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Sport

14 September, 2023

The Coaches' Say — Harcourt V Carisbrook

Harcourt and Carisbrook do battle again on Saturday, with plenty at stake. Harcourt comes into this grand final having won 26 games in a row, but 2022 premiership coach Dan Wridgway knows that means very little come Saturday. Instead, Wridgway has...

By Michael Thompson

Carisbrook co-captain Nick Wright and Harcourt co-captains Tom Walters and Darby Semmens. Photo: 150923 25
Carisbrook co-captain Nick Wright and Harcourt co-captains Tom Walters and Darby Semmens. Photo: 150923 25

Harcourt and Carisbrook do battle again on Saturday, with plenty at stake.

Harcourt comes into this grand final having won 26 games in a row, but 2022 premiership coach Dan Wridgway knows that means very little come Saturday.

Instead, Wridgway has been calm and collected about the week, and has sat back and enjoyed being able to focus on the goal at hand.

“We’ve been focusing on enjoying our time together as a group. Rarely does a team stay the same year-on-year. We’ve been making sure we enjoy the week together and the build-up as well,” he said.

Wridgway doesn’t expect anything less than a fierce, competitive game from both lineups, especially given Carisbrook’s status in the competition — this being their eighth grand final in succession.

“Both teams are incredibly competitive and we’ve had some ripping battles over the last few years. Luke Treacy and Dean Chester are great leaders of the club, Carisbrook have demonstrated a level of sustained success for a long time, which is something we aspire to achieve,” he said.

However, Wridgway says there’s plenty to look forward to.

“We’re excited about getting to play Carisbrook again, it’s been a long time since we’ve played them, and it’s going to be a challenge. The weather will also be a lot better than last year, so it’s going to be great to have another crack at them,” he said.

Wridgway admits some big decisions will be made at selection, but he also knows that the 22 that is selected will be there to play their role.

“We’re big on making sure our players just play their role. We are fortunate that we have a bunch of guys who work incredibly hard away from the club as well, and it is paying dividends in their ability to run out games,” he said.

While being a back-to-back premiership coach would be something that Wridgway cherishes, he stressed the importance of bringing success back to the club.

“The feeling and support around the club is fantastic,” he said.

“Clubs are based around the hard work from volunteers and committee, so it will be great for them to experience some reward for their effort.

“At Harcourt, we have built a culture where we feel no one is bigger than the club, the achievement and success as a collective is our main goal.

“I’d be very grateful to win another premiership with Harcourt, but more importantly it’s something we can share with the whole community.”

On the other side of the fence at Carisbrook, mentor Treacy has seen it all before, given how much the club has experienced this day.

Nevertheless, it’s still a special occasion for the club to be up there on grand final day.

“We don’t take it for granted. It’s so difficult to get there and grand finals are hard to win. But we feel we are doing the right things to get us there. We need to make sure we can perform on the day,” Treacy said.

“There are so many clubs that are working hard to get there, such as Harcourt, who have done exceptionally well for the last few years.”

Their work will see them participate in four of the five football grand finals to be held on the day.

“We’re proud of the footy program that we’ve put together, and that starts from the bottom, with the juniors doing senior-level drills with modifications for them. The under 17.5s have trained with the senior group at least once a week all season,” Treacy said.

“We do feel we are all in it together, and we’re thrilled when all our teams get through. We feel united in that sense. We hope we can do everyone proud with our efforts on the weekend.”

Treacy says the seniors are ready to go.

“We’ll go in full strength, and grand final day, there is never any excuses. The teams that do get there need to be ready to go.

Treacy also paid tribute to co-coach Dean Chester.

“Dean has been a great addition as co-coach. We desperately missed him last year on the field due to his injury. But we hope to add him to our great history of premiership coaches on Saturday afternoon,” he said.

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