GFL Grand Final: All the news, injuries and updates ahead of St Mary’s vs. Leopold
They wish their sides were playing, but now looking from the outside, Damien McMahon and Darcy Lang have some ideas on where the GFL decider could be won.
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Newtown & Chilwell coach Damien McMahon and Colac counterpart Darcy Lang were hoping to be a part of GFL grand final day.
With their sides eliminated, we asked them about some of the key areas they think could decide Saturday’s blockbuster decider between St Mary’s and Leopold.
DARCY LANG
TO TAG OR NOT TO TAG
With so many weapons in each side’s midfield, the question of whether or not to tag is a tough one.
Colac tagged Lions skipper Marcus Thompson in their semi-final clash, while Newtown & Chilwell coach Damien McMahon chose to go head-to-head in the preliminary final.
“We tagged Marcus Thompson this year, it was effective the first time we did it, probably not so much the second time around,” Colac co-coach Darcy Lang said.
“St Mary’s, you’ve got multiple players you could probably tag.
“In my opinion, I don’t reckon they’ll tag, either team, it’ll be more just head-to-head match-ups and sort of more old school, you’re accountable for this player type thing rather than a real hard tag.”
A MATCH-UP MADE IN HEAVEN
It’s the match-up Lang would love to see and the one that would enthral fans on Saturday: Harry Benson v Marcus Thompson.
The top two midfielders this GFL season, each has played a vital role in their team’s success.
Benson claimed the Mathieson Medal despite missing five matches due to a fractured jaw, while Thompson came in second by two votes.
Lang, who won the award on 26 votes but was ineligible due to suspension, said it would be good to watch the pair match-up at the contest. “Benson and Marcus Thompson … obviously one and two in the Matho this year, if they go head-to-head at stoppages it’d be good to watch,” he said.
WHERE IT WILL BE WON
St Mary’s and Leopold each possess strong midfields that bat deep and each is set to have their time in the sun on Saturday.
Lang said it was each side’s strongest line and whoever dominated in that area would help themselves go “a long way to winning”.
“The midfield battle, for both the teams I think it’s both of their strongest line,” Lang said. “If you can get on top in that area, contested ball, loose ball gets and sort of dominate the clearance count and inside-50s, it goes a long way to winning.”
PREDICTIONS: Leopold by 5 points, Oliver Tate best-on-ground
DAMIEN MCMAHON
THE WEAPONS
Everywhere you look there are stars ready to shine, but for Newtown & Chilwell coach Damien McMahon, there are a handful who stand out the most.
“I think Leopold have two major threats that you’d want to stop, if Marcus Thompson plays, you don’t want him impacting the game like he has all year,” McMahon said.
“Obviously keeping (Mitch) Patten quiet (too) because he’s a guy who only needs five touches to kick four goals.
“If you can keep Patten to one or two goals I think you can keep Leopold to 10 or under goals and if you can keep them to (that) I think St Mary’s can kick more than that.”
While everyone is drawn to Benson or Jack Blood, there are two other Saints McMahon would be wary of.
“I think (Jarryd) Garner is their (St Mary’s) No. 1 weapon, he’s the player who doesn’t get talked about enough in the competition, very similar to Marcus Thompson,” he said.
“Tom Lang is obviously coming off a long setback but I think history says he’s a guy who can stand up and kick five goals in a game.
“He’ll enjoy the extra space on the bigger deck because he’s a lead-up forward, not a stand in the goalsquare and jostle-type forward.”
LIONS ATTACK HOLDS KEY
McMahon knows all too well the marking power of Leopold’s tall forwards after Connor Giddings’ Leo Barry-style mark and goal after the siren last weekend.
McMahon said St Mary’s and Leopold’s midfields should break even, so it would be up to the Lions’ forwards to turn the tide in their favour.
While Patten will draw a lot of attention, tall forwards like Giddings and Jake Pitt could play a key role.
