By Marcus Uhe
A frustrated Jake Barclay gathered his troops on the three-quarter-time siren to issue a passionate call to arms for the final term.
A spiteful contest between his Pakenham side and Gembrook Cockatoo at Gembrook threatened to spill overboard in the third term on a number of occasions with frustration getting the better of players in both sets of jumpers.
Encased in strapping was Barclay’s right hand, thanks to a broken bone suffered the week before against Wandin.
Leaders are often separated into two categories; ones who lead by example, and others who rely on voice, direction and instructions to get the best out of a group.
Barclay is both.
Trailing by 17 late in the third term, Gembrook Cockatoo’s Matt Frazzetto goaled on the three-quarter-time siren to cut the lead to 11, before teammate Jay Verhagen kicked the opening goal of the final term to spark further life into his side, desperate to end a calamitous losing streak.
Sensing a swing on momentum, a crunching tackle early in the final quarter from Barclay on Verhagen eliminated any doubt over his desire, and set the tone for a mature final quarter to seal a sixth victory.
“It was a bit of a passionate cry and I tried to get them switched on a bit,” Barclay said of his address at three-quarter-time.
“I wanted them to keep their cool and not get sucked-in to the other stuff.
“We play our best footy when we’re playing our style and not getting sucked-in to the opposition’s stuff.”
Throughout 2023, the Lions have forged a reputation as Kings of the comeback.
How much of that is down to being fast finishers, and how much is because they’re slow out of the gate, is up for debate.
On Saturday, one team was playing to maintain hopes of a finals berth, the other with their future in the Division at stake.
An untrained eye wouldn’t have picked which side was which.
Michael Firrito kicked three of the opening four goals of the contest, playing deep in the Gembrook Cockatoo forward line while he works back to fitness following a medial ligament injury.
Try as he might, Stephen Morey lacked the size and strength to go with the former North Melbourne champion, forcing Ash Green to switch Jackson Berry onto him instead.
Frustrations were beginning to show for Pakenham, free kicks in the defensive 50 against Jordan Stewart for a high tackle and Jaiden Camenzuli for an off the ball tussle with Myles Wareham key examples.
Wareham goaled from Camenzuli’s indiscretion but returned the favour during his celebration to give Pakenham possession at the next centre bounce.
A 20-point lead to the Brookers at the first break had the men in green up and about, 5.1 to 1.5 costing Pakenham dearly.
Unseasonably wintery conditions in August of 2023 meant keeping your feet became the most important skill on the ground.
Firrito kicked his fourth of the contest early in the second quarter to make it five consecutive majors for Gembrook Cockatoo.
Like they had against Upwey Tecoma and Mt Evelyn in the last month, another string of majors in the first half saw Pakenham fall behind.
But Pakenham responded with the next four as classy midfielders came to the fore belying the slippery conditions underfoot.
Barclay and Tahj De La Rue provided the slick ball use while Rhys Clacy at Matt Vaiano offered strength at the contest to combat the size of Josh Tilly and Damien Volta.
The Brookers persisted with a run-and-carry game out of the back half but lacked the skills to move the ball up the ground.
Wareham’s second, just before half time, put a cap on Pakenham’s run of goals and returned the Brookers to the lead at the half, with plenty to play for in the next hour.
It was a nervous opening to the second half from both sides, the tension snapped by a trademark long bomb from Vaiano after stepping a pair of tackles.
Gembrook Cockatoo was able to rectify its issue at stoppages in the third term, but lacked the necessary polish going inside 50.
A clearance kick from Tilly fell between four of his forwards but into the awaiting hands of Jarrod Theisz at halfback, rebounding the ball at speed to find Bailey Stiles, who goaled without a set defence to negotiate.
Stewart was thrown forward and took a typical contested mark and goaled, as Pakenham threatened to pull-away.
Firrito missed a golden opportunity to kick-start a fightback for Gembrook Cockatoo ,but missed a shot he would have expected to kick, before providing distributor to set up Frazzetto after the siren.
It was just the two goals to one in the final term, but enough to ensure another critical win in the race to finals for Pakenham.
Barclay said the resilience of the players was a testament to their growing maturity.
“You’d rather be in front the whole game than having to work your way in front, and have to work hard for it, but the good thing is, it’s a young group,” he said.
“To see the resilience of the young group is quite promising for the next few years, if all the boys stick together.
“It’s an average age of 24/25.
“We all know that the next two weeks after this week are vital and if we want to have a chance at playing finals, we’ve got to get through the next few weeks and have wins.”
Stiles, James Harrison and Stewart were all excellent for Pakenham while Tom Gamble didn’t miss a beat on his return to action.
For Gembrook Cockatoo, Tilly and Michael Firrito starred, and Aaron Firrito’s sensational year continued.
