By RUSSELL BENNETT AND JARROD POTTER
COCKATOO young gun Daniel Welsh couldn’t wipe the smile from his face when he was told in February that he’d made the final cut of this year’s Eastern Ranges’ squad.
Just imagine how big that same smile had become on Sunday at Etihad Stadium after he played a starring role in the Ranges’ 112-point mauling of the Stingrays in the TAC Cup grand final.
“It’s amazing – absolutely amazing,” he said on the field straight after the match, still in a state of disbelief.
“I never would have thought 12 months ago that I’d be here right now standing on the ground at Etihad with a premiership medal.
“We’ve done all this hard work throughout the season and it’s finally paid off!”
But Welsh had been made to work even harder than most after, at one stage, he was turned away from the elite program at under-16 level – told his leg-speed and kicking weren’t up to scratch.
But instead of wallowing in self-pity, he immediately set his mind to turning those weaknesses into strengths. He worked with both a kicking, and a running coach to improve his game and wouldn’t let anything get in his way.
Welsh reaped the rewards of all that hard work on Sunday – booting three goals in a near best-on-ground display.
But the ever-modest Gembrook Cockatoo Football Club alum was quick to pay credit to his team mates – thanking them, coach Darren Bewick and his family for playing a key role in his career so far.
“I was pretty happy (with the goals) but it was from all the hard work by the boys in defence and the midfield just running it down there,” he said.
“I just finished off their work.”
Bewick, the former Essendon livewire, said the versatile Welsh had been “exceptional” all year.
“The fact that he’s done a (run-with) job for us but then been able to play off that as well – he’s been really good,” he said.
But never in Bewick’s wildest dreams did he think the Ranges would be so dominant in the season decider over the Stingrays – a team they’d previously lost to this year.
“We’ve been good all year and today was probably the first time we had a full complement of players to pick from,” he said.
“(But) I think the whole region should be congratulated with what we’ve done.
“The high-performance staff got us to a point where we were able to perform like we did today.”
