:38 from 1-0 to Melbourne United,
00:40 to 2-1 to the Tasmanian Jackjumpers.
00:43 - Whoa, he's found a way.
00:44 - Big problem.
00:45 Doyle kept it in.
00:46 Here's the Jackjumpers' chance.
00:49 McVay, two on the clock.
00:51 - Oh no!
00:52 - Jack McVay!
00:55 Simply incredible!
00:57 Jack McVay with the shot of his life!
01:01 Tasmania win game three!
01:03 - Just an iconic moment in Tasmanian sport.
01:06 - It's really typified this Jackjumpers' team, hasn't it?
01:09 It's the second time he's done it this season.
01:10 He did it from almost that far back against Cairns
01:14 during the regular season.
01:14 Everyone thought, my goodness,
01:16 that's an unrepeatable shot, and here we are.
01:18 A few months later, he's just gone and done it again.
01:21 They lost that first game by 22 points, Rob.
01:24 To come back and now be on home court one game away
01:28 from winning their first ever NBL title,
01:31 this is, it's not just historic for Tasmanian sport,
01:33 this is quite historic for Australian sport,
01:36 how much they've achieved in such a short space of time.
01:39 - What do you make of it, huh?
01:40 - It's great.
01:41 - Nah, it was a beautiful moment, Rob,
01:44 and you showed me, I suppose,
01:45 on some of those post-game scenes,
01:47 like, quite something, and you could tell that,
01:50 I think, people knew that it was a bit of a special moment,
01:53 like there was something special going on.
01:55 - Yeah, and Scott Roth, in his usual superb manner,
01:59 his voice was cracking at the end,
02:01 but he was very quick to say, "We haven't won it yet."
02:04 So, just to recap, they lost the first,
02:06 it's a five-game series, they lost the first one,
02:08 they then won the next two,
02:10 including in Melbourne on Sunday night,
02:11 so they're two-one up, but Roth was very adamant to say,
02:14 "We've won nothing yet."
02:16 It's, so Thursday night, they've got the second home game,
02:18 which is the pivotal one, but if they lose that,
02:20 then it goes to a fifth in Melbourne.
02:22 - Yeah, so Melbourne are not a team to just be,
02:25 you know, counted out and go, "Oh, they're gone."
02:27 They've got, you know, multiple former NBA players
02:30 in that lineup.
02:31 It's, I think it probably shows you just how good
02:33 this Jack Jumpers team is playing,
02:34 is that they're taking it up to this team
02:36 and find themselves in a lead.
02:38 It's just something about this culture, isn't it?
02:42 We say it a lot, but it just proves itself
02:44 time and time again.
02:45 - Yeah, and you were mentioning the former NBA players,
02:48 and it was one of those who was involved
02:49 in the pivotal moment.
02:50 So, 10 seconds to go, uncharacteristically,
02:53 Matt Dellavedova plays a bad pass,
02:57 and when Doyle managed to keep it in,
03:00 it was just a phenomenal moment to keep the ball alive.
03:02 - Yeah, so that's one NBA to another NBA,
03:05 and then you've got Jack McDowish,
03:06 many people argue should be having a crack at the NBA
03:08 at the end of this season.
03:10 I think it's also a testament now
03:12 to the strength of the NBA.
03:13 It's not this sort of also run league
03:15 that sort of hides behind the spotlight
03:18 of cricket and footy.
03:18 It's its own thing now that has really gathered
03:21 a lot of momentum,
03:22 and moments like that only help it.
03:24 - Yeah, it's one of those moments
03:26 I think we'll all remember.
03:28 Moving on to cricket finals.
03:30 We've had three finals for cricket,
03:32 two local and one national this week.
03:34 Cricket North final, Riverside against Westbury.
03:37 Riverside posted 170.
03:40 Westbury bounced back with 196,
03:41 so it was fairly close after first innings.
03:43 Riverside then dismissed for 133,
03:46 which is probably where the game was won,
03:48 and then Westbury knocked it off five wickets down
03:50 to secure a five wicket win.
03:51 Three consecutive Cricket North premierships.
03:56 They've won all three formats this season.
03:59 Phenomenal side, Westbury.
04:01 Ben, obviously you were involved in the contest.
04:03 How do you look back on it?
04:03 - Well, yeah, it's also eight in 12 for Westbury.
04:07 Jonny Chapman's been part of all eight, for example.
04:10 He's been such a titan of this league.
