By Gary Stocks
When you’re sitting in the lower portion of the premiership table, it’s difficult to relax. Every week brings with it different pressures, but the O’Rourke Realty A-Grade team will be hoping that a special occasion will help generate a performance commensurate with the day.
It’s a big day for the club, with two premiership reunions taking place – for the 1975 B Colts and the 2005 A-Grade teams.
There will be some legends of the football club reminiscing about a glorious past and senior coach David Hynes, moulding a team for the next serious assault on A-Grade honours, will be searching for an effort befitting this reunion.
The Beach will host Wesley Curtin in what looms as an important fixture against a team in the bottom half of the top five. They have been a little inconsistent, but boast some outstanding talent.
In the last few years it has been Wesley Curtin and University who have been the benchmark of the competition, so this does represent a challenge. But it is not insurmountable.
To assist the cause, there are some handy inclusions. Jack McPhee, Sam Lamont, Joel Brown and Matt Irvine all come into the line-up, offering a mix of experience and grunt on every line and they could provide the impetus for an upset victory.
If the Beach can be “in” the game early, the parochial home crowd might just prove to be a factor. Not that you can rely on that influence, the work must be done in the middle, but perhaps the sense of occasion might assist the desired result.
In AFL circles, the home crowd is often referred to as the 19th man. In those big coliseums there is an avalanche of noise when the home team scores. At the Beach, the numbers might not be as strong, but they will be passionate and they will be loud!
The day will start with the Coast to Coast Imports Phil Scott Colts taking on Wesley Curtin, another of the traditional benchmark teams of the underage competition. The colts have been outstanding this season, losing just one game, and this clash could go a long way towards securing a top three finish.
The Credent Financial Services A-Reserves, coached by Scott Holbrook, who played in that 2005 A-Grade premiership, and Greg Pires will also be looking to consolidate a top three position. It looms as a big day at Charles Riley Reserve and hopefully there will be a big crowd to will the home teams across the line.
The Cabling Network Solutions D1-Grade, will play at nearby Percy Doyle and coach Bill Duckworth, who steered the A-Grade to many triumphs, including that a decade ago, will look to get the job done, before joining the festivities.
