BEYOND THE BOUNDARY – BEN McNAMARA
Only twice has the minor premier missed the grand final since the Bellarine adopted a top-five finals series in 1997.
Torquay is looking to avoid joining Drysdale in 2007 and Geelong Amateur in 2019 in making a straight sets exit after finishing on top when it meets the Hawks in tomorrow’s preliminary final at Leopold Memorial Park.
The Tigers will need to take the longer route to the grand final after losing by seven points to Anglesea in last week’s second semi-final.
Captain Ben McNamara says Torquay was short of its best against the Roos.
“But Anglesea really came to play; the way they attacked and the way they inhibited us proved they are a really competitive team, and they deserved to get the choccies on the weekend, ” McNamara told K rock Football’s Beyond the Boundary podcast.
“They came, and they played, and that’s what finals footy is.
“We’ve had a review of it and found some areas we can improve
“It is a little bit of a wake-up call. You sort of get a reality check when you realise it’s do-or-die this week.
We’ll come into this week with a pretty positive mindset that we can definitely dish up a little bit better than we did last weekend.”
BFNL: AT SELECTION – PRELIMINARY FINAL
McNamara says coach Dom Gleeson was crucial in ensuring Torquay remained upbeat despite the loss.
“He’s a great coach, and he told us all, ‘it is what it is’,” McNamara said.
“To get within two kicks of a really strong Anglesea team, it’s not like we played very badly; they just did a lot right, and things went their way,” he said.
“We just turned our attention to the Sunday and whether we were playing Drysdale or Modda (Modewarre).
“A bit of a reflection on the game, but more so looking forward to this weekend and what we can do against Drysdale.”
The clash with the Hawks will be the second game back for James Darke from a broken hand.
He finished with 15 disposals against Anglesea, and McNamara has backed four-time Les Ash medallist to have a greater impact this week.
“He’ll probably admit himself he was blowing up a little bit earlier than he would have liked,” McNamara said.
“Getting another game under his belt, and he’ll go from strength to strength, getting a bit more touch.
“A cruel game footy is, when you’re coming back from a knee then hurts his hand the way he did.
“He’s an absolute warrior, and he’ll come out this weekend and be better than he was last week.”
With its reserves taking a direct path to the grand final, Torquay has named a 25-man squad that it will finalise ahead of tomorrow’s bounce.
Forward Will Tamassy, young gun Reef Page, and the experienced Paul Burchell have been added to the 22 that lost last week’s second semi-final.
Drysdale has welcomed Jake Hargreaves back from suspension, with Bailey Hume squeezed out.
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