■ The WRFL grand final day had just about everything. Tim Watson’s arrival at Avalon Airport Oval in the Channel 7 helicopter to present the premiership cup to WRFL president Bruce Mildenhall was a highlight, as was the performance of Deer Park in the main game. They were awesome and deserve their place in history as the first division 1 side to go through a season unbeaten. Congratulations to coach Marc Bullen, his players and everyone involved at the club. Bullen, captain Chris Stewart and Ryan Hargrave told me post-match they were keen to go for the ‘threepeat’ in 2015. Deer Park has been the talk of suburban footy all year, but that was expected after the high-profile recruiting and constant conjecture about player payments. I’ve given my opinions on money in suburban football through this column and I’ve spoken publicly and privately with many of the club’s administrators, sponsors and players. Some of my opinions have not been well received by people who support Deer Park. That’s fine. After all, it’s my opinion and I think open debate is a healthy and appropriate way to discuss any issue. But when you make it personal, as a few did on Saturday, you do yourself and your club a disservice.
■ Sometimes you just know a footballer is going to be a good coach and I can think of no better examples than former Werribee captains Dom Gleeson and Robbie Castello. Dom has just been named coach of Torquay Tigers in the BLF and Robbie has the job at Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon District League. They’ll both be brilliant and I hope they pursue roles at a higher level in future. Their commitment as players was as good as I’ve seen and I know they’ll be more meticulous as coaches. There are only a few coaches jobs going in local ranks, with Sunshine, Port Melbourne Colts and Wyndhamvale Falcons the pick of them.
■ Can Footscray win its first flag in 16 years when the Bulldogs meet reigning premier Box Hill Hawks in the VFL grand final at Etihad stadium on Sunday? The excitement the side has given the club this year has been enormous and nobody is more excited than president Peter Gordon. The last flag the Bulldogs won was the reserves premiership in 1998. It will be a massive achievement if Chris Maple can bring a flag back to Whitten Oval.
Kevin Hillier
