By RUSSELL BENNETT
JUST over a week after he played a crucial role in the Eastern Ranges’ shellacking of the Dandenong Stingrays in this year’s TAC Cup grand final, Cockatoo young gun Daniel Welsh still couldn’t wipe the smile from his face.
He was once told that he was too slow and that his kicking wasn’t up to scratch – that he hadn’t made the Ranges’ squad.
But his omission – at under-16 level – only lit a fire under him. He began to work with kicking and running coaches until his form at local level simply couldn’t be ignored.
Roughly this time last year, he was walking off the ground as a member of Gembrook’s losing Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League (YVMDFL) Division 1 grand final side. His future at the elite level was uncertain.
Fast forward to this year’s TAC Cup grand final on Etihad Stadium and Welsh was shell-shocked. He’d just played a starring role for the Ranges through the midfield and across half forward, slotting three goals in a 112-point demolition job – 24.8 (152) to 5.10 (40). It was the first grand final Welsh had won in four career attempts.
“It’s amazing – absolutely amazing,” he said on the field straight after the match.
“I never would have thought 12 months ago that I’d be here right now standing on the ground at Etihad with a premiership medal.
“We’ve done all this hard work throughout the season and it’s finally paid off!”
Sitting in the outer at the Gembrook football ground on Friday, the sparkle in Welsh’s eye still couldn’t be extinguished.
“We just weren’t going to lose that game,” he said on reflection.
“Dandenong had beaten us before, so we knew it was going to be huge.
“But Boris (Ranges coach and former Essendon livewire Darren Bewick) kept on saying that our best could beat their best.
“The message before the game was to win it for all the supporters, the helpers and the coaching staff – just to say thank you.”
Bewick told Welsh just prior to the big game that he would be playing in the midfield engine room for most of the day.
“I was told to run with Zak Jones but then just be as dangerous as possible when we got the footy and make him feel it, and I think I did that in the second quarter (kicking three goals),” Welsh laughed.
“I remember going up to him and just laying in, asking him how many touches he had.
“I told him I’d had more goals than he had touches!”
But Welsh described the individual battle as a great challenge, acknowledging the immense talent of the highly-touted Jones.
“I always pay respect to my opponents because they’ve always been in the top-20 nominated in the draft.”
The versatile midfielder played on everyone from Oakleigh’s Tom Cutler to Gippsland’s Tom Muir – just doing a job for his team.
He was quick to pay credit to his team mates – thanking them, Bewick and his family for playing a key role in his career so far.
“I was pretty happy (with the goals) but it was from all the hard work by the boys in defence and the midfield just running it down there,” he said.
“I just finished off their work.”
Bewick, speaking to the Mail straight after the game, said the versatile Welsh had been “exceptional” all year.
“The fact that he’s done a (run-with) job for us but then been able to play off that as well – he’s been really good,” he said.
But never in Bewick’s wildest dreams did he think the Ranges would be so dominant in the season decider over the Stingrays – a team they’d previously lost to this year.
“We’ve been good all year and today was probably the first time we had a full complement of players to pick from,” he said.
“(But) I think the whole region should be congratulated with what we’ve done.
“The high-performance staff have got us to a point where we were able to perform like we did today.”
