Everyone wins – now eyes back on the finals

THE last two weeks have been huge with regards to the decisions the SFNL board have had to make about the grand final venue.

Thankfully, common sense has prevailed.

The final nail in the coffin for City Oval was the injury to one of the league’s top senior umpires and the scathing criticism of the state of the oval by both coaches from Irymple and Imperials.

I believe that the new state-of-the-art Mildura Sporting Precinct will create a great atmosphere on grand final day.

The netballers will have an intimate setting indoors, similar to what the WNBL sides will have later this year when the Bendigo Spirit hosts a game at MSP.

I have absolutely no doubt that this experience will be one not forgotten anytime soon, with the capacity for a much larger crowd than anything the court at Mildura Recreation Reserve could have provided them.

As far as the concerns raised for the logistics of holding this event prior to the complex being fully completed, I think this will all be forgotten once the day arrives.

The interest in who will be playing on the big football stage is now peaking with a change of fortunes over the past few weeks for the main contenders.

Wentworth have hit a rough patch, while Robinvale Euston are in a purple patch after seven consecutive wins.

The Eagles are a genuine chance of playing on grand-final day as the form team of the competition coming into the finals series.

I still feel a Wentworth team at their best is still the best team in the competition.

However, watching them closely over the past few weeks, something has changed.

I feel Wentworth are now more scared of losing, rather than excited by winning.

They have become a tense team worried about making mistakes, rather than the carefree side of a month ago who would confidently take risks and take the game on.

They need to get their mojo back, and get it back quickly.

At this stage they seem to be the weakest link in the finals series and need to simply relax to get back to their best.

When a side goes into a steep decline like Wentworth have, the biggest issue can be over-analysis of their systems and game plan and self-doubt.

My advice would be simple: Let the shackles off and just play natural football.

They have a team of brilliant players right across the field, they know how to play the game and are a naturally gifted side, don’t over-complicate things, don’t get caught up in what is going wrong and start looking at what is going right.

They need to shift their mindset from being frightened of making mistakes to risking it all and expecting mistakes along the way.

Get Jackson Ferguson and Aaron Duck forward to help ease the pressure on Wade Hancock and give themselves more avenues to goal. I believe it is purely a mindset and confidence issue at Wentworth, if they can fix this, they are in my mind still the flag favourites.

As for the other teams, Irymple is a proven powerhouse and definitely look like the premiership favourites on both form and history. They have a healthy mix of youth and experience and know their game plan inside out.

Unlike Wentworth right now, they are a side who plays with pure confidence and no fear.

They play a very simple brand of football, move it quickly, get into the corridor whenever possible and pack the contest with players. Irymple are a very enjoyable team to watch, they just keep things simple.

Ouyen are still the smokies in my mind. They are now just making things click. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, they are peaking at the right time of year.

The recruits are hitting their straps and when their tail is up their confidence is sky-high. Don’t be surprised if they cruise through this finals series and blow everyone away.

As far as talent goes, they are unrivalled and are a team built for finals footy.

All in all, this year’s finals series looks set to be a great one, and its absence for two seasons means the anticipation and excitement is bubbling away.

The smell of spring is now in the air and the flag is not predetermined – it’s finals time, and anything to happen.