Unsung heroes: The quiet achievers holding the key to their team’s finals hopes

3 months ago 17

September is the best time to play footy.

The mood shifts, the days get warmer and longer and there is a buzz at every training session. The stakes are high every single match. Dreams can be shattered or realised, reputations tarnished or made.

Adelaide’s Nick Murray, Geelong’s Tom Atkins, the Brisbane Lions’ Josh Dunkley and Collingwood’s Ned Long.

The players who shine brightest etch their name in the game’s history.

Players such as Dustin Martin. Where do you start with his ridiculous performances, particularly in grand finals? He played three, the Tigers won them all, and he was best on ground each time. Peter Matera ripped the 1992 finals series apart for West Coast, owning the MCG wing. A year later, Michael Long did something similarly spectacular for the Bombers.

Shane Ellen made a name for himself in the 1997 grand final.

Adelaide’s Andrew McLeod and Hawthorn’s Luke Hodge put on multiple masterclasses, and both won two Norm Smith Medals. Brisbane Lion Simon Black continually killed opponents by a thousand cuts when finals came around.

While these players are still known for their performances on the biggest stage, they couldn’t have achieved their success without a support crew of lesser-known heroes. Selfless teammates who did whatever was asked of them, ventured outside their comfort zone and stepped up when it mattered.

The five goals Shane Ellen kicked for Adelaide in the 1997 grand final accounted for almost one third of the total he ended up with from an otherwise-modest 65-game career as defender. It was the ultimate reward for having an open mind.

My teammate James Kelly played an unheralded role in 2009 in the back pocket, covering for injuries in our line-up and keeping a battalion of dangerous St Kilda small forwards in check.

The 2017 grand final was just the fifth match of Jack Graham’s career. In the second half, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick asked the teenager to play a run-with role on Adelaide ball-winner Rory Sloane. It worked. Graham finished the game with three goals and a premiership medal – the ultimate reward for his team-first and always-team approach.

In just his fifth AFL game, Jack Graham became a Richmond hero alongside Dustin Martin when the Tigers won the 2017 premiership.

There’s no secret to how you win big games. In fact, the recipe for doing it probably sounds boring to many people.

The side that does the fundamentals of the game best, time and time again, will prevail. Don’t fumble. Stick your tackles. Hit targets with handballs. Kick the ball to advantage. Close out uncontested marks. Shut your opponents out.

Boring, right? But it’s how you win – if your team does the basics well and the players commit to their role, putting their egos aside for the sake of the team, the rewards can be immense. A 10-possession game might not get you picked in many fantasy teams. But if you do your job well, it might get you a premiership medal.

Tom Lonergan had just five disposals in the 2011 grand final. But he put the brakes on a rampant Travis Cloke, and got the reward he richly deserved.

Tom Lonergan and Geelong fans celebrate winning the 2011 AFL grand final over Collingwood.

Dusty was the undoubted star of Richmond’s premierships of 2017, 2019 and 2020, but it was the hard running and forward pressure applied by the Tigers’ less-heralded small forwards that allowed him to shine.

Tom Barrass didn’t get Norm Smith Medal votes in 2018, but he was a mountain in the West Coast back line. Without him, the Eagles’ five-point win would not have been possible, and the heroics of Luke Shuey and Dom Sheed would’ve been in vain.

Finals are won on consistency and execution, even though it will always be individual brilliance that gets highlighted and celebrated the most.

I’m not saying that you don’t need your star players to play well, but the importance of attention to detail gets amplified in finals.

That’s why the players I’ll have a particularly close eye on in this finals series are not be the big-names you’re likely to see on the red carpets and leaderboards of the AFL award season.

I’m talking about Geelong’s Tom Atkins and Brisbane’s Josh Dunkley. When they are their usual brutal best, crunching the opponent’s best midfielders it allows their superstar teammates to flourish.

Collingwood defenders Darcy Moore and Billy Frampton will need pressure on the ball from the likes of Ned Long and Jack Crisp to get their intercept game going just as much as the Pies will need midfielders winning 30 possessions.

Conversely, Nick Murray’s role cannot be overstated for Adelaide. Since Jordon Butts went out of the team in mid-July, his diligent defensive efforts have allowed Mark Keane and Josh Worrell to continue doing what they do best – intercept and cut off opposition attacking motions.

For the Giants, it’s vital forwards and midfielders, including Xavier O’Halloran, Darcy Jones and Harvey Thomas, cut out and work hard to offer release marking options. That role is just as important as linking up to getting involved in their exciting forays forward, which have become known as the “orange tsunami”.

With attention turning to his midfield depth, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell will be relying on versatile Irishman Conor Nash to use his physicality against the Giants stars in that part of the ground.

At Fremantle, dashing defender Jordan Clark has just earned All-Australian selection, but he only gets to roam like he does because of the support of quiet achiever Heath Chapman. For Gold Coast, Ethan Read has taken the mantle this year as the second big bopper in the forward line. His competitive instincts mean opposition defenders have to man him up closely and can’t fold back into the space that Ben King has used to become one of the league’s leading goalkickers.

This finals series is legitimately an open race. All eight teams are capable of going all the way, and they all have genuine superstars. It’s going to be fun to watch them strut their stuff. But it might just be an unsung hero who has the biggest influence of all.

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