MPFNL Division 1 finals: Frankston YCW driven by belief and a mix of youth and experience
Frankston YCW is off to a flyer in the Mornington Peninsula Division 1 finals, ignited by a mix of youth and experience. See a gallery of pics from their win.
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Frankston YCW Stonecats don’t have a theme driving them this finals series.
But if they did it might be “no limits”.
With a mix of youth and experience, YC finished third on the ladder behind Dromana and Mt Eliza.
The Stonecats’ challenge was to pick off those two quality sides in the finals.
And they’re off to a flyer, beating Mt Eliza in the qualifying final on Saturday.
Now YCW have Dromana in their sights this weekend.
Frankston YCW coach Paul Goonan says it’s all about “opportunity” for his side in September.
“Each week rolls on and opportunity presents,’’ he said.
“It’s like, ‘do you want to take the opportunity or not?’
“That’s what we’ve set ourselves to do.
“There are no limits. We’ll see how far we can go.”
Frankston YCW kicked the first two goals of the qualifying final at Baxter Park and went on to defeat Mt Eliza, 8.13 (60) to 6.10 (46).
Mt Eliza made a surge in the third quarter, kicking three successive goals, but the Stonecats had all the answers. Riley D’Arcy and Christian Tsiampis combined in the last term to find young Jackson Muscillo, who kicked the sealer.
The Stonecats had winners all over the ground.
Youngsters Bailey Fry, Patrick Bloink and Heath Bidgood played vital roles while experienced pair Byron Barry and Luke Paynter led by example.
“A guy like Byron Barry, he plays to win, he plays to win flags,” Goonan said.
“As simple as that. He really leads our charge. If you watch him play he’s playing as well as he’s every played.
“His preparation is so good. It’s really great for our young guys to watch and learn off him because he’s just been huge for us this year.”
Paynter returned from a month out with injured ribs and provided run and ferocity.
“Luke Paynter was exceptional,” Goonan said.
“He was great, you sort of forget how good he is when you haven’t got him.”
Goonan said while some may have expected Frankston YCW “to have a bit of a drop off’’, the belief within the group is strong.
“What we are doing — and everyone can see it — we’ve got a lot of young kids in our side and they’re learning really quick,’’ he said.
“And we know they’re going to be really good players. They’re getting exposed nice and early and they’re performing.
“It’s a bit of a transition period for our club. Slowly but surely some of the older boys are moving on but we keep bringing these young blokes in, guys like Matty Jackson and Bailey Fry and Darcy Murr, they’re becoming crucial parts of our team at a young age.
“It’s almost handing over the baton to some of these young guys because they’re going to be the future.’’
Mt Eliza will look to bounce back against Rosebud in the first semi-final. The Redlegs’ best on Saturday were Trent Matthews, Declan Cole, Chris Carey and Harry Langford.
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