“It’ll be Leopold’s forwards, if their forwards can mark and kick goals like they did against Colac, I think Leopold can win,” McMahon said.
“If St Mary’s backs can contain their forwards, and I think they will, I think St Mary’s win.”
WHEN STARS COLLIDE
Two weeks ago in Leopold’s 70-point thrashing of Colac, Oliver Tate was best-on-ground, racking up 24 disposals (22 of those effective).
For parts of that contest, Tate played on Colac star Darcy Lang and limited his influence, keeping him to 24 touches, 13 of those effective.
McMahon said Tate could have a role to play on Saturday in slowing down St Mary’s star Jarryd Garner.
“I would imagine Ollie Tate would go and play on (Jarryd) Garner,” he said.
“I think that would be a great match-up if that happened.”
PREDICTIONS: St Mary’s by 18 points, Jarryd Garner best-on-ground
Grand final deck suits ‘undersized’ Saints forward line
Star St Mary’s forward Patrick Dowling admits he returned from ankle injury too soon this year, but says he is fit and firing ahead of Saturday’s GFL grand final.
Dowling suffered torn ligaments in his ankle back in round 7, sidelining him for three games.
While he’s been held goalless three times since coming back, Dowling has saved his best form for the right time of the year, kicking three and four goals respectively against Newtown & Chilwell when the sides met in round 17 and again in the semi-final.
“I‘ve just been waiting until the season’s done to get an MRI on that one and sort it out,” Dowling said.
“It’s fine, no dramas there, I had a jab on Monday, I’ll be all sweet to go, should be 100 per cent.
“It was a bit challenging coming back, to be honest I probably came back a little bit too early and played games where I probably didn’t need to play.
“It was obviously all for match fitness and I think the first final I thought I played pretty well and I was just confident that I got through that game after having it stepped on and stuff.”
Dowling’s partner in crime up forward, Tom Lang, has had to deal with his own injury concerns this season, with a fractured hand forcing him out for rounds 11-15.
Dowling said while he and Lang had been out at different stages of the season, they had a good chemistry, evident in their output this year with Lang booting 23 goals and Dowling 27 in their nine games together.
“Tom’s great, he’s one of the selfless forwards, he lets me do my thing and I just kind of let him do his thing,” Dowling said.
“We’re obviously not overly tall, but we kind of just complement each other pretty well.”
Lang said the Saints’ non-traditional forward line had been a staple of their side for a few years and worked in “our favour”.
“It helps having a pretty solid midfield that can really run and provide some good kicking for us forwards,” he said.
“Traditionally we’ve never really been a really tall forward line, we’ve kind of been undersized, but I think that kind of does work in our favour a little bit.
“Especially on the big grounds like St Albans, there’s lots of room to move around and lead which is definitely our strength.
“It’s just a matter of Patty and myself competing in the air against the taller defenders, which I think Leopold do have.”
Premiership star declares his ‘future is with Leopold’
Leopold star Logan Wagener has declared his footballing future is with the Lions as he prepares to help lead a young team to premiership success on Saturday.
Now regarded as a “veteran” of the side at the ripe age of 24, the VFL-listed midfielder gave his younger teammates an idea of what to expect on grand final day at training on Tuesday.
Wagener has a unique insight into the Lions’ tilt at a flag this year, as one of only a handful of remaining players from the club’s 2016 premiership team.
Wagener said his time at Werribee’s VFL side this season had taught him how to be a better leader.
“There’s things I’ve learned at Werribee that I wanted to bring back here and teach to some of the younger guys,” he said.
“We’re actually quite a young group, when we played in the last grand final I was 18 and one of the youngest, now at 24 I’m one of the oldest here, so it’s definitely a different sort of role I have.
“Having been there before, and being only one of five who played in 2016, I’m trying to help out the younger guys who haven’t experienced this week and try to give them a bit of advice.”
