NFL 2018: Premiership coaches reveal secrets to Preston City Oval finals success
TWO Northern Football League premiership coaches have lifted the lid on the tactics which helped them achieve success at the notoriously windy Preston City Oval.
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TWO Northern Football League premiership coaches have lifted the lid on the tactics which helped them achieve success at the notoriously windy Preston City Oval.
Phil Plunkett, who led Bundoora and Heidelberg to Division 1 glory, and former Whittlesea mentor Brad Dean, have highlighted conversion and the tactical battle between coaches as key factors in Northern Football League deciders.
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A howling breeze often favours the city end at Preston, forcing coaches to consider whether to throw a player behind the ball to mitigate the risk of being blown away in one quarter.
However Dean, who led Whittlesea to the Division 2 premiership in 2015, said he felt a team’s extra player was better served close to the ball.
“I think the biggest decision I had to make in 2015 was to be brave enough not to put a number behind the footy when kicking into the wind,” Dean said.
“There’s not too many finals when there’s not a strong breeze heading towards the city end. “I’d watched many previous finals where the loose man had real problems getting his positioning right as some balls would travel 60-70 metres.
“I think that’s the biggest challenge on grand final day, how you adjust to the windy conditions.
“My plan was to play our extra man at every stoppage.”
Placing a premium on contested football, Dean’s Whittlesea team prevailed in a grand final for the ages by three points against Lalor.
“It worked for us but I’m sure if the result went the other way I’d still second guessing myself if it was the right way to go,” he said.
This season’s Division 1 minor premier Macleod and last year’s premier Bundoora have more experience than their finals rivals at Preston in the past five years.
The 2017 grand finalists have played 12 games at the venue in that period, while Greensborough has featured 11 times.
West Preston-Lakeside’s elimination final loss last year was its only game at Preston between 2013-2017, however Roosters coach Rob Maiorana has an intimate knowledge of the ground from his time as a member of Northern Blues’ VFL coaching panel.
While North Heidelberg has not experienced a recent Division 1 final at Preston, it has played in three Division 2 deciders in the past five seasons.
Plunkett, now an assistant coach at TAC Cup club Northern Knights, said teams which wasted their opportunities with the wind would be made to pay dearly.
“Game over,” he said.
“You have got to really convert and make sure you make the most of your opportunities because you can lose it in one quarter.”
Plunkett said sides which were versatile enough to alter their forward line depending on the strength of the wind would prosper.
In last year’s nailbiter between Macleod and Bundoora, veteran Gary Moorcroft proved the value of small forwards at the market end of Preston City Oval when he kicked the matchwinner with only minutes left.
“You probably go a small forward line into the breeze so you are not bombing the ball in and you have a taller team with it,” Plunkett said.
“That dictates how you play your game as well. You’re not bombing the ball in into the market end.”
Northern Blues VFL coach Josh Fraser agreed, saying a direct attacking approach when being assisted by the breeze often proved a decisive tactic.
“Particularly with the wind, your ability to look through the corridor and get quick inside-50 entries is a weapon,” Fraser said.
“Kicking into the wind, being really measured with your ball use and understanding that scoring can potentially dry up with that difficult breeze.
“But if you can nullify the opposition and make the most of when you have got the wind, that’s a big benefit.”
WHAT THE CURRENT COACHES SAY
Garry Ramsay (Macleod)
“It really puts pressure on an opposition when you kick against it and you kick one or two early into the breeze. You can start to go outside your game plan if you think you need to rush to get those goals back.”
Jimmy House (North Heidelberg)
“It’s a bit bigger deck than most grounds in the competition. North Heidelberg has got a pretty good record there, given we have played Division 2 finals there.”
Rob Maiorana (West Preston-Lakeside)
“I reckon we have had an extraordinary amount of windy days this year to practice. That’s allowed us to practise that a little bit. I think the bigger expanses of Preston City Oval will suit us.”
Mick Harford (Greensborough)
“The number one thing there is to make the most of your chances in front of goal. Especially if the breeze is blowing down to the bottom end.”
Ricky Dyson (Bundoora)
“You can have a 10-minute lapse when kicking with the wind and it can really cost you at Preston. You have to play two really different styles of footy from quarter to quarter if the wind picks up.”
Premiership contenders PCO records (past five years)
Macleod 8-4 (66 per cent)
Bundoora 7-5 (58 per cent)
West Preston 0-1 (0 per cent)
Greensborough 6-5 (55 per cent)
North Heidelberg 2-1 — Division 2 (66 per cent)
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