By Marcus Uhe
Unevenly matched on paper and yet considerably outmatched on the field.
The prospect of an upset was extinguished very by Wandin in its Outer East Football Netball Premier Division elimination final against fierce rival Mt Evelyn on Saturday, as the reigning premiers dismantled the plucky Rovers in a dominant three quarters.
While a strong final quarter from Mt Evelyn put some respectability on the scoreboard, there was no outdoing a goalless opening three quarters as Wandin handled a tricky opening finals contest with ease.
11.11 77 to 5.12 42 read the final score, the Bulldogs clinical in its inside 50 execution and capitalising on the gusty conditions at Woori Yallock, the first win in a block of four weeks to defend last season’s premiership.
Kicking with the wind at its back in the first and third quarters, Wandin nailed nine of its 11 goals for the afternoon during those periods, where Mt Evelyn went goalless in the second when they had it, setting the scene for a tough third term.
Wandin kicked four in the first to race to a 22-point lead at the first change or ends, and held strong in the second while kicking the only goal of the term through Patrick Hodgett, to consolidate the early advantage.
Hodgett and Patrick Bruzzese showed their elite chemistry and understanding of of one-another by the midfielder executing a deft, elevated kick deep to Hodgett in a one v two, who outreached his opponent to reel in the grab, and convert from close range.
It was an ideal half of football from the Bulldogs, who used the third quarter to ram home their ascendancy.
Mt Evelyn was beginning to wrestle back some momentum at stoppages, but used the ball poorly going inside 50.
Wandin’s assertive backs, in Tom Hinds, John Ladner and Sam Hodgett, were able to peel off of their direct opponents and intercept kicks in flight, repelling with relative ease and launching scoring chains from the back half.
Hodgett displayed forward craft more akin to a player half his height with a clever dribble kick from hard against the boundary to open the scoring for Wandin, acquiring possession after Callum Urquhart ducked into a tackle and was not given a free kick, before Mullett defied physics with an absurd goal on his left foot from the left forward pocket.
The Rovers’ best scoring chance came at the 15 minute mark of the quarter, when Bruzzese’s tackle of Daimon Kift slipped around the bullocking midfielder’s neck, and gave him a chance to peg one back from directly in front.
His wind-altered kick was wayward, however, and the resulting kick out saw Wandin go the length of the ground with its sharp foot skills.
In a matter of three kicks, Todd Garner had snuck forward and marked at a tough angle deep in the right forward pocket, and joined the party with a brilliant set shot to put the lead at 50 points.
Coming on the back of a Rovers miss, the play encapsulated the gulf between the two sides, and acted as an early nail in the Rovers’ coffin.
For the second time in 2024, Mt Evelyn reached its three-quarter-time huddle without a goal to its name, and threw caution to the wind for the final 20 minutes of its season.
It netted them five goals, but would serve as only window dressing for what was a disappointing afternoon.
The word that came to mind for Wandin’s coach, Nick Adam, was discipline.
With the wind forcing a change in approach, he was delighted with his players’ ability to adapt, and execute what had been planned during the week.
“I was really pleased, particularly with the second quarter, that we were able to stick to task the way that we did,” Adam said.
“I thought our back six was outstanding.
“I heard (Mt Evelyn) talking before the game, (saying) they wanted stoppage, they wanted contest.
“Our stoppage numbers, we would have matched them today, and it’s probably the first time this year we’ve done that.
“That allows our back six to be more assertive, more aggressive in trying to win the ball, rather than be back-shoulder defending.
“This ground is big enough that, if you are composed enough, little pockets of space will open up and even on days like this, I still back my team in to, off two steps, hit a target 15 metres away and I feel we did that really well in the second quarter.”
Contrasting styles made for a fascinating watch in the coaches box, with the Rovers a contested ball-winning machine and the Bulldogs loving the open space.
Kift, Max Kleverkamp and Will Gordon make for a dynamic centre bounce trio for the Rovers, and something the Bulldogs knew they had to counter.
Into the ruck went Clint Johnson to combat the body of Gordon, and the midfield group adjusted accordingly by preparing to rove to Gordon’s hits, given their man’s height advantage.
Harrison van Duuren, meanwhile, slid back from the wing to behind the ball when the Rovers had the wind, setting up camp in front of Urquhart and helping Leiwyn Jones to keep the key threat quiet, with Jordan Jaworski moving from half-forward to a wing in order to become more involved.
It’s been a deliberate focus of Wandin’s in recent weeks, to trial players in different positions ahead of a September assault, and it appears to be bearing fruit.
While the final quarter did not display the killer instinct of a side gunning to repeat their heroics of the year before, Adam was unperturbed, confident in his players’ ability to flick the switch when required.
“The reality is, you’re never going to play the perfect game, but can you catch some excellence,” he said.
“To keep a group up emotionally for four quarters when you’re 10/11 goals up at three-quarter-time, I would have loved us to be able to put them away, but with that wind doing what it was, and their need to score… they started to go really direct, got some umpiring decisions to go their way and took some really good marks, that’s footy.
“We had strong conversations about it during the week, as a group, that this is what this club is built around doing; getting ourselves into this position each year, and when we get to this first week of finals, we start again.
“We know that we get a lot of flack externally, but we like to pride ourselves on putting ourselves in this position each year, and then once we get there, start again and try to win it.”
The brilliant seasons of Bruzzese and Chayce Black continued in the middle of the ground, with the height of Johnson, Patrick Hodgett, and Sam Mutsaers all critical in nullifying the Rovers.
They’ll face Olinda Ferny Creek next week, another step closer to repeating the history of 2023.
