Gavin Chaplin hasled his side to itsfirst grand finalappearance since2014 in his first yearas head coach.PHOTO: Carly Grant
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SOUTH Gawler and Gawler Central have only ever met once in a
If South Gawler is able to conquer the seemingly unconquerable Gawler Central, it will be its first A-grade flag since 1993, but will also break the tie between the two clubs as both sit on three flags in the BL&G era.
Gawler Central coach Matt Whelan said the prospect of etching this side into the upper echelon of the club’s history is something he isn’t taking lightly.
“When I first took the job it was on the back of the fourth straight grand final appearance – a loss which made it one out of four – and the club made a decision with me to go back to the fabric of what the footy club wanted to be,” he said.
“We’ve been able to build that to a point where we have really good As and Bs – some really good depth.
“So to then get a lot of those players from those grand final years come back – like Sean Brading, and Charlie Molyneux to name a couple – and appreciate what we’ve been able to build in a couple of years is a really good feeling.
“We’ve all seen it happen where the best side all year rocks up on grand final day and gets done, but the satisfaction levels of getting that ultimate success will be quite high if we can finish the job, because it was a real process to get here.”
Whelan said while the sides’ earlier game this season wasn’t particularly close (Gawler Central won by 45 after leading by 40 at quarter time), he feels prepared for the tricks the Lions might try and throw at him.
“They tried some things in that second half against us where they actually played really well, like putting an extra behind the ball,” he said.
“They did it again on Saturday (against Angaston) by putting Pat White back there as an extra man, but that’s okay because we’ve seen them do that, and they’ve got the ability to play a taller and stronger forward line with their resting ruckman forward too.
“But they also can go really small forward, and they get a lot of goals out of their smaller-type player up there or their midfielders pushing up – so we’ve had a good sample of what they like to do, and what sort of changes they like to bring in on the fly during a game.
“We certainly don’t underestimate them – they’ve got some really good pace and things like that we need to be wary of – but we’ve got enough of a sample to know what they’re trying to do and who their key pieces are in certain situations.”
South Gawler coach Gavin Chaplin said he also took some valuable lessons from the first meeting, but that he doesn’t mind the underdog tag going into the big game.
“We came up against the best side in the competition, and they played like they were just that,” he said.
“We’ve got some challenges in regards to how we line up and how we play against them, but over the past two weeks we’ve played two tough, hard games of footy – and they’re coming off two weeks with no real games.
“I like where we’re at – and they’re a good side, don’t get me wrong – they’re red hot favourites, and nobody will pick us to get near them… I’m liking that.”
