Troy Schwarze names his greatest local footy team
Troy Schwarze and his Sorrento Sharks monopolised the MPNFL for over a decade and now he has tried to place his best ever side together.
Mornington
Don't miss out on the headlines from Mornington. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Troy Schwaze’s Sorrento was in command of the Mornington Peninsula Nepean flight for over a decade.
His Sharks had an unquenchable appetite for success and would poetically dismantle opposition sides.
Across his 11-season occupancy as coach, Schwarze competed in eight grand finals and held six pieces of silverware aloft.
So, from his triumphant-drenched time at Sorrento, here is Troy Schwarze’s greatest ever side…
FULL BACKS
Jon Casper: Casper played a role in six flags at the Sharks and Schwarze can recall an afternoon he embarrassed the low-key defender with praise. “There was a game at Rye that we lost when we shouldn’t have, at the end of the game I sat down and said ‘if everyone was like him, there’s no chance we would’ve lost’, I embarrassed him in a sense because he was everything you wanted a player to be,” he recalled.
Heath Cameron: Once beating his opponent, the tough defender would then drive Sorrento forward. “He hated being beaten, he was very vocal and intimidating – he tried to drive from that position and attack, he was pivotal to us intimidating teams,” Schwarze said.
Ben McCormack (captain): The quiet conqueror. McCormack settled in on the last line of defence for the Sharks and became the heart and soul of the dynasty. “He was an unassuming Sorrento person who got the job done every week, he wasn’t our best player by any stretch, but he just lived and breathed what we were about,” Schwarze said.
HALF-BACKS
Tyrren Head: Head was still a wiry teenager when he played under Schwarze, but his talent was just as apparent as it is now. “He had an extreme ability to kick both feet, mark when you thought it was impossible, he was probably better at half-forward but I had to put him in and he liked back as well,” he said.
Guy Stringer: The 400-gamer finished his extraordinary career with great reward at the Sharks. While Schwarze doesn’t know how Stringer was so durable, he knows why his centre-half back was so valued. “Probably the fact he didn’t train much,” he joked about his durability. “He was everything you wanted in a leader, even though he was never captain or vice-captain, he made you walk taller, he ran in straight lines and anyone that was in his way either got whacked or got out of the way,” he added.
Mitch Nibbs: The athletic half-back achieved some great aerial exploits but did most of his damage on the ground with his elite ball use. “One on one he was very good, he set us up a lot from the back flank,” Schwarze said.
CENTRES:
James Hallahan: Schwarze rated a lot of Hallahan’s traits, but none more so than his ability to kick goals. As a midfielder he booted 45 majors in 2013, including at least one in 17 of his 19 matches. “I put him in as captain in 2014 and I think he has captained ever since, I think in 2013 he kicked over 40 goals as a midfielder, he could kick them from 60,” he said.
Leigh Treeby: Schwarze admits Treeby is the best player has ever coached for his work-ethic and ability to get the best out of his teammates. “He was tough, skilful, he drove the group and he held people accountable,” Schwarze said.
Trevor Mattison: The traditional wingman worked the lanes up and back David McFarlane Reserve in an extremely successful group. “He was a running machine, up and back, he would play one side of the ground only but that was all he knew,” Schwarze said.
HALF-FORWARDS
Luke Tapscott: Flags must follow Tapscott. After being a crucial cog in the Sorrento dynasty, he has since moved to Chelsea Heights to secure another. “He was tough, dumb tough, probably to his own detriment – but he had everything, other teams feared him,” Schwarze stated.
Brent Kenyon: A Sorrento stalwart who highlighted a decorated career with best afield honours in one of the Sharks’ six flags. “He got best on and it was amazing, because he was one of the blokes I played with that just absolutely bled for the club… he just loved red and white, he got his reward with a best on ground in a grand final,” Schwarze said.
Myles Pitt: Kicked 67 goals from 15 matches in 2014 and finished with six majors in each of Sorrento’s three finals that year. “He was big and strong, he ran like a midfielder, he used to scream and hurt blokes, he was good to play with,” Schwarze said.
