By DAVID NAGEL
TOORADIN coach Lachlan Gillespie believes his side can cause an upset when the Seagulls take on their big-brother from up the highway, Cranbourne, under the bright lights of Casey Fields on Saturday night.
The Anzac Day clash, against one of the real powerhouse sides of the last decade, under a pressure cooker environment, provides the ideal opportunity for the Seagulls to really make their mark on the competition.
Gillespie believes his side took some real positives out of a heart-breaking one-point loss to Doveton in round one, after his side led by 25 points at the main break. A bye last week has given him two weeks to try and instil some more consistency into a brand-new game plan.
“I thought when we got our new set ups right against Doveton we were very good, and when we didn’t do that we were poor … it’s as simple as that, good sides just do it better and for longer,” Gillespie said.
“My expectation is that if we play our brand of football, for long enough, we’ll win most games we play in this year. But only time will tell.”
Gillespie said his shining young lights were now fitter and stronger than last year and ready to shed the excuse book that is the accompaniment of youth.
“We’re confident regardless; our young blokes like Kris Sabbatucci, Jesse Hand and Troy Dolan are just bigger than last year and we’ve got six or seven others coming through as well,” he said.
“We go in expecting to win every week from now on, but one thing I’ll never do is underestimate Cranbourne, they’ve got that fighting spirit and they certainly lift for the big games … and they love to beat Tooradin.”
One of the big changes at Westernport this season has been the elevation of full-back Adam ‘Zorba’ Galea to joint captaincy alongside Michael Hobbs. Galea said taking over from a star performer like Matt Wade was a bit daunting at first, but he’s now settling into the role.
“It was a little scary to start with, and I was a bit hesitant at first, but I’m excited by it now and hopefully I can live up to it all,’ Galea said. “I’m not a big talker like Hobbsy, so hopefully we can work well together and make sure the boys are doing everything they can to keep improving.”
Galea said playing on Anzac Day last year was a pretty awesome experience.
“Yeah it was, apart from the finals we played in a few years back I’ve never played in something so big, the build-up; everything about the day was really good to be a part of. It’s a huge privilege and honour to play on the day, to commemorate it; it’s a huge privilege for both clubs I think.” Cranbourne also has new captain with Matt Rus filling the huge boots of champion full-forward Marc Holt.
“It’s probably the toughest gig going around taking over from Marc Holt, because he’s probably the best player that any of us have ever seen,” the new skipper said.
“Obviously I can’t do what he does on the field but if I can lead half as well as he has I’ll really happy with that. And he’s still around if I need some advice.”
Rus said the Eagles had some special motivation when it came to Anzac Day.
“It’s really exciting and I know all the boys really look forward to it because it’s such a huge honour,” he said.
“The occasion is certainly not lost on us, with one of our own, Sean Mulqueen, having served in Afghanistan and we’re really proud of what he’s done. We can never understand what he’s been through but if we can make him proud with our performance that’d be great.”
“Tooradin has always matched up pretty well with us, no matter where they are on the ladder so we’ll have to be at our best to get the four points.”
Holt returns this week for his first game of the season, and his imposing presence, which will be tested by the strength of Galea, should be enough to get the Eagles home by 11 points.
