Retaining possession inside forward 50 will be key if Torquay is to overcome Geelong Amateur in Saturday’s Bellarine qualifying final, according to Tigers coach Dom Gleeson.
The perennial finalists will go head-to-head at Portarlington Recreation Reserve, with a spot in the second semi-final against Queenscliff and two chances of playing in a grand final on the line.
Gleeson knows well that there are few chinks in the Pegs’ armour, but breaking down their defensive unit is paramount as it looks to end a three-match losing streak against Ammos, including last year’s second semi-final.
“They don’t give a lot away, and they don’t allow too many easy kicks out of their defensive 50,” he said.
“Retaining the ball and the old school of winning the contested footy is really important, and they’ve proven to be able to do that all year.
“They’re so efficient when they go forward as well with their firepower.
“They’re a really strong side, and I think they’ve got to be really, really respected, and that’s what we’ve been doing all this week is respecting them.
“And hopefully we’re well educated when we come up against them, and our team knows what to do.
With Queenscliff seemingly in the box seat to claim the minor premiership for the past month, Gleeson has been able to prepare with certainty for the first week of the finals.
“We’ve had a luxury for the last few weeks to get some rest into some players that were a bit fatigued and sore,” he said.
“But this is as settled as we’re going to be.
“We obviously lost Travis Boak to a knee a few weeks back, and we’ve got Spencer Meagher in the sheds, hoping he can get himself through to next week and be a part of selection then.
“But we’re pretty healthy. We’re all looking forward to it.”
Torquay will have added incentive to reverse the result of the 16-point loss to Geelong Amateur in Round 15, with gun midfielder Nathan Mifsud and co-captain Ben McNamara both making their 100th senior appearances.
“Nath is obviously a local talent, and he’s been an absolute pleasure to coach; he’s one of our leaders now,” Gleeson said.
“He’s one of that group of players that I’ve seen come through from under 12s when I first started.
“Now they’re 24, 25-year-olds, 26-year-olds running around playing 100 games, and I’ve been fortunate enough to coach them in all their 100s.
“Sometimes I go, ‘Oh, maybe they need a fresh new coach’, but I don’t want to let them go; I still see some growth in them.
“Benny Mac, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a better 100 games for the Torquay Footy Club; it has been pretty outstanding to watch.
“A young man turned into a true leader, and I think he’s done a wonderful job.
“You don’t see too many centre-half back, full-back players winning best and fairest and league medals and stuff, but I think he’s one of the best players in the competition.”
Torquay have named four-time Les Ash Medal winner James Darke, Angus Hanley and former North Melbourne rookie Charlie Ham on an extended bench.
Ham is yet to make a senior appearance in 2026, having spent time overseas. He has returned in the past month to play three reserves matches.
Ammos has confirmed two changes, with Riley Ferguson and Archer Hanegraaf replacing Hamish Shepheard and Cooper Jerinic.
A call on the fitness of co-captain Dan Weigl is expected to be made on Saturday morning.
AT SELECTION – FINALS WEEK ONE
In Sunday’s elimination final, Barwon Heads and Newcomb will do battle just a fortnight after the Power handed the Seagulls a triple-figure hiding at PlasterCom Oval.
Barwon Heads co-coach Sam Schaller is confident that the loss was an aberration and that the Seagulls can keep their hopes of a sixth BFNL premiership alive for another week.
“They were white hot, and we probably allowed them to do what they wanted to do, which was disappointing,” Schaller said of the Round 17 effort.
“We can sort of take away, (that) we know what’s coming at their best.
“We obviously didn’t show them what we had. We did a little bit earlier in the year.
“But it’s probably just more of a mental thing than anything.
“The week before that, we lost by 100 points to Ammo. So, to come off back-to-back 100-point defeats, played pretty well against Ocean Grove.
“How we flip that around and go, ‘Righto, like, are you going to face it or are you going to just, if that happens again, they kick two or three in a row, are we just going to slip back into that mindset if it’s going to be too hard?’
“I’d like to think we’ve got enough leaders on the ground that can just control that, and it’s going to be in their hands, really.”
Barwon Heads will be unchanged, while Newcomb is expected to welcome back defender Andrew Pepper after he was managed out of last week’s loss to Torquay.
It will be the first final in 50 years of meetings between the two clubs.
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