Drop ten, turn and face. Quilty’s Football Yarns 42 2005-6, nearly but not quite there

Drop ten, turn and face.

Quilty’s Football Yarns 42

2005-6, nearly but not quite there

Looking back on seasons 2005-6 it is hard not to conclude that we underachieved. 

Writing at the time in 2005 I wrote in the annual,

“In nine seasons of ISA competition we have won 58 drawn 5 and lost 11 games, a good record. The SPX 1st XI has always included players who play Rep and club football, as well as a significant number of younger players. All this had invariably been to our advantage, but I feel that in 2005 it did not work as well”.

Weighing up our season it was not what it should have been. Looking at our squad it had some super individuals but as the coach I felt I never quite got the best from the squad. An indication of this underperformance was our failure to make the ISA Final for the first time in nine seasons. We made an early exit in the NSWCIS Cup to Knox. Probably, the biggest disappointment was not getting the squad to participate in a Queensland Tour. Co-Captains Angelo Ruggeri and Marc Cinelli had led the boys to the best of their ability and on our day, we knocked over GPS and CAS heavyweights such as Grammar, Cranbrook, Knox and Kings to finish top of the ranking in the St Andrew’s Cup, only to lose the final to St Aloysius. Looking back at the team pictures I can only conclude that both coaching and morale of the team wasn’t quite right in 2005, because the squad was as strong as any we picked previously. No fewer than 13 of our players represented one of the ISA Rep sides in 2005. Eight in the U16’s, Ben Surace as Captain, Martin Brown as captain of the ISA 2nd XI and Angelo Ruggeri as captain of the ISA 1st XI. 

In 2006 we again had a fine squad of players but having won the ISA Minor Premiership went on to fail spectacularly in the Final. The season had started well beating both the GPS and CAS Champions Kings and Knox within three days. A fine NSWCIS Cup run cruelly truncated at Shore in a penalty shoot-out, after drawing 3-3 in normal time. This was made doubly disappointing because keeper Shaun Jardine had made a brilliant penalty save only to be told he had moved before the kick was taken. 

The ISA final against St Pats was a disaster. Trailing 2-0 to early goals we were to have two players receive red cards before half time. Predictably we went in 5-0 down at the break. In one of the most difficult half-time talks, I had to find something to lift the team. Whatever, I said, they truly responded and despite going down 7-2 we felt that we had restored some pride by scoring twice with just nine players on the field. It has been said many times previously but often motivation to do better relates back to the feeling you have, suffering such a final disappointment. This was undoubtedly a motivator for these relatively young boys for season 2007. Good friend Jack Brown had worked alongside me for three seasons 2004-6 and it was shame we couldn’t get the boys over line for a Championship win, after the St Andrew’s Cup in our first year. Skipper Marc Cinelli had been a wonderful role model for players across four years of 1st XI representation. Making ISA sides in every year he played returning to help coach the side in later

Looking at the faces of the 2006 squad there were eleven players who backed the following year in 2007. As can be expected they returned bigger, stronger and more experienced. On top of that, hope springs eternal and we indeed came through to be ISA Champions that following year.

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