Torquay co-skipper “excelling” as perfect season within reach

TORQUAY Football Club’s historic season is reaching the pointy end of the campaign with only three rounds to go, but senior coach Dom Gleeson said it will take a “whole team” approach to continue the side’s form into finals.

The Tigers, fresh off completing the season-double in Tim Carty’s 200th game against reigning premiers Barwon Heads (10.14.74-17.13.115), will require wins against the trio of Geelong Amateur, Drysdale and Portarlington to finish the regular season 18-0 – without star midfielder James Darke.

“James has transitioned into a vital role as an assistant coach since picking up his ACL injury and is now running our midfield, which is humming at the moment,” Gleeson said.

“It’s just a really driven group right now, and with close to 11 or 12 changes since last year’s grand final, it’s a very different side.

“The leaders within the program like Darke, Ben McNamara, Lucas Anderson, Tom Butler and Jesse Dawson have kept things fun and entertaining, and it’s had massive dividends in the long run.”

McNamara, Gleeson’s key defender and field general, is serving his first year as Tigers captain alongside the injured Darke.

Gleeson said the Torquay junior has shown leadership qualities since seeing him play as a 16-year-old.

“He was a leader then, he’s a leader now, he has always had the ability to get the group to follow his lead and he’s excelled in the captaincy role in 2023,” Gleeson said.

“His footy hasn’t needed to change, he hasn’t had to step it up, that has sorted itself out, so it wasn’t really a surprise when the group called on him at the start of the season.”

McNamara joined the Tigers in the shortened 2021 season after a GFL stint at St Joseph’s and a run in Werribee’s VFL side.

The full-back has received Team of the Year accolades in back-to-back seasons (2021 and 2022), and is likely to add a third to his resume with Torquay leading the competition in fewest points against (757).

Gleeson stated Torquay’s policy this season is not to overload players carrying minor injuries ahead of the finals campaign.

“We’re week-to-week at the moment, and our depth allows us to utilise the full range of our players, but we’ll play our best side over the next three weeks while thinking about the long game,” Gleeson said.

“It’s actually quite hard to believe the finals are only three weeks away, it’s come by so quickly.”

This season is Gleeson’s first year as a non-playing coach.