The Courier's David Brehaut sits down with Bungaree coach Ryan Waight and Daylesford coach Hamish Jarrad before Saturday's Central Highlands Football League grand final.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Well, the grand final is just upon us. We've got the opposing coaches Ryan Waite and Hamish Gerrard with us.
00:06Great to have you guys along. Just a few days to go.
00:11Ryan, what's your thoughts as we get close to the big day?
00:16Thoughts? Well, yeah, a fair bit of feedback this week. I think this week's just been busier.
00:22I think just with, you know, logistics and phone calls and so forth.
00:25So, just got to take care of that in the first half of the week and this is part of it.
00:29Obviously, turn our attention to the big game.
00:31Hamish, you've come down early this week from Casterdon, made the long trek.
00:36But, as Ryan said, it's a week with a difference and yet wouldn't have it any other way than doing some extra things
00:43because that means you're still involved.
00:45Yeah, that's right. So, you know, early in the week, as Ryan said, there's a fair bit to work through.
00:50You know, put everything in place quickly and get all that done now,
00:52either quickly and get focused on the game ahead on Saturday.
00:55So, looking forward to it and it should be a good day.
00:58Look, I think weather's going to be a big issue.
01:00We've seen it right through the final series. It's hardly been a day where there hasn't been a decent sort of wind
01:05and we've had rain and just about everything.
01:08The forecast for Saturday is pretty cool, breezy, as the Mars Stadium always is.
01:14So, I guess there's really going to be no surprises there, Hamish,
01:18because particularly coming off Sunday's game at Bungaree, you'd be ready for anything weather-wise.
01:23Yeah, I think this might actually be calm compared to Sunday.
01:26So, yeah, forecast, I think it's 20 to 30 k's, which out here is probably not too bad with the big ovals.
01:32So, you know, I think last time we played Bungaree during the year, it was probably the first real wet day we got.
01:39So, you know, we probably didn't get a real chance to have a good look at each other, to be honest.
01:44So, you know, there's a, it'll basically be a fresh battle on Saturday out here on the big ground.
01:49So, yeah.
01:50Ryan, how do you prepare when there's a little bit of the unknown factor about weather conditions?
01:55Because, as we've seen in finals already, they can be telling.
01:58Well, I think, you know, you look at all that games and same with Dallas, I think it's been windy.
02:03I mean, we played a little bit different and I know we haven't had a wet day.
02:07I don't think it's going to be too wet Saturday, but, yeah, I mean, we played in that game,
02:11in that semi-final, which was blowing the wind in.
02:14It looks like it will sort of fade the wind in as well.
02:17So, yeah, you train it. I think there's a bit of wind around tomorrow night.
02:20So, yeah, that's handy.
02:22Yeah, you can train a few scenarios and a few things.
02:24But, yeah, geez, I can't remember a final series like it.
02:29You know, you only get one windy day, but I think every Saturday or Sunday, hasn't it?
02:32It's just been blowing a gutter.
02:34So, yeah, just another element to it.
02:36And there's nothing like playing a grand final at this venue.
02:40AFL standard ground, I'm sure, that gets all the players up and about
02:45because it's something different for the competition.
02:47It's not a ground that you're playing any home in a way on.
02:50And it's a big ground, and it's a ground that you can easily create a lot of space in.
02:56How do you plan for that, Ryan?
02:58It's probably no one's more excited than my kids.
03:01When I told them I'm playing here, they couldn't believe it.
03:03They'd only just got over it.
03:04So, no, it's obviously exciting.
03:06You want to play on the best facility in the biggest game.
03:09So, yeah, Bungaree's quite a sizable oval anyway.
03:13Similar sort of surface.
03:15Obviously, Dales have played at Bungaree last week,
03:17so this won't hold any fears for them.
03:19But, you know, taking into account the weather conditions, the big ground,
03:24obviously we'll come with a plan.
03:25No doubt Dales will as well, and we'll see how we go.
03:28How do you approach it?
03:29Because a lot of the game plan for Dales, and it's no secret,
03:33is around the contest stoppages.
03:36And you try to, you know, close the ground down,
03:39make it as small as you can in football talk.
03:43How do you achieve that out there?
03:45Yeah, well, you know, obviously you have your core systems in place,
03:48but you have to adapt depending on the opposition and the oval
03:51and the conditions, et cetera.
03:53So, you know, I think we do have a few different methods in how we play.
03:56I don't think we're sort of pigeonholed to one certain specific style of footy.
04:01But, you know, everyone knows, and, you know, there's no science in coaching
04:05that on big ovals where there's lots of space against good sides,
04:08the outside layers are the key.
04:10So if the outside layers fall down, you know, you can get exposed
04:13and the outside layers hold up.
04:15You know, you can put yourself in position to try and dictate from there.
04:18All right, Ryan, last word.
04:22Tell us about the meaning of making the grand final to Bungaree,
04:26the football club, the community out there.
04:28Yeah, like any community town, you know,
04:31the footy club's the heart and soul of any small town.
04:34And Bungaree's no different.
04:36You have people reaching out, past players, past community members,
04:40past presidents reaching out this week.
04:42You've got that extra phone calls and messages you do receive during the week.
04:46So, yeah, it means a great deal.
04:48It means a great deal for the club.
04:49And obviously, myself being a bit of an outsider,
04:51you probably don't truly understand what it means
04:54until you start to hear back from those people
04:56who've been around the club and the community for a long time.
04:59So, yeah, well, hopefully we can get a good crowd here Saturday
05:04on both sides and put on a good show.
05:07Amy, you've been at Dales for a few years now,
05:11and when you arrived, things were pretty tough.
05:15You've led them out of that period,
05:18and now you're one step away from the flag.
05:22Having experienced many of the lows in recent years out at Daleswood,
05:28I'm sure the Daleswood Football Club and those people have worked hard
05:31to keep that club going in difficult circumstances.
05:34They must be just pinching themselves at the moment.
05:37Yeah, absolutely.
05:38So it's no shock that we've struggled for six, seven, eight years now
05:44as a footy club as a whole,
05:45and a lot of people have put in a lot of work in the background
05:48to enable us across all levels of the club,
05:50through our junior grades and netball and senior football,
05:53to get to a point where it's competitive again
05:55and in the position to compete in games like we're in on Saturday.
05:58And to see them people get the reward,
06:00obviously the senior football team, we get all the accolades,
06:03but the A-grade netball and the under-18 football,
06:05they mean just as much to the club as us.
06:07So to see all that come together for people who've done all that work,
06:11it's exciting for the community,
06:12and they're all coming out of the woodwork now, which is exciting.
06:15And as Ryan said,
06:16hopefully we get a big crowd here from both sides on Saturday
06:19and put on a good show.
06:20All I can say is good luck to both of you and your teams,
06:23and I suppose it's an easy thing to say,
06:26may the best team win.
06:28So, cheers.
06:33UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO