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Grand Final team selection is the toughest decision any coach has to make, and from my point of view, both Ross Lyon and Mick Malthouse got it right this year. The Saints made just the one change. Steven Baker comes in and Ben McEvoy is out. Baker is a spiritual leader at St Kilda and I have no doubt the Saints players walk taller when he is in the team.
After 12 weeks on the sidelines, yes Baker will be a risk, but like a caged cat finally released, he’ll attack every contest with a fearless ferocity.
Nothing will be left out on the field.
But whom does he play on? Does he go straight to Didak? Or Dale Thomas or Scott Pendlebury?
Ether way, I wouldn’t want to be the Collingwood player that sees Baker walking towards him.
Ben McEvoy is St Kilda’s hard luck story but his omission does make perfect sense.
The Magpies ruck combination of Darren Jolly and Leigh Brown has been a proven winner, so why wouldn’t the Saints adopt an identical formula?
Michael Gardner is sole ruckman with Justin Koschitzke to pinch-hit for the Saints in a similar way Brown does for the Magpies.
Collingwood made two changes. Simon Prestigiacomo and Leon Davis come in. Tyson Goldsack and Nathan Brown are out.
Like Baker, Prestigiacomo has missed a fair bit of footy and hasn’t played since round 20, but his ability to nullify the dangerous Nick Riewoldt makes him an automatic selection.
Presti is an old school defender. He plays his role and shuts down his opponent and that’s why he’s in the team.
Leon Davis is perhaps the most controversial of all selections.
Much maligned for his inability to perform on the big stage, the Magpies have rolled the dice with Leon.
I still think going with Davis is the right call though because he could be the x factor when the team is in need of a spark.
Lets hope he takes his chance.
For both clubs it’s been about keeping an abnormal week as normal as possible.
That’s the mantra anyway.
Amidst all the hype and excitement grand final teams must try and find a balance between enjoying the week and remaining focused.
Easier said than done.
Like the MCG on Saturday it was standing room only at Gosch’s Paddock for Collingwood’s open training session.
As you would expect the black and white army gave the Magpies a hero’s welcome, but it didn’t seem to affect the players.
Dealing with expectation and big crowds is nothing new at Collngwood, it’s the norm.
Noticeably this year there probably wasn’t as many fans at the Saints open training on Monday, but the atmosphere was no less as a result.
It’s hard to know if the experience of last year will end up being an advantage or not.
Perhaps dealing with the hype is a mental battle that can only be judged in retrospect?
Hindsight is always a wonderful thing and so is the build up to that last Saturday in September.
This year has been no different.
For any non-believer, grand final week is merely a carnival of festivities that culminates in a football match.
But for those who live, breathe and die by it, this truly is absolute football utopia.
I’ll admit all the hysteria becomes as absorbing as it is impossible to escape, but put simply, football in this town is more than just a game…it’s a religion.
In essence, this is a chance for Melbourne to show its true colours.
The grand final parade will today bring the city to a stand still as thousands of fans line the streets in a sea of red, white and black.
At the end, the two captains will hold aloft the premiership cup on the steps of Parliament for that now famous shot.
But by the time the final siren sounds tomorrow, only one will have the same honour at the MCG.
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