Third time’s not the charm (guest post)

 

This post was originally published on Manny's blog.

I’m not sure how many people want to read this, and to be honest, I’m not really sure I wanted to write this. As you probably know, South lost their third grand final in a row to Oakleigh on Saturday. I made the effort to be there and watch the game.

Pre-match and the State Football Centre
I was feeling rather numb about the whole experience even before the game. Having attended South’s last two Grand Final losses, my emotional battery was running pretty low. Knowing that the best case scenario involved 90 minutes of nerve racking direct football meant that I was doing my best not to come into the game with too much expectation.

I drove into the ground with a few mates. It really should have been a few more but a lot of people avoided the match – weary of South’s recent Grand Final record and avoidant of the new facility out in Bundoora. Surprisingly, regarding the latter point, I was actually quite impressed with the facility. Even the parking experience was quite straight forward, with an ample number of spaces available and only about a 10 minute walk needed to get to the venue proper. I think as this venue is used over time, more people will be willing to make it down and we should expect even bigger crowds. However, for elderly and immobile fans, the 10 minute walk I endured would not be feasible, especially in the rain.

Walking towards the gate, a lot of people were leaving from the earlier NPLW Grand Final. Heidelberg had snatched a 3-2 win in extra time and were celebrating as we entered the ground. We picked up a matchday program, which was simple but did the job (except for an error on the Heidelberg team sheet which required a manual fix on every copy). We also grabbed a snack from the kiosk, which is where the facility’s limits really started to break.

We were thoughtful enough to arrive early, so the kiosk line wasn’t too bad, however the toilet lines were terrible even with the ground half empty. Somehow they built the male toilets without any urinals, meaning the lines were about twice as long as they needed to be. The only other food vendors we could find around the ground were also unsuitable for the occasion. A second kiosk had run out of pies, and the Souvlaki kiosk at the end of the stand was overwhelmed with hundreds of people waiting – whether it was to order or for food we weren’t sure, but we didn’t see anyone with a Souvlaki which was a little ominous.

The facility itself was pretty neat. The ground level was fully fitted out with administration areas, a gym and player rooms, whilst upstairs the facility had corporate areas and about 800 seats with a great view of the ground. For crowds under 1,500 the State Football Centre is perfect, anything more, and the thing starts ripping at the seams. The surrounding areas were also well maintained and modern, a big step up from DISC.

We completed our lap of the main ground passing the two worst viewing points available. One goal end lacked any elevated view whilst the outer wing only had a low rising hill. This side also hosted a temporary media gantry. It astounds me that these temporary arrangements are economically justifiable. They look terrible, and offer limited amenity. I don’t understand why so many ground lack the foresight to include permanent media vantage points especially as considering the prevalence of streaming at community sports level. Even larger grounds (Lakeside and Olympic Village) use temporary set ups in the stands which offer suboptimal broadcast experiences. I hope there are plans for a permanent vantage point at the State Football Centre because this current arrangement is unacceptable.

Eventually we made our way to the other major temporary structure and settled in the stand behind the goals to watch the first half. This was a neat stand, but also illustrated the need for more seating at the venue. As the game kicked off, Clarendon settled near us and would go onto chant for much of the first half. This was great, and people in the stand would join in throughout the game. What was less good was the lack of cover, which dispersed the atmosphere and would have left two thirds of the crowd soaked if it rained as threatened.

The match
Maybe if it did rain the result could have been different, but except for quick light showers, the weather remained as expected and so too did the result. In the first half South managed to carve out a few chances and controlled the game, forcing a couple of clutch saves from the Oakleigh keeper. As the half went on though, Oakleigh played their way into the game and carved out more well-constructed chances – a sign of things to come. Except for a strange double substitution at the 42nd minute, South’s half remained uneventful and the score remained nil all.

In the second half South appeared to withdraw into themselves, defending deeper and struggling to get the ball into the box. By this point we were watching from the hill side along the fence which wasn’t the best view of the game. Worse still, Clarendon Corner had moved behind the goals where there was no elevated seating. This killed the atmosphere and I think contributed to Oakleigh’s increasing dominance.

Oakleigh’s goal was a well worked piece, and it was only in reaction to this that South appeared to play with more urgency. However, with Oakleigh now comfortable to sit a little deeper, South struggled to get the ball in the box even with more of the possession, When they did manage to get into dangerous areas the crowded Oakleigh defence denied South any clear shots on goal. Except for clearing crosses, I’m not sure we forced a save out of the keeper in the second half. It was frustrating to watch this and the play eventually sucked the hope out of the crowd, the little energy left toward the end of the game was saved for desperate calls to move the ball forward. The result was known long before the final whistle blew.

Australia Cup
Tight turnaround for the boys as they will face Hume on Wednesday in the Quarter Final of the Australia Cup.. The game will be played away, so if you go down, rug up because it’s freezing up there. The winner will face either Oakleigh or Macarthur in the next round. This means only one thing, I reckon we’re pretty good odds to beat Hume and then lose to Oakleigh in the Semis…

Rumours
Just as the promised Women’s Australia Cup never eventuated, if the rumours are to be believed, the H&A NSD will not come to be in 2025. Perhaps I was naïve to think it would happen but I’ve remained hopeful until now. I am officially now pessimistic about the whole thing. What this means for South is at least one more year in obscurity.

There are also rumours that Esteban Quintas will not return as coach next season, possibly taking a number of players with him, many of which were on contracts tied to NSD participation. In combination this could mean South looks very different next year to what was expected. New coach, huge squad turnover and ongoing participation at State level.

At this point, regardless of the reality, I’d like to thank Esteban for miraculously resurrecting this team. South just a few years ago were on the brink of relegation and despite the Grand Final failures and direct football, the current group has restored a sense of pride in the club in the form of silverware. We have beaten A-League opposition, made it deep into the cups, won a Dockerty Cup and two Premierships. On top of that many Youth players have been blooded at Senior level. From a South fan perspective the last few years have not felt as glamourous as this list of achievements suggests, but certainly from non-South fan’s point of view, the club has been restored as a team to beat.

At this point I’d also like to make a plea to readers to sign up and participate in the Australian Football Forum on Inside Sport, for more rumours like these and even more zany ones.

https://forum.insidesport.com.au/Football/Australian-Football

Puskas Documentary
As well as being advertised at the Grand Final, an official post online confirms that the long awaited Puskas Documentary is complete and will be screening to the public! For now I have only seen a screening posted as part of the Greek Film Festival. The film covers Puskas’ time coaching South Melbourne. Production was stuck in production for an extended period of time while the producers sought funds to pay for archival footage. Well done to all involved and I am excited to see the final product!

https://greekfilmfestival.com.au/sydney/films/view/586

A final word
Interestingly, South joins Rockdale (NSW) and North Eastern MetroStars (SA) on the list of 2024 Premiership Winners who went on to lose their Grand Finals.