West Coast big men Vardy, Lycett, Darling and Kennedy the difference in epic decider
WITH the game on the line, the Eagles’ big men proved the difference. Scott Lycett and Nathan Vardy kept Brodie Grundy under control while Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling’s big marking in attack proved crucial.
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TO THE victor go the spoils! Congratulations to West Coast, AFL premier for 2018.
The victory was well deserved.
The Eagles did it the hard way with injuries to key personnel throughout the year and giving Collingwood a five-goal head-start before finally running them down with less than two minutes left on the clock.
With the game on the line it was their big men that proved the difference.
Scott Lycett and Nathan Vardy kept Brodie Grundy under control while Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling’s big marking in attack proved crucial.
But perhaps the biggest advantage came from a man who did not play. Andrew Gaff.
Gaff’s season was destroyed by a moment of madness that had him suspended for eight weeks and missing from the Eagles’ premiership win.
He may never be seen in an Eagles jumper again as he ponders a return home to Melbourne but he showed courage and commitment to his team by being there pre-match, inside the changerooms, to urge his mates on.
It’s a tough gig and one that can go horribly wrong. More than just the odd player has been brought to tears in similar circumstances and it can have a dramatic effect on the playing group.
A team-mate in distress can be exhausting to witness and a major distraction for the team.
Any distraction on Grand Final day can be fatal for premiership dreams.
It nearly was for the West Coast, when Collingwood kicked the first five goals of the game, before the Eagles found the strength to respond.
Gaff was joined in the rooms by Nic Naitanui and the two watched on stone-faced as their team-mates prepared for battle.
Their disappointment was obvious.
How can you blame them? But it does make you wonder if the inner sanctum is the best place for players in that situation.
In 1985 Mark Motlop suffered a similar fate at Glenelg for an entirely different reason.
After playing most of the season, he was replaced in the Grand Final and was never seen again in a Glenelg jumper.
In 1997 the Crows had to deal with the absence of Mark Ricciuto and Tony Modra through injury.
“Roo” would recover to be part of the Crows ‘98 success but Modra was not so lucky and was famously left out of the premiership-winning team on form.
It took him years to recover.
To his credit he has recovered and now plays an important role with Adelaide.
In 2004 Port Adelaide’s group was challenged by the absence of their captain, Matthew Primus, while Derek Kickett’s omission from Essendon’s Premiership winning team in 1993 was the beginning of a bitter feud between him and Kevin Sheedy that only recently repaired, 25 years later.
There are many others.
Watching as a spectator rather than player as team-mates celebrate a premiership is one of the toughest moments a footballer will face in sport.
Premiership medals to every player on the club’s list, or to everyone who played a game during that season, has been floated. But the game and the players are not ready for that leap yet.
It is like the debate on where the grand final should be played.
Outside voices such as club presidents say “share it around the country like the Superbowl in the USA”.
Players say, “it must always be at the MCG”.
Shannon Hurn immediately after the Eagles win said the same. It’s the ’G every time.
The biggest game of the year must be played on the biggest and the best stage.
The Eagles are premiers for 2018.
Luke Shuey is the Norm Smith Medallist but there will be stories about their unsung heroes such as Nic Nat. And Andrew Gaff.
Ironically, for Gaff, yesterday may well be his final sacrifice for this club.
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