FULL FORWARDS
Leigh Poholke: The club’s all-time leading goal-kicker kicked 88 goals in 2014, booting multiple goals in 19 of his 20 appearances. Poholke’s style took some adjusting to for Schwarze, but he eventually came to appreciate his exceptional talent. “I looked at him and thought ‘I would never coach people to play the way he plays’, he ducks out the back and reads the flight of the ball, but he would bob up with five or six goals, so I sort of started working out that maybe I was wrong, he was an exceptional talent,” Schwarze said.
Ben Schwarze: Schwarze’s brother was a huge focal point for the Sharks, even when he was limited. “He used to work hard, smash packs and take big marks; he played a grand final on one leg when he needed an ankle reconstruction, he kicked four and was probably the difference,” Troy recalled.
Scott Phillips: Schwarze’s memory of Phillips says it all. “Doug Scott says he was the best player at local football that didn’t get drafted and I wouldn’t disagree, he was a freak and one of the best players I have ever seen,” Schwarze said. “Cricket was obviously where he excelled but I would’ve almost said he was equally as good at football, he was phenomenal,” he added.
FOLLOWERS
Scott Cameron: While he wasn’t the typical modern-day ruck, Cameron’s tap work was magical, regularly putting Sharks midfielders in attacking spots. “He was so strong and no one could move him,” Schwarze said.
Caydn Beetham: The silky-smooth midfielder was an addition that Schwarze cherished. “He could do things that were just ridiculous – he was a dynamic, bursting player who people couldn’t touch,” he said.
Grant Johnson: One of six players to have won all six premierships while also collecting a trailer load of best and fairest awards. “He just expected every week that he was going to perform, he would come up to me after having 30 (disposals) and say ‘sorry, I feel like I wasn’t in it today’,” Schwarze recalled.
EXTENDED INTERCHANGE:
Hagan Haimona: Halmona joined Sorrento simultaneously with Schwarze in 2007 after winning Mornington’s best and fairest in 2006. “He used to polish his old Adidas Copa Mundial boots with Nugget before the game, I had never seen anyone do it, off the field he was the nicest guy, but when he crossed the white line he would turn into this demon,” Schwarze remembered.
David Lawson: The 2008 premiership captain returned to play in the 2014 grand final against Crib Point, the side he coached in between drinks. “He was upset that we beat them because he loved them, but he loved us more – I was so rapt that when he came back we were able to play in a flag together,” he said.
Josh Stephenson: Stephenson played a crucial role in Sorrento’s early premierships as a slender teenager. “He was a phenomenal player, we probably didn’t see the best of him, he was only wiry, he didn’t look like much of a footballer, but he just had so much talent,” he said.
Dion Phillips: A Sorrento junior that was successful while battling consistent injuries, which to Schwarze, were sometimes a result of his aerial adventures. “He trained at a level that I hadn’t seen local players train at, he could sit on people’s heads and take hangers, I think he took a mark at Queenscliff and he was standing on a blokes head, it was crazy, to his own detriment unfortunately because he hurt himself,” he said.
Daniel Grant: The smooth moving player who can play anywhere earns a spot for his team-first mindset with footy in hand. “I coached him since he was 17 or 18, he played in four or five grand finals, he made good decisions with the ball, so he deserved a spot,” Schwarze said.
Brendan Cairns: A tough half-back who had tunnel vision for the Sherrin. “He ran in straight lines, he had this wiry frame but he would hit so hard, he only knew one way and that way was hard and straight,” Schwarze said.
Big catch: Yabbies sign 203cm ex-AFL Tiger
A 203cm former Richmond ruckman and Essendon District league medallist has signed at Tyabb in the Mornington Peninsula league. Here’s how the Yabbies got their man.
Ranked: The ex-AFL players who lit up local footy this year
From the bush to the ‘burbs, former AFL players thrilled local football crowds across all corners of the state this year. We’ve named the best – and ranked the top 15. See who heads the list.