Photo: Rachel Bach
Calder United side may have finished the season as Minor Premiers, but coach Mark Torcaso refuses to be drawn into claiming favouritism ahead of tomorrow’s NPLW Grand Final.
Pitted up against the fourth-placed Galaxy United, who have really hit their straps throughout the finals series, Torcaso won’t let ladder position or previous results between the pair dictate expectations.
Their three meetings this season have all ended in a three goal margin; Calder won their first game 4-1, before being overturned 3-0 by Galaxy in Round 10.
The result was reversed once more at Banyul Warri Reserve as Calder stormed home to a similar 3-0 scoreline, with both sides displaying their ability to break a game wide open.
While the last of their meetings may have come nearly two months ago, Torcaso has still taken plenty from them about Galaxy’s approach to football, and has seen enough to know their tag as underdog is unwarranted.
“We learnt a lot [from the loss] but as it stands, we’ve scored seven and conceded four,” Torcaso said.
“If we’re looking at that, we’re on top of them at the moment. We learnt from it as we went to their ground [in the third meeting] and played pretty well, winning 3-0.
“We’ve watched Galaxy and seen what they’re about and how they play, that’s why when the underdog tag comes out about them, it’s utter rubbish, only because they’re a very good side and on their day can be a very dangerous side.
“I wouldn’t say that we’re going in as favourites. Yes we’ve beaten them twice, but they’ve also beaten us once,” he added.
“You can’t look past Laura Spiranovic who has two Gold Medals, Annabel Martin, the Victory Medallist. The Taranto twins have Victory caps underneath their belt and [last year’s Grand Finalists from Boroondara Eagles] Sky Jensen and Jess Tay at the back.
“I wouldn’t say they’re an underdog, as Vinnie should be proud of his side too.”
Identifying where the game may be won or lost, Torcaso pointed to the older age and heightened experience of his side, who he believes may hold the mental edge over the spirited approach of Galaxy’s young stars.
“The interesting thing is they’ve got a lot of young players and sometimes young players can go hiding [in big games]. I’ve been in that position myself in coaching in a finals series, where if you have too many young players, they can go hiding.
“It depends a lot on the day and in a Grand Final, you never know. I hope that the experience we have in this department will stand up and it’ll be pretty important on the day.”
“It’s anyone’s game on anyone’s day. It’s all good to talk about form leading up to the game, but in the end it’s a final. In that respect, both teams are actually quite even if I were to look at it from that perspective.”
Torcaso has a full complement of players at his disposal for the weekend, with the playing group in high spirits in training this weekend.
Despite this, the head coach won’t let the result of the final define Calder’s season, instead opting to take a holistic approach to assessing their campaign.
“To be honest, the girls are buzzing. That’s been the best thing about this week in training is that everyone wants to get out there on the weekend, have a crack at Galaxy and the girls want to show what they’re about.
“It’s been interesting because we’ve had to try and calm them down a little bit, they’ve been going nuts. They’re looking forward to playing on the big stage, which was our goal from the start of the season.
“From our view, we’ve done a fantastic job throughout the year. We’ve maintained the fact that if we can continue on and get the extra games, the girls will benefit from that. It’s a bonus if we win on the weekend.
“The fact that we’ve maintained a solid season and become Minor Premiers is pretty important to us as a club
“If we come away with the Premiership, good, but we can look back on what a good season we’ve had regardless of what happens in the Grand Final.
Calder United face off against Galaxy United for the inaugural NPLW Championship at 4pm, Saturday afternoon in Broadmeadows’ ABD Stadium. For those unable to attend the game, Football Federation Victoria will be live streaming the tie via their Facebook page.