FARRER FILES: TEMORA KANGAROOS
2014 Finish: Premiers
Home & Away: 12 wins; 4 losses.
Finals Form: Bye
Lost major semi-final to EWK.
Won preliminary final against Marrar
Won grand final against EWK.
Club Best & Fairest: Josh Hagar
Club Best First Year Player: Daniel Leary
Telstra Rising Star: Jack Irvine
Snapshot:
Like the cream on real, old-fashioned milk, Temora rose to the top of the Farrer League in 2014. Having dominated the competition the previous two seasons, the Kangaroos looked vulnerable at times… not least when the club announced on the eve of the finals that coach Mark Kruger’s contract wouldn’t be renewed. Or when they were rolled by East Wagga-Kooringal in the major semi-final, and a week later were given a run for their money by Marrar.
But when it mattered most, the Kangaroos delivered. Despite losing to the Hawks (twice), Coleambally and North Wagga in the home and away season, Temora grabbed the minor premiership in the last round. And on the biggest day of the year, they strangled EWK out of the contest… a professional performance that saw the finals loss of a fortnight earlier turned into a 10-goal premiership victory. Club president, Darryl Harpley, says it took some time for the effort to sink in: “I was sitting in a corner in a pub later that night and I thought, ‘Is it real? You’ve got to be kidding me!’”
So three straight first grade flags for Temora – the club that had gone more than half a century without one. And now, a change of coach.
Christin Macri makes a return to coaching at a local, senior level, after spending a handful of seasons working with the GWS Academy and serving as bench coach for the Giants’ reserve grade team last year. “I believe we’ve found a cracker in ‘Whip’,” says Harpley. “He was worth the wait… His level of qualifications for a start – he’s a level 3 coach, and there’s not a lot of them around. We know what he’s been doing and what he’s capable of because we’ve had a lot of our juniors go through rep footy and the GWS Academy.”
Macri acknowledges that taking charge of a club which has won three straight flags brings a certain amount of pressure. On the flip side, he takes control of a squad of proven performers, at a club with a strong culture and stable administration, and with an interest in developing juniors.
“I totally respect what he [Kruger] has been able to deliver. It’s definitely a challenge within itself. But I was impressed with the way they’re set up. I’m from a town about the same size in Victoria… and I like that feeling they’ve got. You get really good support and really good people around the town and the club. It’ll be a challenge but the more I spoke to them about the club setup off-field… it just allows me to coach.”
More from Macri a little later, but first a look back at the season that crowned the Kangaroos’ three-peat…
Highlights:
To win a grand final is every player’s dream. Defending it takes things to another level. And to deliver the hat-trick with a polished performance, shutting down a team you haven’t beaten all season? ‘Priceless’ they’d call it, if this was a Mastercard ad.
“The first premiership just blew us away, because we hadn’t won one for 52 years,” says Harpley. “The second was just sweet… they’re all sweet! This year was special for what we had to deal with during the year – the announcement that we were changing coaches just before the finals; the fact we had a lot of injuries and suspensions during the year which really tested our depth and the players’ character. To come out and win a grand final by 10 goals – that was something that probably we didn’t even think we could do on the day.”
With an eye on the challenge that lies ahead, Harpley says the development of their young players was one of the most pleasing aspects of the year. “Just the way the young guys who probably hadn’t played a lot of first grade stood up. And the way everyone contributed in the grand final. The guys that were young blokes three years ago, they’re really getting stronger and smarter at their footy. And seeing those guys develop is really great to watch.”
The Kangaroos insist first grade flags aren’t the only measure of a club’s success, proudly pointing out that all of their netball and football teams played finals in 2014. “I don’t think you gauge everything on premierships,” says Harpley. “It’s the numbers around your footy club; it’s the numbers of teams making finals and grand finals; and the off-field stuff as well. We’ve built a culture that should be admired.”
Lowlights:
There wasn’t too much for the Temora faithful to be disappointed about during the season, but the departure of key personnel after the grand final means a fourth will be that little bit harder.
Making their exits along with Mark Kruger (Kybybolite), have been gun midfielder Tim McAuley (South Mildura), grand final best-and-fairest Sam Fisher and Brad Moye (Northern Jets), and club best-and-fairest Josh Hagar with Jackson Moye (Marrar).
Harpley won’t hear a word of it being the ‘end of an era’. “People will slot in to the spots of those leaving. We’re building something here. It’s the end of an era if you lose all your players and you’re struggling, which we’re not. We intend to ramp up. We can’t stay where we are and be comfortable, we’ve got to find ways to improve. We might bring in a couple of players from outside, but they’ll be players that fit around what we’ve already got. It’s not the end of an era… we mightn’t win the premiership next year, but if that’s the case that doesn’t mean we won’t be successful.”
