EFL 2022: Could Division 4 have a flag bolter?
One team has stood out all season – but one has beaten it twice. Saturday meant plenty for Surrey Park, the coach says.
Eastern
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TRY telling Surrey Park last Saturday’s match was a dead-rubber.
The second-placed Panthers stunned the ladder-leading Silvan for a second time this season on the weekend, prevailing by 42 points.
The match’s result had no ramifications on ladder position, with the pair set to meet again in a semi-final this weekend for a spot in the Eastern league Division 4 decider.
But Surrey Park senior coach James Kenworthy said the result would provide his group a major lift ahead of its finals campaign – especially after ending the Cats’ nine-game winning run in Round 11.
The Panthers have won two of the three matches against Silvan this year, having lost by 35 points to the minor premier in Round 4.
“Some people would say it was a dead-rubber last week and that it didn’t really mean for anything, but we set out to win every single game and build that form week to week,” Kenworthy said.
“We’ve got a self-belief that we can go all the way, so our focus is on winning games of footy.
“Momentum’s a pretty big thing in football and we take massive confidence (out of the match) … we just want to keep building that form we’ve got and don’t stop.”
Kenworthy believes the midfield battle proved the point of difference, with best afield Jara Oburu filling the ruck void for the Panthers against powerhouse Silvan tall, James Charge.
“Going into last Saturday we were down a key ruckman so with Jara in there, he’s normally our second ruck,” Kenworthy said.
“We knew they (Silvan) were going to be really strong around the stoppages, so it was really up to our mids to gain the ascendancy and not let them play how they want to play.”
The weekend will mark just the club’s second finals appearance in 16 years.
It broke a 13-year drought in 2019 but was eliminated in the opening week at the hands of eventual-premier, Fairpark.
Kenworthy took over as Surrey Park caretaker coach in June, with the club opening up applications for the full-time position.
The former Blackburn player says he’s undecided on whether he’ll throw his hat in the ring.
“I’ve told the committee my pure focus is on this season as the interim head coach and we’ll make a call on it (later) and see how this season plays out,” Kenworthy said.
Surrey Park meets Silvan this Saturday, August 20, at East Burwood Reserve.
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