Wagener returned to Leopold this year after two seasons with Newcomb in the BFL, and has split his time between the Lions and Werribee, where he played eight games this year.
He said he enjoyed his time at Newcomb and Werribee, but his future was at Leopold.
“I loved my time at Newcomb, don’t get me wrong, I met some really great people there and have made some great friends,” he said.
“I’ve done what I wanted to do during my time in the VFL, but I love Leopold, this is where I want to play my footy.
“I don’t see myself playing anywhere else, my future is with Leopold.”
Star Saint ‘stoked’ to be a part of flag push
A calf injury hampered Ben Moloney’s ability to play a full season in 2022, however the birth of his third child helped to put it all in perspective.
The star St Mary’s midfielder is set to play a pivotal role in the Saints’ hopes of back-to-back GFL premierships at St Albans Reserve on Saturday, three years after he was named best-on-ground in their 2019 triumph over Colac.
It wasn’t a smooth ride to this point, however, Moloney managing just six senior games to date.
“The thing about kids is you can go home and you can be annoyed and frustrated about a game of footy but as soon as you get home it all disappears,” Moloney said.
“It’s certainly distracted me from not playing and not being able to be a part of it.”
A tweak of Moloney’s calf in the pre-season quickly became more serious for the 31-year-old, however now that he has returned, he is “stoked to be a part” of another grand final side.
“I did my calf before a pre-season praccy match … then was doing some rehab running and basically just ripped a hole in it, really,” he said.
“I missed a fair chunk of the season so (it was) frustrating knowing that I (wasn’t) able to play and help and be a part of it all.
“I’m the oldest by about three or four years I think, so I’m just stoked to be a part of it and to know that I’m able to hopefully play a role and hopefully get the points in the end.”
Moloney said his form was “scratchy” when he returned to the senior side in round 12, however added that he’s found some continuity since returning.
“Probably early I was scratchy, just match fitness, you can train as much as you want but to replicate a game, it’s very difficult,” he said.
“Now that I’ve played sort of a handful of full games, I mean finals ramps up again … I think you just find another gear somehow or from somewhere, it just happens.”
Looking towards a blockbuster match-up with Leopold, Moloney said the midfield contest would be key in the result of the game.
“They’ve got the Thompson brothers (Marcus and Jai), Logan Wagener and obviously Trent West has sort of come in later in the year, he’s a pretty elite ruckman to have tapping it down your throat,” he said.
“Our midfield’s just as strong, we’ve got a bit of a mix in the ruck with a big body and younger blokes who can jump.
“It’ll be a really massive contest on ball, I think it’ll be a battle of midfields … it’ll be awesome to watch, to be honest.”
Lions, Saints select grand final sides
Leopold coach Garry Hocking says his listed 22 players for Saturday’s GFL grand final “is probably what it (the team) is”, however left the door open for a possible late change.
The Lions come into the decider the in-form team of the GFL and have named an unchanged side for the grand final, with captain Marcus Thompson the only player under an injury cloud.
The Mathieson Medal runner-up suffered a hamstring injury in last weekend’s preliminary final win, however Hocking said he is feeling a lot better.
“At this point in time what you see is probably what it (the team) is, I’m not expecting anyone to miss at this point,” Hocking said.
“If we have a look at their (St Mary’s) team and what changes are happening there and some of the match-ups, there might be, maybe, possibly one change, two changes, three changes, don’t know.
“We’ve just got to try and line up and have what we think’s right to be able to go against them.
“Speaking to him (Thompson) over the last couple of days he feels a lot better than he did on the weekend, might be just back related a little bit.”
Hocking said Thompson would be given every chance to prove his fitness.
“He’s had a bit of work done (to) free himself up a little bit, he’ll train tonight, we’ll still give him until Saturday to make that decision,” he said.
“We might make a change depending on him, or we might make a change depending on what the opposition have gone with as well.”
Hocking said the size of St Albans Reserve came into his thinking for team selection, however was hesitant to make changes considering the good form his side has been in.
