Saints v Wanderers in NTFL Grand Final
THERE are several reasons why Wanderers coach Paul Motlop wants to win this weekend's Northern Territory Football League Grand Final -- his sacking as coach on the cusp of premiership success in 2006 chief among them.
The Eagles are through to Saturday's premiership play-off after downing Southern Districts in last Saturday's preliminary final by 13 points. They will meet St Mary's and are hoping to add to their 10 NTFL premierships, and first since 1992/93.
If the Eagles can pull off an upset against the raging favourites, it will be oh-so sweet for Motlop, who was coach of Darwin Buffaloes during the 2005/06 season. The Buffaloes, with an energetic group led by former AFL premiership star Darryl White as captain, loomed as genuine contenders. But dissension from within saw Motlop replaced on the eve of the finals. He still is not 100 per cent certain why. Three weeks later, the Buffaloes prevailed to win the grand final, overwhelming St Mary's by 42 points. It is staggering that they even did, considering the build-up.
Motlop has yet to win an NTFL premiership. He's played in a senior grand final but hasn't savoured victory on the big stage. "You get that close and then you get that taken off you ... it has spurred me on a bit," Motlop said yesterday, recalling the events of March 2006.
It's not the most pleasant football memory for the Eagles coach but Motlop will only take from that what he needs to for this weekend. It's all about the here and now.
St Mary's has a 3-0 record over the Wanderers this season but Motlop discounts that as irrelevant.
"They've only played two games in four weeks so they might be short of a gallop," he said. "They think they've got this one down. If we can get out of the box early and keep the foot down, they might be having to chase us."
There's some symmetry at play here this Saturday. Motlop's brother, Mark, current Nightcliff mentor, was the last coach who took Wanderers to a grand final. That was in the 2004/05 season decider when the Eagles fell ... to St Mary's. "I only thought about this the other night, but I hope to go one better on Saturday," Motlop chuckled.
It's a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Wanderers. The final home-and-away game saw the Eagles snatch fourth spot. From there it's been do-or-die each week. Former North Melbourne and Melbourne forward Shannon Motlop, and Josh Cubillo played key roles in the Wanderers come from behind win. The Eagles were 22 points down midway through the final term when the fightback began.
"You always hope and try to reach grand finals," Motlop said. "We've improved every week and finishing games stronger which shows a lot of character. We've been down and out (in games) but we seem to find something for each other. Every (finals) game has been like a grand final for us. As a coach you can only take each game as it comes."
That NTFL grand final Motlop played in? It was in the 1984/85 decider with Nightcliff when they got belted by 178 points ... by the Saints. If there's some payback to be handed out on the club that's denied the Motlops over the years, this Saturday would be the day to give it.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Last Modified on 17/03/2009 08:56