WHAT are Ouyen United and Irymple capable of this year in the SFNL seniors football competition?
Saturday’s game between the two strong combinations has given fans an early taste of finals footy.
Both teams will have the opportunity to meet again come September and both definitely have the ability and a healthy mix of experience and youth to be considered genuine premiership contenders.
Irymple have been the yardstick in the competition both on and off the field for the better part of a decade. They also have the ability to turn good juniors into genuine senior stars.
Irymple are a destination club – I envy their ability to attract great local talent from other clubs and have built a culture where a player very randomly leaves.
It is because of this strong culture that they seem to better themselves year after year, and come finals time it’s precisely this culture that makes them successful.
As the reigning premiers, they have had to wait more than two years for the chance of going back to back and the likes of players such as Nick Mee, Zac Wandin, Nathan Hamence, James Tulloch, Ashley Kempton, Nando Cirillo and the Hura brothers, who have all built this on-field culture, will be vital to the club’s success with their finals experience.
However, and this is a big however, should the league’s best player, Dan Coghlan, not get back on the field this year then this would be as big a blow to a side’s chances as one could get.
No team is only as good as one player, however Coghlan is not your normal player.
His on-field leadership, his toughness, his skill and strength make him a very hard player to cover and stop.
When Coghlan is hot he is red hot. He is the most influential player that can turn a game off his own boot our league has seen since the likes of Andrew Lovett and Shannon Motlop.
So it is for this reason alone that Irymple should take great pride and confidence in their very slim loss to premiership contenders Ouyen United at the weekend.
The likes of Jake Healy, Mitchell Roads and Justin Robinson are showing they have more weapons in their arsenal than others might think.
And still to come back into the team is Nick Pezzaniti, who on his day can be unstoppable in the forward 50.
Irymple, very much like Wentworth, have a great understanding of their plan and alongside Wentworth are very structured and have a simple flowing game style that allows them to move the ball very quickly from the back half into an open forward line that has many options in front of goal.
Healy, Pezzaniti, the Hura brothers and Liam Garlick are all genuine forwards, however they also have the ability when required to switch any of these players down back to be just as dangerous coming off half-back with a smaller and more nimble forward line if they need to change things up.
Irymple are a very flexible side who do not have “one-position” players. They can change 10 magnets on the board and still be as strong as the starting 18 line-up if challenged and a plan B is needed.
This is why I am still bullish on Irymple to challenge for this year’ s flag.
Don’t forget Ouyen United either!
They are my smokies this year. I still don’t believe they are playing their best footy, and that to me is the scary part for opposition teams.
They had a gutsy win at the weekend, however they are not dominating sides. Their playing list is stacked with star power, and some of those stars are starting to really get going at the right time of the year.
Dallas Willsmore is now showing why he has played at the highest level. His skill by foot is as good as you get and he has been hitting the scoreboard, which is making him incredibly dangerous and very hard to match up on.
Kaine Stevens has hit the ground running from day one, however has been below his best over the past month. His SANFL experience, though, always makes him a player who can’t be left alone during the game at any time. He is a bull at the contest, an expert clearance player and has great foot and hand skills. Come finals time, I believe he will thrive – he and coach Brad Vallance are both made for finals.
Throw in the likes of the O’Shannessy brothers up forward, the pace of Alex Morrish and Sam Mead on the wings, the class of Jermarl Daly, Calogero Eaton and the brute strength and size of Andre Parrella and the midfield grunt of Dean Staunton and ex-Geelong player Cory Gregson. This is the reason why the Kangas should not be underestimated.
Ouyen United are built for finals football and they know that. Notorious for their slow starts to seasons, it is purely the back end of the year they worry about.
So while they may not be playing their best football right now, they don’t need to. They just need to keep winning and getting accustomed to their unique setup. I still don’t know if the Kangas have a great structure and plan, however they definitely have enough experience and star power to click at the right time.
If they can get it all right in September, they will not be a team you would want to run into should they have their confidence up.