04:13 Look, yeah, I think we probably,
04:15 oh, I should say,
04:16 obviously playing for Riverside.
04:18 Riverside probably left themselves
04:20 about 50 runs short in that first innings.
04:22 Westbury obviously bowled really well.
04:25 And I think it was from there,
04:27 it was always really close.
04:28 I think Riverside, though,
04:30 were always just behind in the game.
04:32 They're always trying to catch up,
04:33 and in the end,
04:34 Westbury just have a lot of match winners.
04:36 I mean, you've got Kieran Hume being at 11,
04:38 who's made a first class,
04:39 a first grade century.
04:41 Like, they've just got winners from one to 11.
04:45 And yeah, that proved to be the case.
04:47 - Yeah.
04:48 - Yeah, and it kind of seemed like maybe that,
04:52 I think it was like ninth kind of partnership with,
04:55 maybe, I'm Jonny Chapman,
04:56 and I think I'm Liam Ryan.
04:57 Like, how much,
04:58 how pivotal was that first innings partnership
05:02 in terms of--
05:03 - Yeah.
05:03 Well, I suppose Liam,
05:05 he's probably the one person,
05:07 going into it,
05:08 you'd probably think maybe that's the weakest batter
05:11 in that lineup,
05:12 because it's such a strong batting lineup.
05:13 And he faces 180 balls,
05:15 was so, I suppose, compact in how he played,
05:18 really disciplined,
05:19 didn't go for any outrageous shots or anything like that,
05:23 just batted time.
05:24 And that's all they really needed to do,
05:26 chasing that sort of low total.
05:28 And then, from there,
05:30 they just know how to win games,
05:31 so they just close it out really well.
05:33 - Yeah.
05:34 I interviewed the Westbury captain coach,
05:37 Dan Murfit, at the end,
05:38 and he's very,
05:40 they were very likable side, Westbury.
05:42 So, and he said some lovely stuff.
05:44 They're quite humble in victory,
05:45 and also he talked to,
05:47 talked to Dinesh D's,
05:47 because they are close to doing that.
05:49 I compared it to what Lonsassen did 10, 15 years ago.
05:53 It's not quite to that level yet,
05:55 but, you know,
05:55 that is phenomenal,
05:56 a phenomenal run of success for the club.
05:59 - Yeah, absolutely.
06:00 And, you know, for Riverside,
06:01 obviously, it was close,
06:03 but no, so, yeah,
06:04 they've been waiting, you know,
06:04 four decades for this opportunity.
06:07 But I think, yeah,
06:08 both clubs probably reflect on it as a great game.
06:11 Two clubs that get along really well with each other.
06:14 At least that's been my experience with the matter.
06:16 And yeah, you know,
06:18 players like Olly Wood,
06:19 who obviously was a good player of the final,
06:20 took wickets and made runs,
06:22 and made runs fast,
06:23 which I think was just as important.
06:25 And yeah, and Daniel Murfit, obviously,
06:27 who has been integral to it all,
06:29 pretty much from the start,
06:30 I think he's won seven as well.
06:31 So.
06:32 - Yeah.
06:33 Moving on to the TCL grand final,
06:35 and that was between Evendale and Longford.
06:37 Evendale posted 146,
06:39 and in reply, Longford reached the target
06:41 152, five down for another five wicket win.
06:45 Daniel Forster was player of the final
06:46 with 42 not out,
06:48 which saw them home.
06:49 And that's back-to-back premierships for the Tigers,
06:51 who are becoming almost the benchmark
06:53 of that competition in the past.
06:54 It's been Hadspun,
06:55 but I think Longford are getting close.
06:57 - And I mean, they won this
06:58 after not finishing in the top two,
07:00 so they had to go the hard way as well.
07:02 So it's a really big credit to Longford.
07:04 (crowd cheering)
07:06 (crowd chanting)
07:09 - And in the Sheffield Shield,
07:34 Tasmania made a Sheffield Shield final,
07:36 and it's been a while since we've last been in one.
07:39 They were comprehensively outplayed
07:40 in Western Australia at the WACA,
07:43 probably rearing the losing to South Australia
07:46 in their last roster game,
07:47 which cost them the chance of a home final,
07:49 and that's probably where their chances went.
07:52 - Yeah, I think that's exactly what it is.
07:54 WA's such a hard team to beat,
07:56 so you don't really wanna be playing them at home
07:57 in a final.
07:59 You know, they'll always win the eight ball win.