Kruger’s departure isn’t far from Harpley’s mind when asked if there were any disappointments. He insists that’s not the right word, but acknowledges it wasn’t easy. “Tough decisions were made, but we’ve got to move on. The timing of that wasn’t our decision – he wanted to know before the finals. To his credit, he continued to coach. He could’ve easily turned his toes up… but he still wanted to get the best out of the team and he wanted the best thing for the club. I’m sure he’ll have success anywhere as long as the club gets behind him because he’s a cracker of a coach.”
As for the players leaving, Harpley holds no grudges. Describing McAuley as a great player and asset to the club, he says he deserves the opportunity to test himself in a higher standard of league.
Josh Hagar, he says, who lives closer to Marrar than Temora, was always going to head to the Bombers at some point and “We were lucky to keep him this year. He nearly went last year. We’re glad he didn’t, and I guess he is too.” And Sam Fisher, who returns home to Ariah Park, “He gave us great service. He came for two and stayed for four.”
Surprise Packet:
The quality and consistency of Temora’s emerging footballers has already been mentioned. Kruger would regularly point out that they had started 2014 without seven players from the previous premiership, and recruited only one player (albeit a very good one – key forward Matt Wallis).
Jack Irvine was the club’s Telstra Rising Star nominee but the surprise packet, according to Harpley, was the man awarded the club’s own Best First Year Player award. “Daniel Leary – a young guy, out of the rep program. The only spot for him at the start of the year was thrown straight in the ruck. He was exceptional. He played well above his weight and age, and in the ruck, where there’s nowhere to hide. He did an exceptional job.”
Areas to Improve:
The Kangaroos will continue their focus on development, as they aim up for a third straight defence. “That’s a big focus of ours, always has been,” says Harpley. “We’ve got some real good ones who filled in this year when we had suspensions. They had to step up real quick and they did. Mark Kruger did a really good job developing them.”
That job is now Macri’s. “One of the attractions was they have got a good group of 17s coming through,” the new coach says. “And the junior club is strong too. From a club point of view, they care about their juniors, and they want to bring them on… My focus will be on developing the kids but I hope I can offer the senior players something too.”
With a handful of key departures, the club is looking to bring in two or three players, including a playing assistant coach although Macri hasn’t ruled out elevating someone from within the current squad.
The former GGGM premiership-winning coach says his role is about empowering players. “I think we’ve got a really strong group of leaders there and I’ll be driving the development of the players. I’ll prepare them as best I can and give them the tools to use on game day. But it’ll be up to the players on game day to deliver. I can’t do it for them.”
What to look forward to:
The two Matts – Harpley and Wallis – earned plenty of praise last season, including from Kruger who was thrilled with their work ethic and skill level. Darryl Harpley says both rejected offers from Ovens & Murray League clubs, and Wallis also had interest from RFL and Farrer League clubs. How they develop, and potentially dominate, a second season together could be one of the highlights of football in the region.
Macri also knows he’s inheriting a squad with a winning mentality. “I know as a player myself, when you’re winning you just want to taste more of it. Ganmain was testament to that, with those seven premierships in eight years. They know how to win. For Temora to turn around that second semi result to the grand final, that’s significant in the mindset of players.”
There’s also great interest in what the new coach can offer. Harpley even puts a figure on it: “We believe he can get another 20-30 percent out of them…which is as good as recruiting four players.”
Macri’s experience at the Giants also offered exposure to coaching at a higher level. He considers himself fortunate to have worked alongside Brett Hand, highlighting the way he interacted with players.
Macri wants to free players up to play on instinct where possible, to play without worry. And driving that will be good communication. “I want to be open and honest with them. And them with me… knowing they can talk about anything at any time. Whether it’s playing a different position, or playing on a different sized player, or perhaps getting out of a bit of a slump… hopefully there are things I can help them with.”
Of course, success breeds competition and all involved at Temora know it only gets harder to add premierships every year. But coach and president say they’re rapt if the Kangaroos’ winning run helps improve the standard across the Farrer League.
“We’ll be the hunted again – which you expect. I think the league’s getting stronger and stronger but these players coming in from outside are a massive asset to those clubs,” says Harpley. “East Wagga are an exceptional side, what they’ve done is fantastic… Coly will be up and about; Barellan will probably be a surprise packet… they’re a proud club.”
Macri says it’s good for the club as well as the competition. “I’m really pleased from a coaching point of view too. It’s important to have a really good standard – you want your players to be having tough games most weeks. It’s important for their development.”
