Tara Murray
Altona Gators captain Jordan Lino hadn’t played many minutes in the Big V men’s division 2 season.
Coming into the season injured, there were some games where Lino failed to see any court time.
But when the big moment was there, Lino stood up and helped his side to claim the division 2 championship.
Lino played just under 19 minutes in Saturday night’s grand final, the second most he had played for the year.
While the scoreboard will say he scored just six points, his role was much bigger than that.
For Lino, the championship was a special moment.
“I’ve been at this club for so long and it’s been an up and down journey mostly,” he said.
“We finally got a good group of guys together and we’ve stayed together for a long time. The core of Sam [Rocker], Tom [Georgiadis] and Tyson [Burton] came up through the youth system and a few others that I’ve missed, at the end of the day this is what it is all about.”
Lino stepped into the role of captain this year, after stepping up late in the piece last season to be player-coach.
He managed to keep the core group together and the side managed to play finals. Lino said back then that they had a special group.
It was proven on Saturday night.
“The main thing was to keep the core together and make sure people come back,” he said.
“I‘ve trained and played with these guys for so long and they’ve trusted me to make those sorts of calls.
“I think we got a few more key players like Nick Patel and we finally got someone who can get the ball in the ring consistently in Adam [Anderson].
“Those extra pieces just pushed us over the line, made us from a great team to one of the best teams in the competition.”
Lino said this year had been challenging for him not being able to play as he would have liked.
It meant he had to find other ways to be a leader, not just on court.
“As long as the guys are feeling the energy and the spirit pushing forward every day, I’ve done my job,” he said.
Lino stayed ready and got called upon early in the first quarter in the grand final when his side was down.
He would then be on the court in the dying minutes as his side claimed the championship.
“A lot of these boys haven’t played finals before,” he said. “I think I’ve only ever played in a quarter final before, which was last year.
“A big crowd can be scary regardless of who they support. I wanted to try and get in there and settle the guys down.”
Coach Josh Turton said it was Lino’s ability to change gears for what is needed was his biggest asset.
After not sure whether he would play this year, Lino is keen to come back next season when the club is in division 1.
“I think it’s definite for sure,” he said. “It’ll be a hard pre-season and off season but I’m ready for the challenge and we can hopefully keep building as a club.”