“You do have a look at whether you’re fast enough through the midfield, you’ve got enough height down back, you’re quick enough down back, you’ve got enough height down forward, you’re quick enough forward, all that sort of stuff,” he said.
“You look at that a little bit for the size of the ground, but we’re in really good form and I wouldn’t like to sort of muck around with the team too much.”
In the St Mary’s camp, Trent McMullan (hamstring) has been named in an unchanged Saints side despite an injury cloud after going down in St Mary’s semi final win over Newtown & Chilwell.
Saints co-coach Travis Robertson said 21 players were locked in, but the final spot would be decided once McMullan had completed a fitness test at training on Thursday night.
To tag or not to tag: Teams tight-lipped over run-with roles
St Mary’s captain Jack Blood and Leopold skipper Marcus Thompson have both predicted a fierce midfield battle on grand final day.
The two sides boast some of the most damaging and formidable ball-winners in the competition, with the battle for clearances set to determine the premiership on Saturday.
Blood said stopping a player of Thompson’s calibre would not be a one-man job.
“Leopold’s got a good calibre of midfielders, they’ve added a lot of depth,” he said.
“The Thompson boys (Marcus and Jai), Brock (Williamson), Logan Wagener are all very good players.
“Then again we’ve got just as good players, and I believe it’ll be a really good match up.
“It’ll be won more-so in the midfield I believe, it’s going to be who can impact the game more.”
In the Lions’ semi final victory against Colac, the Tigers sent Kane Smartt to Thompson with great effect, with the captain collecting just 21 disposals and five free kicks against in the 70-point win.
St Mary’s co-coach Travis Robertson refused to confirm if Thompson would receive a tag.
“There’s going to be roles to play across the ground, our guys know what they’ll be doing,” he said.
“He’s a really good player so we’ll put some work into him and stopping his influence, but we back our midfield in doing their jobs well.”
Thompson agreed the midfield would be where the game would be won, with two-time Mathieson Medalist Harry Benson a real threat to Leopold’s chances of victory.
“To pinpoint what area of the ground is going to be the most influential is pretty hard to narrow down,” he said.
“There are fantastic areas at both ends of the ground … we’ve got a lot of respect for the midfield group they are, and I think it’s going to be a hell of a battle inside.
“There’s no doubt that Harry Benson is the first bloke that comes to my mind, he’s the player in the competition for a reason, even with the broken jaw mid-season for him to be able to come back and still be so influential there’s no doubt he’s going to be a player we look at.
“I don’t think there will be a run-with role or anything like that specifically.
“Whoever we walk to at the middle of the ground is who we’ll match up on, I’ve got a lot of respect for their entire midfield group but obviously Harry is a star and a fantastic player.
“There will be no issues at all if we line up next to each other … I think no doubt the spectators are going to get a fantastic display of footy no matter the result.”
Coaches Call: Who wins the GFL grand final, best on ground
The coaching fraternity around Geelong has struggled to split the two teams vying for the premiership, with a relatively even split between Leopold and St Mary’s voters.
Only four of the nine voting coaches believe St Mary’s will go back to back, while five think Leopold will win its first flag since 2016.
It is expected to be a close game regardless of the result, with only two coaches tipping a margin of three goals or more but none more than 20 points, and three coaches expecting a single-digit game.
Leopold star Mitch Patten is expected to continue his goalkicking ways that saw him boot 55 majors in the home-and-away season, with four coaches predicting the mercurial forward to slot the first of the day.
St Mary’s key forward Tom Lang was tipped by two to kick the first goal of the game, while Patrick Dowling, Harry Kol and Logan Wagener all received one vote.
No coach could agree on a consensus best-on-ground winner, with Saints players Ben Moloney, Jack Blood, Jarryd Garner and Harry Kol all receiving singular votes.
Leopold also received a handful of singular votes, with Oliver Tate, Marcus Herbert, Marcus Thompson, Logan Wagener and Mitch Burgess all on notice for the honour.
