By Jonty Ralphsmith
Pakenham’s sterling season came to an end on Saturday night, heartbreakingly going down in the Youth League 2 Men’s grand final after an undefeated season. Journalist Jonty Ralphsmith spoke to coach Braden Venning about the pride and emotion of the game.
What’s the immediate emotion that you’re feeling?
Pretty shattered for the boys that they can’t finish with the championship but the work we’ve put in and program we’ve built will set us up for a long time. I’m incredibly proud of the boys for believing in what I was pushing and going on that journey with me. Proud not only of the wins but also the relationships I’ll cherish for my entire life. It’s a really special group. To peel off 24 wins in a row shows a lot of trust and faith in what we’re pushing.
The result was one thing but how did you feel like you handled the weight of expectation on Saturday night?
Going into it nothing changed. The boys trained really well, we were locked in and felt really good – confident but not arrogant.
Westgate hit some shots, we missed some shots. We struggled to get clean defensive stops so we couldn’t get out on transition at all and it felt like balls would bobble out right into their hands. We got more offensive rebounds but it felt they got big ‘o’-boards at the right time and they jumped out of the blocks. Every time we went on a little run, they kept some scoreboard pressure.
James Avgerinos threatened a few weeks ago against you and was strong on Saturday night – how’d you assess your plan to stop him?
We were confident with the plan and the boys executed well. He just went 50 percent from three. He had one of his better games at the right time for them. I don’t think there’s anything I’d change about the scout.
Did you feel you lacked exposure in close games?
We’ve pulled games out from the clutches of the other teams again and again. We were able to run over teams in the fourth. A lot of people are saying you should lose a game but we stick to the process so I can’t ask any more of them.
A word on Aaron Small, one of your best players throughout the three finals?
For such a young guy, he’s such a cool, calm head and he makes the right shots again and again. You put him in clutch situations, he’ll make the right decisions.
Mason Fraser hitting two massive threes – how pleasing is it to see a young guy stand up?
That’s a guy I’m so proud of. He gave us a real good lift off the bench because we weren’t shooting that well from deep but for him to come out and do that was big. And he let it come to him, he didn’t enforce himself on the game, he stuck to the process and the ball came to him at the right moments.
There was about a six minute period in the third quarter where you struggled to shoot from the field – what did you put that down to?
They are one of the longest teams in the Big V competition. They’re a big physical team, they get their hands in the lanes and we didn’t execute at times but all credit to Westgate.
What was the crowd like to play in front of?
The crowd was amazing, During the game you enjoy the atmosphere but looking back at the game tape, you realise how loud they were. Even the Westgate crowd was loud, it was so much fun to play at. I think the boys handled it well and soaked up the atmosphere. One of our key messages was to enjoy the moment – it’s not every year you make a grand final so just enjoy the moment.
