By Mathew Stokes
“The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the effin’ difference between winning and losing!”
– Al Pacino’s speech, Any Given Sunday
At half-time in my first preliminary final in 2007, Mark Thompson reminded me that my first responsibility to the team was to play my role.
Mathew Stokes in action during the 2007 AFL finals series.Credit:Sebastian Costanzo
In just my 30th match, my dreams were being realised when I kicked three goals in the opening quarter against Collingwood in front of 98,002 people at the MCG in a match we entered as red-hot favourites to win.
When Collingwood’s Martin Clarke was moved on to me to quell my influence I began to lose what had been my original focus. I was starting to drift forward of the contest because I was hot, and I thought I could keep kicking goals. “Bomber” recognised this as the Magpies drew back to within five points at the long break.
He came to me in the quiet rooms at the MCG where the dull, and sometimes heavy, presence of 98,000 people seeps into the atmosphere during a big final.
He said, ‘You have gone away from what has always worked for you. Go back to tackling and putting that pressure on and being that little annoying bastard’.
Brad Close’s tackling and running makes it possible for the Cats’ stars to shineCredit:Getty
It straightened me up, and I was able to contribute to the famous but nerve-wracking five-point win over the Magpies, holding my width at various times in the final quarter to provide teammates with an option, and entering the fray when required.
We were in a grand final and our lives headed on the path we hoped.
In contrast, several Magpies felt they blew their chance with players saying years later they were still upset when thinking about where they should have stood or what they could have done to try to stop Gary Ablett jnr from kicking that match-winning stoppage goal with eight minutes remaining in the match.
Ablett was the superstar, but the role players were critical to what happened which is why I believe the 10 or so role players who have less profile, talent and highlight reels than their more celebrated teammates will decide the preliminary and grand finals.
Beau McCreery can force turnovers for teammates to cash in onCredit:Getty
That’s not always easy to accept because as a player, your mind often drifts in the week leading into a final or in the months before September, when motivation is required to complete that extra touch session, to the thought of doing something special.
After all, who doesn’t want to create a highlight by kicking a big goal or taking a great mark in a huge game?
However, the best coaches make this part of the game an added bonus because they simplify your individual role, enable you to see how critical it is to team performance and then find ways for you to feel as rewarded for executing that as you might be if you kick a spectacular goal.
After the preliminary final, Thompson never said well done on the goals, he praised me for how well I had performed the most basic elements of my role: tackling, putting pressure on, moving to make it easier for teammates in better positions and running hard into the defensive half of the ground to help.
By emphasising the role and the importance of the role players, the nerves ease slightly because the focus is narrowed. Everyone knows that the work that has been done to prepare you to play that role means the week leading into the game is about fine-tuning that preparation rather than hoping things fall your way.
The other important component to success in finals is to accept that mistakes will happen but opportunities to make amends for them will generally arrive soon after. It’s why Collingwood coach Craig McRae’s line about windscreen wipers erasing what has happened has resonated and helped the Magpies improve each week.
That’s why, despite 15 years passing by, Bomber’s message about the importance of players sticking to their role has never left me, and Al Pacino’s famous speech sums my feelings up. Role players are the key to success.
Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday.
Key role players from each preliminary final team
Geelong
Tom Atkins (80 games): He has been brilliant but he is a classic role player with his smash and crash, high-pressure style in the middle allowing playmakers such as Patrick Dangerfield to find space and attack the ball at stoppages.
Brad Close (53 games): The pressure he applies and the unrewarded running he does creates loose balls and space for teammates. He also has a great understanding with Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins.
Brisbane Lions
Lincoln McCarthy (118 games): The former Cat puts on enormous pressure inside 50 which is critical to cover for the talls Eric Hipwood and Joe Daniher when the ball hits the ground
Darcy Wilmot (two games): The wildcard in defence has played just two games, but he is in the team to run and use his pace so he must take the game on and not worry about making mistakes
Sydney
James Rowbottom (67 games): A quality midfielder who is allowing Luke Parker, Callum Mills and Chad Warner to move into dangerous positions as his pressure is elite.
Ryan Clarke (79 games): The defensive forward has made a huge difference as he not only shuts down an opposition rebounder but sets the tone for the forward line, reminding them that everything positive that occurs is built off pressure.
Collingwood
John Noble (68 games): The speedster can play a shutdown role while springboarding from half-back. It’s clear he has been given the licence to take opponents on and run.
Beau McCreery (34 games): Tackling pressure is what the coach wants from McCreery but if the field opens up for him, then take the grass and run and look to score.
Mathew Stokes is a Larrakia man who played 200 games with Geelong and Essendon. He played in Geelong’s 2007 and 2011 premiership teams.