Two-time Mathieson Medalist Harry Benson is an overwhelming favourite to get leather poisoning, with four coaches predicting him to have the most touches.
Jarryd Garner and Logan Wagener received two votes each for the most touches, while Lions captain Marcus Thompson received a solitary vote.
Mitch Patten and Tom Lang are the two favourites to lead the game for goals kicked, with three and two coaches respectively predicting the pair to boot the most majors.
Jake Pitt, Connor Giddings, Paddy Dowling and Harry Kol all received votes to lead the day for goals.
Key forward racing the clock for grand final fitness
St Mary’s skipper Jack Blood is staying upbeat about the health of one of the Saints’ key forwards ahead of Saturday’s GFL grand final.
Trent McMullen suffered a hamstring injury in the qualifying final win against Newtown & Chilwell two weeks ago, and is racing the clock to be fit for the season decider.
Blood said the forward would be given every opportunity to confirm his fitness.
“Trent is still ticking a few boxes, he’ll still have to tick a few more and honestly he’s fighting to be in the 22 by Saturday,” he said.
“He seems to be going along really well and hopefully it keeps going along that way, but if not it’s a big group mentality of next up, next in line will also play a role in the team.
“I’m sure the coaches would have discussed that (who would replace McMullen), but I haven’t been a part of those talks so far, we just play with who got out there.”
McMullen was not the only injury concern out of the qualifying win against the Eagles, with midfield star Jarryd Garner and Blood ending the game with ice strappings on their calf and quad respectively.
Blood returned from a six-week quad injury to play in the qualifying final, and said he feared he might have missed the grand final.
“There were a couple of tricky weeks where I thought it just kept going back a little bit,” he said.
“It was really quite frustrating for a few weeks … it’s actually (now) feeling the best it has been, it’s going to be eight weeks on Saturday but it’s been a struggle for probably four of those weeks.
“I’m actually able to run fine, but kicking is the last little thing I can’t get over, but the last two weeks have been really good.
“It was probably more mentally (a hurdle in the return game against the Eagles), just getting over the last stage of ‘is it able to kick, is it going to go’.
“It’s not something you want to be missing out on, a chance to play in a grand final, so it was in the back of my mind, but once I got out there it freed up a lot more and I actually felt better the Sunday than going into the Saturday.”
Captain under injury cloud ahead of GFL grand final
Leopold captain Marcus Thompson has revealed he “is any chance” to miss the GFL grand final after he was sent for scans on an injured hamstring.
The runner up in the Mathieson Medal played out the preliminary final victory against Newtown & Chilwell despite the injury, and was sent for scans to determine the extent of the injury.
Thompson said he gambled on the fitness of the hamstring in the victory.
“It felt fine in the second half, I was sort of coming out of the contest with a bit of a knock and it was just tightness,” he said.
“It was a bit of a gamble on the day of if you try to play through it and possibly rule yourself out if you were to win, but at the same time you don’t want to risk sitting out and possibly losing the game.
“So there were a few conversations with the coaching staff and obviously the trainers and we decided to take the safe route of me playing a bit deeper and being looked after.”
Thompson had 22 disposals (16 contested) and kicked two goals, including one to bring the Lions within a point, in the preliminary final clash.
He said he would rule himself out of the grand final if he was not fit.
“I had scans, and we’ll get the results and assess it … maybe tomorrow (Tuesday),” he said.
“I got through okay and I’ll probably rest it tomorrow (Tuesday) night and train Thursday and we’ll make a call then.
“I guess there is any chance (that I miss), I wouldn’t put myself out there if I wasn’t 100 per cent right to go, it’s just not something that I would want to do to the team.
“I’ll definitely give it a good test on Thursday and go from there.”
St Mary’s captain Jack Blood has declared himself fit after finishing the semi final win against Newtown & Chilwell with ice on his quad.
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