IRYMPLE co-coach Tom Brownbridge says the Swallows had to overcome their own complacency early to sneak past a more committed Magpies on Saturday.
Brownbridge said the star of the day was Merbein’s Ash Rowe, but the Swallows were able to generate enough run and carry to hit the scoreboard in the second half to win by five points.
The 10.10 (70) to 10.5 (65) win at Henshilwood Oval helped Irymple overtake Wentworth and seize top of the ladder on percentage, but Brownbridge said ultimately, form and versatility would provide good indicators for finals success.
Nick Mee scored three goals against Merbein for the second time this season, while Tom Brownbridge and Mitchell Roads both added two in the hard-fought win.
Merbein’s trio of Joe Cavallo, Ash Rowe and James Stewart kicked two goals and the Magpies made the most of their 15 scoring opportunities, kicking 10 goals.
Brownbridge said Irymple were “complacent” after last weekend’s 46-point win over Wentworth, but he said it was a good wake-up call before finals.
“Our backline wasn’t quite manning up and our midfielders weren’t getting first to the contest,” Brownbridge said.
He said Irymple adjusted their match-ups in response to Merbein’s strong first quarter, which set up a 28-to-8-point quarter-time advantage, but the biggest change was more effort.
“Zac Wandan, we tried to free him up a bit more,” he said. “Joe Cavallo did a good job on him early, but we got complacent. We tried to use him and probably burned him a few times.
“I ended up moving forward in the second and third quarter just to create a bit of run and carry.
“But it was all just effort-based. Everyone knows where they went wrong, we were just fortunate to come away with a win.”
Brownbridge said while Nathan Hamence was Irymple’s best in his head-to-head match-up with Ash Rowe, the Merbein midfielder was clearly best on ground.
“The last time they played him forward and I think they didn’t quite use him to his advantage,” he said.
“He’s won a league medal for a reason and putting him back in the midfield was a good move for them. He was first off the ball, a bit of grunt.”
Brownbridge said Irymple’s ladder position gave him more confidence they could play on the first Saturday come finals but said position did not matter as much as form.
“Imps are fifth, and they’re probably up there with their most in-form team and we’ve got them next, so the ladder position doesn’t really mean a lot to us.”
But he said their position could afford the side more opportunities to fine tune the Swallow’s most important asset come finals, versatility.
“We’ve always had in the back of our mind that when we have been successful in finals, we’ve had that ability to change positions and individuals in spots around the ground.
“We’ve had Justin (Robinson) down back for a few weeks now, he might go forward. I was down back … and then I went forward this week. Mitch Roads has the potential to do the same thing. Jake Healy – we know we can put him in the middle.
“(We’ll keep) testing those waters whether for a quarter or a full game, week on week.”