08:02 After WA came in to bat first,
08:06 they're none for 100 with their first things,
08:09 and just from there,
08:10 just WA has always had the ascension.
08:11 And Tasmania have a few match winners in their team,
08:14 like Bo Webster's obviously had a great year.
08:17 And none of those guys were able to really ever get going
08:20 just because WA were just always on top
08:23 and really sort of suffocated Tasmania.
08:26 Quick shout out, I know he's a WA player,
08:27 but Cooper Connolly playing in his first class debut
08:31 in a Sheffield Shield final,
08:32 and makes 70, I think even 80,
08:36 and completely takes the game away from Tasmania.
08:40 It was an amazing achievement.
08:41 - It was, and he made them really fast as well.
08:44 - Yeah, and it's a triple-double now for WA as well.
08:46 So they've won the one-day competition
08:51 three times in a row,
08:53 and the Sheffield Shield now three times in a row.
08:56 - The West Wing of Australia.
08:57 - Yes.
08:58 - That's what they're now being called.
09:00 - Exactly.
09:01 - Moving on to footy, and it was big week in the NTFA.
09:04 They announced the six teams that will compete
09:06 in their senior competition next week.
09:07 We all knew that Lanceston and North Lanceston
09:10 would be two of them,
09:11 but they announced Scottsdale, Deloraine, South Lonnie,
09:13 and Longfoot would be joining them.
09:16 It's fair to say it wasn't without controversy there.
09:19 - No, so it's very clear
09:21 that they've gone the geography model.
09:23 So Deloraine, I think is a good selection.
09:26 They've a proud community out there,
09:28 and also they've got access to Northwestern footballers
09:31 who they could very easily attract
09:32 with this level of competition
09:34 due to where they're located.
09:35 The other one which caused a few raised eyebrows, Hamish,
09:39 was Scottsdale.
09:40 So they haven't had a particularly successful last few years
09:44 on the park.
09:45 They've had crisis meetings in the past,
09:47 and yet they were selected, I think,
09:49 off the basis of where they're located.
09:52 They've got a women's team.
09:53 They've got quite a strong under-14s and under-16s team.
09:57 But I know, for example,
09:59 Bridge North felt pretty blindsided by the experience.
10:01 They felt they were very strong candidates.
10:03 I must admit, I was a little bit surprised too
10:05 by Scottsdale's selection,
10:07 but it's the way they've gone.
10:08 - What do you make of it, Ham?
10:09 - Yeah, well, I think people were quite,
10:12 oh, I suppose kind of people have a look at the,
10:15 I guess, like, wins tally, like, last season,
10:17 and go, "Well, I suppose, and what's happening here?
10:19 Like, you've got your two, like, grand finalists
10:22 that I suppose, like, miss out,
10:23 and the bottom team, like, gets in."
10:24 So, yeah, I think we saw the response
10:29 from kind of people in the end.
10:32 TFA was a bit like, "Well, like, what's going on here?"
10:35 Like, and I think there were maybe calls
10:38 for some kind of greater clarity
10:40 around, like, what those selection criteria were.
10:45 - There were selection criteria.
10:46 I'll be clear about that.
10:47 They did give us selection criteria.
10:49 What I don't think is clear is
10:51 whether the selection criteria given to us
10:54 was exactly how it was followed.
10:57 I think within, you know, vaguely for the rules,
11:00 they have followed the criteria,
11:02 but there was certainly more emphasis placed
11:04 on the position of a club
11:05 rather than the strength of a club.
11:08 When I say position, I mean, obviously, geographically.
11:11 But yeah, you know, you really hope it works,
11:15 especially for a club like Scottsdale.
11:16 You don't want to see them do well.
11:18 I do fear, though, that first year,
11:21 you might see some one-sided results.
11:23 But, you know, that's all speculation at this stage.
11:26 - It will be a bit strange seeing players like Mitch Thorpe
11:29 that are used to playing at Bellweave Overwood
11:31 and North Hobart Overwood,
11:33 the big grounds around the state,
11:34 playing at Scottsdale Recreation Ground.
11:36 Yeah, it'll take a bit of getting used to.
11:39 - It's gonna be the competitiveness
11:41 that's gonna be the biggest issue.
11:42 And you just hope that they can, you know,
11:44 solve that before it becomes too big of an issue.
11:47 - Excellent.
11:49 Thanks for tuning in.
11:50 We'll have more on all of these subjects next week.
11:52 See you then.
11:53 (upbeat music)
11:56 (upbeat music)
11:59 (upbeat music)
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