THE stakes were already high when Wentworth coach Wade Hancock spoke to his side before their clash with South Mildura.
While the Bulldogs were playing their final match at Sarah Oval, the Roos were focused on their own milestones – two wins, and they could, just could, play finals. But as COVID cases in Greater Sydney and regional NSW continued to grow, Hancock asked his side to not think of any possibilities beyond the boundaries of Sarah Oval.
“I spoke to the boys and said, you don’t know what next week is going to bring. So just focus on this, the next four quarters,” Hancock said.
This could be the last opportunity we do get to play as a group this year.”
The Roos’ 22-point victory came on the back of a stirring 6.2 to 1.2 final term. But the side, which had gone through a few ups and downs throughout the year, lost their sense of joy almost immediately after the final siren, learning of the NSW statewide lockdown.
“It (was) extremely disappointing,” said Hancock.
The group were achieving the goals any emerging side needs – an ability to gel together and respond to challenges together. With 10-12 players having only played 10 games for the club, they were keen for any game time they could get.
But the most crushing detail of the cancellation of the final round of the Sunraysia Football Netball League season was that Phil Byrnes, the 15-year veteran of the club, would miss out on running out for his last game.
“It would have been perfect to give him the send-off his deserved, but COVID’s taken that away from him.”
In place of a farewell and the post end-of-season catch-ups that Hancock would have with his players, the coach said it was now a time to switch off.
“I’ll definitely give the boys a big break because it has been pretty taxing year emotionally.”
COVID interruptions can do interesting things to memory, and so while it can be hard to think about continuity and momentum given the stops and starts, Hancock stressed his side’s ability to listen and deliver was an important bedrock of the club’s immediate future.
“Every time I did ask more of them, they delivered. So (we’re) just building that belief that when we are challenged, and there’s big games to win, we’re able to respond as a group.”
Also he said the side could, and should, think fondly of their round 4 win over Ouyen United when a goal just before the final siren clinched the match.
But as the effects of repeated lockdowns and COVID’s arrival in Mildura earlier this year has made everything “more real”, Hancock, and Wentworth, have taken on the disposition of the town’s tradespeople, its farmers and members of the community.
“(A lot of people in Wentworth say) ‘It is what it is’. You can’t change it. So you just get on board and try and get through it.
“There is more to life than footy.”
