Football can sometimes move in mysterious ways.
Little did Anglesea captain James Carr know that when he was left out of Uni Blues VAFA Premier Division grand final winning team in 2019, his shot at redemption would come in a competition where the coach who made the tough call would be leading a rival team.
That coach was Heath Jamieson, who started his second stint at Queenscliff this year.
Five years ago, Jamieson made the tough call to leave Carr out of the team.
The now 30-year-old had made 18 senior appearances, including the second semi-final.
“That was my only opportunity in my whole career to play in a senior flag, so they don’t come around often,” Carr said.
“That’s helped me this week as well, realising, ‘We might play in a grand final next year. Or we might never play in one again’.
“You just don’t know. A lot’s got to go right.
“Of course, it burns. You’d love to be a senior premiership player, and that’s what’s driving me for this weekend in particular.”
Does Carr expect to hear from Jamieson before Saturday’s decider against Torquay at Leopold Memorial Park?
“I’m sure I’ll get a massage before the game,” Carr said.
“He has been great for my footy career.”
Carr is confident, especially after handing Torquay just its second loss of the 2024 season in the second semi-final, that Anglesea’s best footy is good enough to land the club its first flag since 1999.
However, he’s played down suggestions that a Roos win would be a case of ‘little brother’ getting one over ‘big brother’.
“Torquay’s been the hunted for quite a while – their record speaks for itself,” Carr said.
“They’re certainly difficult to beat, and we’re well aware of that.
“But, we’ve shown our best footy stacks up.
“We’re not having that mentality, ‘Little brother, big brother”. We’re going in there thinking it’s going to be two good sides and the flip of a coin.”
Anglesea’s first grand final appearance since 2000 follows a first semi-final appearance last year.
Carr believes their 2023 performance has laid the foundation for ending a 25-year premiership drought at Ellimatta Reserve.
“We had a sighter last year getting to a second final last year,” he said.
“But this year, we’ve shown we’re all on the same page. We’ve got great buy-in from role players, and it shows on game day.
“We’re able to have 22 contributors, whereas in the past, we’ve relied on too few to be ‘the man’.
“We’re a lot more of an even spread now, which is what you need to be a successful club.”
X: @krockfootball
