THE SFNL’s benchmark seniors’ football team is primed to extend its 11-game unbeaten run on a big day for the Wentworth club at George Gordon Oval on Saturday.
The Roos (11-0) will host Irymple (9-3) in a top-of-the-table clash as the club holds reunions for its premiership-winning teams from the 2001 and 2012 seasons.
Star defender Andy Wall, who played in the 2012 seniors’ grand final win against Irymple, will also play his 150th game for the Roos against the Swallows.
“It’s a massive day for our club. And it’ll be just as big for Irymple,” playing coach Wade Hancock said.
“They’ll be motivated by that loss in 2012 and they need the win to try to cement a top-two spot. But we’re hoping to get some strength from the reunions and our supporters.”
If the Roos play as well as they did the last time the sides met, it’ll be the Swallows’ players that will need the strength of Hercules.
On that occasion, in round 5, the Roos walloped the Swallows by 10 goals, with Hancock having an absolute blinder in the forward line.
He made top defenders like Zac Wandin look second-rate, pulling off hangers and snap-shot goals under pressure.
It was arguably Hancock’s finest hour of the season to date, in which he has booted 58 goals in 11 games.
He reflected on his round 5 heroics ahead of training on Thursday.
“As a coach and a leader, you have to step up for the big games,” he said.
“I’ll definitely be doing everything I can to help the team again on Saturday.”
As for his great consistency in 2022, he said: “I’m happy with how I’ve gone, but I also think it’s a reflection of our whole group.
“I haven’t got any better as a player in a year. It’s just that I’ve been getting more opportunities and better entries (into our forward 50).”
In an ominous warning to the rest of the competition, Hancock said his side was only getting better with just five rounds till the finals.
“We’re getting a lot cleaner with the ball, and our quick transition is as good as it’s been all year,” he said.
He said the keys to victory against the Swallows today would be the team’s mental approach as much as physical.
“I’m huge on mindset, as you know,” Hancock said.
“We’ve got a pretty clear plan in how we like to play against Irymple.
“It’s no secret that they have some extremely good rebound players. We want to reduce their effect on the game.
“And their midfield, even without ‘Cogs’ (Dan Coghlan), is still very strong.
“So it’s about matching their midfield, and then trying to work on our transition game and getting the ball inside 50 as quick as we can, and putting some scoreboard pressure on them.”
Swallows’ playing co-coach Tom Brownbridge said his team would be aiming to bring the same finals-like intensity as it showed in the three-point loss to third-placed Ouyen United last week.
He reflected this week on his shorthanded team’s round 5 loss to the Roos at Henshilwood Oval.
“Our preparation wasn’t very good in the lead-up to that game,” Brownbridge said.
“But their pressure was immense and they’d done a lot of homework on us.
“We’ve gone to back to basics since then. If we can come out on Saturday and shut down their key players, it’ll then be a battle between the next line of players.”
He then gave a nod to Hancock’s influence in the forward line in 2022.
“There’s a reason he’s kicked that many goals this season,” Brownbridge said.
“His ability to play tall and small is unbelievable. Not many blokes in the league can play like that.”
He acknowledged the Roos were not one-trick ponies, with other attacking weapons in Jackson Ferguson and Nick Cottrell.
“Credit to them. They’ve been unbelievable this year and shown how good their depth is,” Brownbridge said.
“They have quality players across all lines and will be very hard to stop.
“But we’ll be bringing a finals intensity against them. They’ve been winning by a lot, so we’ll see where they’re at when we take it up a notch.”
