Cricket Southern Bayside: Nick Jewell targets grand final glory at South Caulfield
Nick Jewell will coach South Caulfield in the CSB Championship division grand final, continuing his remarkable run of being part of the last game of the season.
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Grand final day. The biggest game of the season. The heightened pressure. Nerves. Anticipation.
Nick Jewell knows it oh so well. Better than most, actually.
The former Victorian cricketer and AFL-Tiger will be involved in his 29th senior grand final — cricket and football combined — when South Caulfield, which he coaches, faces Bonbeach in the Cricket Southern Bayside Championship division flag decider this weekend.
“I’ve been lucky,” Jewell said.
“Everywhere I’ve been has made the grand final pretty much.”
Jewell’s 28 grand finals are as both a player and coach.
There have been premierships in cricket at St Kilda, and with the Victorian Shield side.
As a football coach, he’s steered Rosebud and East Brighton to the ultimate prize in the past decade.
Jewell’s grand final record is in the positive — he’s won 15 of them, compared to 13 losses.
“Some years we were lucky, played in three, like St Kilda would win the one day flag, win the two day flag and Victoria would play in the shield final, so you’d knock off three grand finals in a year,” Jewell said.
Jewell is confident grand final jubilation will present itself again this weekend, and he’s backing South Caulfield to cap an outstanding CSB season by winning the decider.
He has provided South players with new tactics and insights this season, like managing the controllable elements and ensuring his team performs at its best during crucial moments.
“These guys have made something like 13 or 14 grand finals themselves so they are well versed in the final game of the year,” Jewell said.
“We just need to take care of the little things on grand final day. The nerves and emotions can be a little bit high but as long as you take care of the controllables, you hope your skill level and everything else takes care of itself.”
He added: “Whatever you do, you need to do well. I’ve played in plenty of cricket finals when we’ve batted second and chased down totals. We chased down close to 400 for St Kilda one year. You just have to bat well and bowl well. Whatever you do first you’ve got to do it well.”
Jewell said coaching Rosebud to a football premiership in 2015 remains one of his “favourite ones”.
“(It was) the first non playing involvement as a coach,’’ he said.
“It’s not so much excitement but relief as a coach. You don’t get that exaltation you do as a player, it’s just relief that the job’s finally done. That sticks in my mind.
“Obviously all the St Kilda ones, what we built there…that sticks in my mind.
“And then the first Victorian one, after Queensland knocked us off and made 900, and we came back and beat them the following year.
“There’s been a lot of Twenty 20 premierships and one day premierships and, geez, they’re great at the time but they don’t rank up there.”
Jewell’s family connection at South Caulfield Cricket Club goes back to the late 1960s.
His dad, Richmond premiership player and coach Tony Jewell, played all of his cricket there, as did two of his uncles, Bob and Rick.
Even Nick himself wore the South cap; for a few games in under 16s.
Key players in the CSB Championship Division grand final, at Princes Park, Caulfield on Saturday-Sunday:
Michael De Iacovo, South Caulfield
The ex-St Kilda opener has got South off to a strong start all season and his ability to score quickly will be crucial.
Brad Erasmus, South Caulfield
Remains the most coveted wicket in CSB. A prolific run scorer and a proven big game performer.
Callum Dodson, Bonbeach
The former Casey South Melbourne paceman took on the Sharks captaincy this season and has done a sterling job, leading from the front with regular wickets.
Jak Jowett, South Caulfield
The former Premier Cricket left-arm paceman showed how destructive he can be with a haul of 6-23 against Mordialloc, including three wickets in his first 18 balls.
Robbie Lancaster, Bonbeach
The Wiz eats finals pressure for breakfast. Has taken 20 wickets at 19.1 with his left-arm spin, and he’s always good for vital runs in the tail, as he proved in the semi-final.
Alex Mason, South Caulfield
The English left-arm off-spinner has had a big impact this season, bowling long spells and proving hard to hit. Has taken the most wickets in the comp — 25 at 19.8
Bryce O’Connor, Bonbeach
The experienced opener has had a solid season (312 runs) but, with Tom Smith and George Thomas out of action, he becomes even more important to the Sharks.
Joshuah O’Donnell, South Caulfield
Has churned out runs all season and his unbeaten 103 in the last round took him to 502 runs, at 62. He’s vital in South’s star-studded top order.
Daniel Mueller, Bonbeach
The former St Kilda paceman is fiercely competitive, with ball and bat.
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