FARRER FILES: COLEAMBALLY BLUES
2015 Result: 4th (finished 5th on the ladder, but won through to second week of finals)
Home & Away: 8 wins; 8 losses
Finals Form: Won elimination final against Temora
Lost minor semi-final to North Wagga
Club Best & Fairest: Dean Pound
Rising Star: Jack Weymouth-Smith
Snapshot: Describing Coleambally’s season is a challenge for the great human minds. It’s still hard to know whether it was going alright (with late momentum) until it went wrong (run off their legs by North Wagga). Or whether it went wrong (failing to back up the form of 2014) until it went right (two late comebacks against Temora saving them from a season of underachievement).
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The Blues were disappointing in patches throughout the season, including as the second half of the season unfolded, when they were expected to being mounting a challenge. Injuries didn’t help, exposing a problem with depth, but they still failed to live up to expectations created in their first season under Mitch Carroll… until they upset an understrength TRYC; upset Temora in the last round to scrape into the five; and upset Temora again in the last quarter at Ganmain to win a final.
Describing Coly’s ambition is not so difficult. The Blues look to be going all out to deliver on the promise of the two seasons past, backing a rookie coach in Josh Hamilton with plenty of experience around him, including Coly’s previous coach Mitch Carroll; Hamilton’s previous coach, Brandon Mathews; Hamilton’s previous assistant coach, Tom Groves; and Chris Cerato, another former Swan with coaching experience. And that’s without mentioning the other talent and experience already at the Blues.
They’ve also picked up Shaun Light from Narrandera who will inject some pace but whether they’ll have the speed to compete with the top teams is one of the more interesting riddles even this far out from season 2016.
Highlights: Undoubtedly, the win against Temora in the elimination semi-final at Ganmain headlined Coly’s season. A similar result in round 18 – the week before, in Coleambally – might be a close second, as the Blues stormed into the finals having previously convinced most Farrer League observers that they were a spent force.
But the ability to pull off a similar comeback victory in the pressure of finals football – and deliver a do-or-die win under coach Mitch Carroll – sparked a feeling that they just might mount a challenge from fifth.
Ultimately, that dream was brought undone a week later but watching Simon Mackie and Jacob Breed and Dean Pound provide some last quarter thrills at Ganmain – after the Blues defence had dug in repeatedly to keep them in the game – was to witness Coly at their best.
It also gave coach Carroll his first finals win at Coly, after losing two straight finals in 2014.
Being beaten by North Wagga was tough to take but Carroll spoke of his pride in his players after that game.
“I was saying to the boys, I was proud of what they’ve done – five weeks ago it was curtains for us, but we come back and beat The Rock and won those last couple of games (against Temora) to get into the finals,” Carroll said.
Much of that revival came back to team spirit and a strong culture that had been created at the club.
“There’s no outsiders, everyone’s a real tight-knight group, we all stick together a lot and hang around after training and things like that. It’s real good, tight group and that’s the most pleasing thing,” Carroll said.
Lowlights: The loss to North Wagga at the Crossroads was a bitter pill to swallow because the Blues had started to feel – and generate within the competition – a sense that they might be the wildcard team in the finals capable of causing trouble for teams that had sat above them almost all season.
Mitch Carroll was a picture of disappointment after the game.
“The high we’ve been on the last couple of weeks, to get beaten like that – 6 or 7 goals – it’s just shattering,” he said.
“Especially the last two years – we bowed out the same weekend as last year.”
But the genuine disappointments came earlier in the year, as Coly struggled to live up to expectations created after a top three finish in 2014 (when they only just missed finishing as minor premiers).
Even allowing for a slow start, there was the feeling that as the season wore on the Blues would find their form and mount a challenge. But it almost never came… the lowpoint being a loss at home to Northern Jets on the weekend that Coleambally celebrated 50 years as a football club.
At the time of that defeat, finals hopes looked all but gone.
Of course, they rallied late but not many premiership challenges are mounted that late in the year. Heading into the final round, making the five wasn’t even entirely within their own control – and wasn’t confirmed until the final minutes– with the Blues needing to cause an upset over Temora themselves, and rely on Marrar losing. They pulled it off but that was just the start of a tightrope walk of sudden death, which ended in the second week.
But the lows in an up-and-down were highlighted by the home loss to the Northern Jets on a weekend when the Blues were celebrating 50 years as a club. It was the sort of occasion they needed to celebrate with a win, and a game they needed to win if they were to be serious finals contenders.
Surprise Packet: Jack Weymouth-Smith was Coleambally’s nomination for the rising star, and was named best first year player at the Blues but emerging young ruckman, Brendan Hardy, was the big surprise at the Blues.
Aged just 18, and only three years into playing footy (after a childhood in motocross) Hardy’s ability to step up and take the rucking duties gave Coly the luxury of flexibility with 2014 Clear Medallist, Dean Pound.
Hardy’s willingness to compete and go in hard impressed Coleambally and allowed Pound to spend time up forward. Hardy is likely to improve again in his second season in seniors and he’ll be even more valuable if giving the Blues the capacity to have both Pound and Hamilton forward at times.
Areas to improve: North Wagga exposed the Blues’ lack of speed and options on the outside, and that’s one aspect of their game they’ll need to improve if they’re to match the Saints, let alone East Wagga-Kooringal and The Rock-Yerong Creek.
New coach, Josh Hamilton, has indicated he wants the Blues fit in order to be firing for next year.
“Yeah, for sure, fitness – we’ll be doing a bit before Christmas,” Hamilton said.
He’s already kicked off a month of twice-a-week sessions before the pre-season proper starts in mid January.
“I want to try and get the boys real fit and that helps later in the year so we’ve got some things we’ll be working on.”
The signing of Light from Narrandera indicates the Blues want to inject some pace but the recruitment of experienced players also adds plenty of depth. Keeping Carroll as a player after signing Hamilton as coach is a big win, while Tom Groves will be a smart addition to the backline and Chris Cerato and Brandon Matthews have plenty of football miles in their legs.
What to look forward to: Giving 24-year old Josh Hamilton a crack at coaching, and surrounding him with support in the form of players who’ve done it all before, could be a masterstroke at Coly.
Hamilton looms as the sort of player who can inspire a team. He’ll be the figurehead for an experienced and hardened list to get behind, and fall in line to follow orders.
His fellow recruits ensure there’ll be a strong core of experienced players who know what level of commitment is required for success, and can lead the way for Hamilton.
Carroll also made it clear that he was keen to return because of the camaraderie at the club and the sense that this is a group with something still to give.
After acknowledging the Blues might have overachieved in his first year as coach, when they peaked early but wilted in the finals, Carroll believes last year there was a sense of underachievement. He’s heading back in the hope they can find a happy medium between the two, and deliver on their potential.
Carroll’s assessment of Coly as among the tightest knit playing groups he’s experienced shows how much respect he has for the players and gives a sense of the enjoyment they get out of playing together.
Mathews has caught the bug too, saying every impression he’s been given is of a great club and playing group and he’s keen to get in on the action.
A few more big names in the team will also mean a lot less pressure on Dean Pound and Simon Mackie, the two big men who stood tall in the elimination final against Temora.
Drew Kenna and Jacob Breed showed glimpses of their best in the two finals and, along with Carroll relieved of coaching responsibilities, could be set for big seasons.