Coachy's Corner: Finals, 2008 Hi everyone, It was indeed fantastic to be involved in rec footy finals again, playing for your position on the ladder puts a bit more importance on the last match which does nobody any harm. With the great feeling of last week's sensational win against the top and unbeaten side, we were quietly confident of repeating the dose this week. Our side were up against The Whitneys for 5th position, remembering we had lost to them in Round 2 by a fair margin. We had a keen & very supportive crowd come down & watch our last game this week made up of friends, family & two injured players. Firstly, it was great to see Simon Conti make the trip down after suffering an injury around his ribs & chest in last weeks game. I think it gives players a bit of a lift when an injured teammate comes down to support the group when they can't be out there themselves, as Dean's done this year. It was also great to see Dean Jones, Dan Vitale, Brent Jones' wife Leanne Harman-Jones, Jeannie Baker, Felicia Huang, June Henderson, Matt & little Heidi Tully and Desma, John & Zoe Burford. Our team had two changes this week, Simon was out with the injury with me coming in & Dani was back for her fourth game for the season. Both Narelle & Luke lined up in defence for the first time this year - I was looking forward to seeing how they both went. We put Brent & Dani in the middle, while Margit, Rob Hazell & Andrew fronted the goal line. The Bullets started well enough by getting plenty of the ball but very windy conditions made it difficult to find a teammate by foot. We had Andrew kick two goals in the half & saw him take a couple marks that were gems. Rob was busy forward on the lead, but the blustery conditions weren't helping & Margit was caught under a couple of passes from downfield that sailed over her head. Dani & Brent were everywhere in a very good half from those two. Dani's marking was terrific as she racked up possessions, while Brent worked really hard to make position around the ground for teammates opting for shorter passes. Luke's half down back was solid being a marking option just short of the centre & he won his fair share of the ball, while getting back quick when The Whitneys had the footy. Narelle was also good taking a couple of marks & using the ball well as she's done for most of this year. We went into the break 2-1-13 each and ready for our last half of the year. To start proceedings, Brent switched to the forward line, Luke went into the ruck & Rob returned to the backline, while Margit & Narelle swapped ends of the ground. Within 10 seconds, Narelle had taken a fantastic mark & passed off to Brent for a shot at goal - we couldn't have hoped for a better start. And so it went on with Brent kicking three goals, plus a point to Andrew putting The Bullets 19 points in front. Brent was excellent in front of goal, his marking was a highlight & finishing with 3 straight majors helped the team enormously. But as good as everything was going, footy always throws up challenges, and all of a sudden The Whitneys had kicked two quick goals & breathing down our necks. The Bullets were under pressure, the momentum had changed & now we had to try & save the match. Brent & Narelle were trying to get clear, Luke was battling hard in the centre & Margit had pleasingly worked her way back into the game with a couple of marks & possessions, breaking away from her opponent again. With only a few minutes remaining though, The Whitneys had kicked another goal to be a point down. I'm not sure how many players were aware of the closeness of the score, but it seemed every possession was going to count. Andrew was very good, mainly up the ground, taking a couple more great marks & his sure foot passing was what we needed. Rob took a couple of saving marks again & Dani continued to be everywhere winning a load of the ball. The Bullets held on to win by that point 32-31 & boy were we relieved! It was a very close game & the team held on, in a fantastic way to finish our season with a terrific crowd in support. So as season 2008 comes to a close, winning our last two matches is a great effort by everyone. In the six week season, we were very competitive & I'm sure we will be again in '09. Thanks to everyone for their contributions this year & I'll be back for The Season in Review shortly. Best Players: Brent, Dani, Andrew, Luke, Narelle