IRYMPLE
2.3 7.8 9.12 11.15 (81)
IMPERIALS
2.3 2.4 6.7 8.12 (60)
GOALS: IRYMPLE: Liam Garlick 3, Mick Dimasi, Jake Healy 2, Jason Hura, Nick Pezzaniti, Connor Mensch 1.
IMPERIALS: David Hankin 3, PJ Petrucci, Jayden Fox 2, Ben Galbraith 1.
BEST: IRYMPLE: Nando Cirillo, Mitchell Roads, Justin Robinson, Connor Mensch, Tom Brownbridge, Alex Hollingworth.
IMPERIALS: Darcy Hogarth, Jayden Fox, Mackenzie Mayne, Ben Galbraith, P-J Petrucci, Jaidyn Nihill.
IRYMPLE had just confirmed their top-two spot in the penultimate round of the SFNL seniors’ competition against Imperials at City Oval. but the biggest talking point in the post-game dressing rooms on Saturday wasn’t about the performance of both teams.
It was the shocking state of the City Oval playing surface.
Imps coach Mark Wheatley, whose side will miss the finals in fifth spot, didn’t hold back in his criticism of the ground his club is based at, along with co-tenant Mildura.
“It’s putrid. We have to train on it, too. I’m always concerned about players hurting themselves,” he said.
“From all accounts of what I’ve heard, the council hasn’t watered it this whole winter.
“We’ve had little rain in the past couple of months, so this is why the ground looks dead.
“It’s the worst going around, especially when you compare it to the grounds at Red Cliffs and the new sporting precinct at South Mildura.”
A fired-up Wheatley then took aim at the SFNL board for opting to stage the league’s grand finals at City Oval, instead of the new $45 million Mildura Sporting Precinct (MSP).
“Why bother building the f…ing ground there for millions of dollars if you’re not going to use it for our biggest games?” he said.
“It’s ridiculous and laughable.”
Tom Brownbridge, the co-coach of Irymple, was more circumspect in his comments about the “patchy” City Oval ground.
“Everyone knows what it’s like. It’s uneven and not the greatest,” he said.
His fellow coach, Dan Coghlan, was not at the ground on Saturday. But “Cogs” said recently that the No.1 Oval surface was “dangerous”.
Tall defender Brownbridge agreed with Wheatley that both the football and netball grand finals should be played at MSP on September 10.
“I would prefer the grand finals to be played at the new sporting precinct. I think that’s a pretty common view,” Brownbridge said.
“When we played there, I thought it was a really good oval.
“With the ground here (at City Oval), there’s just a lot of foot traffic to make it like this.
“You have two teams playing out of here. There’s five nights a week of training, plus a game on Saturdays, so that only leaves a day for it to recovery.”
Brownbridge implored those opposed to staging next month’s football and netballs deciders at MSP to “cop it on the chin” and change their minds.
“You have the premier netball competition played indoors. I can’t see why we can’t hold the grand final indoors in front of what I believe would be a big crowd inside the stadium,” he said.
“I understand that they want it play it outside because most games are held outside during the season. But 20 years ago, they were playing netball grand finals on grass.
“We have to start somewhere with a new multi-million-dollar facility.”
In relation to his own team, Brownbridge is delighted with how they’re placed on the eve of the finals.
“We were a bit complacent today after playing well in the second quarter. But overall, we’re feeling confident about where we’re heading,” he said.
As for Wheatley, he conceded it was a below-par season finish for a club accustomed to finals success.
“As a coach, you’re disappointed you’re not playing in the finals, because that’s the goal at the start of the season, as it is for all clubs,” said Wheatley, whose side has the bye this weekend.
“But we’ve had plenty of disruptions this season.
“We haven’t had the same team in consecutive weeks. We’ve played 40 players in the seniors this year, and over 70 players in both grades (seniors and reserves).
“We’ve had 10 debutants this season and been playing two 15-year-old kids the last couple of weeks.
“The exposure we’ve given these players up in seniors footy is an upside. But are they at a level that they’re ready for it yet? No.”
With his one-year coaching contract coming to an end, Wheatley said: “I would like to stay on.
“I think there’s unfinished business there. If we can land a couple of recruits in a few key areas, then we’ll be well placed going forward.
“There’s a lot of good talent at Imps. It’s been a tough year, but I’m really proud of how everyone has pulled together. It’s certainly not the end of the world for us.”
