When some thought Torquay’s quest for a hat-trick of Bellarine premierships was faltering, one opposition coach wasn’t falling for it.
Geelong Amateur mentor Riley Kershaw has been around local footy long enough to know that Dom Gleeson’s men were still going to be there when the whips are cracking.
And at worst, despite posting a 12-6 win-loss record, the Tigers have earned two cracks at a grand final berth after smoking Queenscliff by 105 points in last week’s qualifying final.
“You’re naive to get sucked into their win and loss column throughout the year,” Kershaw told K rock Football’s Beyond the Boundary podcast ahead of tomorrow’s second semi-final between the two clubs at Portarlington Recreation Reserve.
“They’re the side that’s been built over a number of years. You don’t beat Torquay unless you beat their system, and that system’s been developed over the tenure of Dom’s career there, so it’s about 10 years.
“You know it’s coming at the right time of year, that’s for sure.
“That’s the challenge that you want, though, right?”
Torquay had the better of Geelong Amateur by 49 points at Queens Park in Round 16.
Despite the margin, Kershaw and co-coach Sam Lloyd, who was a late withdrawal with a quad complaint, haven’t pored over the vision from that contest.
“You analyse it at the time to a degree, and you can go in and go, ‘What worked? What didn’t work?’, but there’s only so much benefit out of that,” Kershaw said.
“You’ve got to just put it aside and keep looking forward, as cliché as it sounds.
“Particularly in the last two weeks, we’ve just looked internally and focused there for the time being.
“You can overdo it by looking at other sides, I think.
“Particularly in local footy, you’ve just got to look at what you’ve got in front of you and make that our focal point and have that belief.”
Lloyd will return among three changes for the Pegs, with Sam Bain back after missing Round 18 and teenager Tom Ward included after finishing his commitments with Geelong Grammar.
They replace Nick Maishman, Jackson Williams and Archer Jaques.
The Tigers have named Tom Hooper on an extended bench.
Anglesea has made three changes, two of which were forced, ahead of Sunday’s first semi-final against Queenscliff at Portarlington Recreation Reserve.
The Roos welcome back Ethan Barry, James Gray and Delan Everett for the meeting with the Coutas, which comes a fortnight after the two clubs played out a gripping draw in the final round of the home-and-away season.
They replace injured duo Jai Anderson (collarbone) and Jordan Harrison (hamstring), with Tyler McLeod omitted.
Queenscliff welcomes back Ollie Skurrie and Isaac McCabe, replacing Jonas Seecamp (hamstring) and youngster Luke Adam.
The Coutas are hoping to avoid being the first qualifying finalist to exit the finals race in straight sets since Angleaea in 2016.
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