Doves’ grand groove

By Brad Kingsbury
DOVETON ended the gallant finals campaign of its traditional rivals Cranbourne with a methodical, but sometimes scrappy, 26-point preliminary final win at the Edwin Flack Reserve on Sunday.
The result sets up the grand final that most Casey Cardinia fans wanted to see with the star-studded Doves getting a second crack at their second semi-final conquerors Pakenham this Saturday.
The weekend game was rife with turnovers and not as free-flowing as many might have expected, while inconsistent and confusing umpiring decisions throughout the afternoon only served to underline the stop-start nature of the game.
Doveton kicked to the Princes Highway end and opened up with intent.
Spearhead Danny Casset shook off Cranbourne full-back Daniel Watson to mark three times in the first six minutes, kicking one goal and setting the scene for a dominant first quarter in which the Doves only allowed the ball in to the Eagles’ attacking 50-metre arc four times.
The margin at the first change was 22 points, but could easily have been bigger such was the impact of Doveton play makers Michael Henry, Callum Pattie, Ryan Hendy and Russell Gabriel.
The late omission of experienced defenders Brad Downe and Ricky Hayes was covered well by the return of Pattie and swing man Nathan Wilson to the Doveton backline, however Cranbourne’s delivery to its forwards, in particular Marc Holt, was indecisive making life easier for the Doves to clear the zone.
A quarter-time push and shove became a bit more serious during the second term with two players (one from each side) reported and sent from the field in separate incidents.
Cranbourne tagger Ricky Harmes and Doveton on baller Kim Aboujaber will both face the tribunal on charges of head-high contact.
The Eagles lifted their work rate, but could not make an impression on the scoreboard and still trailed the Doves by 21 points at the main break.
The sun hit the ground at the start of the third term and a breeze accompanied it, but again neither side was able to create enough momentum to break the game open.
Cranbourne youngster Ryan Jones was a key driving force for his side, shaking the tag of several Doves including Jason McCloy, Ben Hoskin, Ryan Pearson and Michael Laszyzyk, but again the Eagles delivery let them down and gave Pattie, Daryl Thomas and on-baller Shannon Henwood the scope to rebound.
When Casset slotted his third goal at the 25-minute mark of the third term the game was as good as gone and the veteran full-forward made it a certainty with his fourth eight minutes into the last quarter.
Cranbourne fought the match out to the end with Jones, Matt Thompson and Ray George named among their best.
Holt was kept goalless and well marked by Peter Greenstreet, but the burly backman had plenty of assistance from his Doveton team-mates including Pattie and Wilson who often double and triple teamed the Cranbourne star.
Doveton mentor Clint Wilson said the weekend effort was the opposite to the performance seven days before and gave credit to his players for having the mental strength to reverse their form.
“You’re not going to always play your best footy at times in finals and it was scrappy again, but we got the job done,” he said.
“The big thing during the week was to bounce back and it was a big effort because we did get flogged (in the second semi-final). We spoke about it on Tuesday night and then that was it.
“It wasn’t mentioned again. Cranbourne was a worthy opponent and you have to beat what’s in front of you. We missed a few opportunities early and that was disappointing, but we kept the pressure on.”
Wilson added that the back six were the side’s springboard to attack and reserved special praise for rugged defender Callum Pattie who was close to best afield.
“I wish I had two of him,” he chuckled. “I would like to play one around the centre or on ball and the other down back. He is fearless and wins the ball every time he goes near it.”
As the triumphant Doves turned towards their grand final challenge next weekend in the knowledge that there was still much improvement within the group, Cranbourne coach Doug Koop put his cue in the rack for 2009 content in the knowledge that his young side had exceeded pre-season expectations and were simply beaten on the day.
“They were just better than us, particularly in the first half when they got in and won the footy,” he said. “We started badly and it got worse. Our turnovers were just awful and you can’t let sides like Doveton get the ball easily and expect them not to hurt you.”
Despite the disappointment of losing, Koop assessed the season as a success overall.
“Without doubt, we were very disappointed not to make finals last year and really our only aim was to do that this year,” he said.
“Winning a final was a bonus, but I didn’t think we would be stepping into a preliminary final with a genuine chance of winning and making a grand final this year. We did exceed all expectations and we really only had three recruits (Daniel Watson, Curtis Barker and Brad Coller) so it was down to the improvement in the kids who were like a group of recruits from within.”
Koop added that the improvement in players such as Stuart Morrish, Matt Thompson, Luke Martin, Matt Rus, Troy Tharle-Adams, Matt Fletcher and Ricky Harmes had created a solid base for the club to build on in 2010 and beyond.