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Friday, 19 June, 2015 Page 29
geelong.starcommunity.com.au
IndySport Sentiment set aside as Top of the glass even Dees tip Geelong off St Leonards
On the
bite
Chris Pitman
By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
GLASSY conditions lured many anglers onto the water last weekend. St Leonards was a favourite destination, with large numbers of whiting and squid available. The area known as Bourke St, just out from St Leonards Yacht Club, produced whiting to 40cm on pippies and fresh squids. Whiting anglers also caught the odd flathead to 50cm, a welcome by-catch for most. The mouth of Swan Bay produced squid to 600g, with size three jigs in natural colours working best. Anglers fishing into the night caught mulloway in the Barwon River estuary. Fish to 6kg were taken from the bridge right up to the Sheepwash. Fresh baits are key to banking these elusive fish, with mullet and squid particularly popular choices. Anglers fishing the mouth of the estuary beached some impressive Australian salmon reaching 2kg on the run-in tide. Casting small metal lures or soft plastics allowed anglers to follow schools up and down the river. Offshore from Barwon Heads, snapper to 6kg schooled in large numbers. Forty meters of water straight out from Barwon Heads Bluff seemed to be the place to go, with numerous boats taking advantage of the calm conditions. Salmon action in the same area slowed, with anglers reporting few fish working the surface. Inside Corio Bay, North Shore’s rocks fished well for pinkie snapper. Casting plastics out to the deeper water caught fish to 45cm, with Gulp turtleback worms working well. Fishing World Geelong’s Michael Moore and Ben McLean headed out from Port Fairy last Thursday, trolling once they were about 5km south-southeast of Lady Julia Percy. They soon hooked up their first tuna, which took a Samaki Pacemaker. The pair boated numerous fish, all around 15kg. Casting lures proved a little challenging in unsettled conditions but Michael managed to boat a 15kg tuna on a Sea Iron Pelacus. At the end of the day he and Ben totalled an impressive 17 fish, keeping only two. Daniel Baden fished out of Port Fairy on Tuesday, finding good numbers of tuna working in 50m. Daniel casting the same lure as Michael to boat a 25kg tuna, which proved a handful on light tackle. On the freshwater front, Lake Bullen Merri began producing some nice-sized Chinook salmon. Trolling down deep with downriggers helped anglers boat salmon to 2kg on lures such as Daiwa Double Clutches. Next door at Lake Purrumbete, anglers fishing mudeyes under floats caught rainbow trout to 1.5kg. This lake should soon begin producing trophy brown trout with the onset of colder weather. Darryl Luttrell ventured up to Tullaroop Reservoir where he walking the banks casting Fish Arrow soft plastics for trout. He hooked a beastly brown of 65cm, which made the long drive worthwhile. Over the next week anglers should try St Leonards for quality whiting and squid. Port Fairy should also hold great numbers of bluefin tuna, which are apparently proving a little less finicky than in recent weeks. Freshwater anglers could try casting Fish Arrow soft plastics for redfin and trout at Wurdee Boluc Reservoir.
ANOTHER ONE: Ben McLean shows off one of the 17 tuna he caught with Michael Moore.
TRIPLE TON: Corey Enright is still posting polished performances in his 15th year with the Cats. 139277
Picture: REG RYAN
Humble hero’s 300 reasons to play on By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN FOR A player who has been happy to stay out of the limelight, Corey Enright has been football’s everywhere man this week. But the triple premiership hero took it all in his stride with the same even temperament he displayed throughout his 299-game career. He will become the third Cat and 70th VFL/AFL player to reach the 300-game milestone when he runs out against Melbourne at Simonds Stadium on Sunday. He follows in the bootsteps of
300-gamer John ‘Sam’ Newman and club games record holder Ian Nankervis who finished with 325. Evergreen Enright was best on ground against Port Adelaide last week, immediately sparking suggestions he could play on next year. But he deflected any speculation with his usual humility, saying he was not even thinking about next year. “I’m not really thinking too far ahead. I came into this year just trying to enjoy everything that came along, so this week will be big and I’ll try to enjoy it as best I can,” Enright said.
“I’m not really trying to focus on it too much. It might sound like a bit of a cop out but I’m just here to enjoy my footy and hopefully teach some of the young guys coming through the right way to play.” Now in his 15th season, the 34-year-old’s accolades rank him as the best small defender in the game. Three premierships, five All Australian selections and two best and fairest wins – in premiership years, no less – represent excellent value from a 47th pick in the 1999 draft. Add to that all-round nice bloke.
SENTIMENT plays little part in Geelong’s weekly selections. So the 300-game milestone that everyone else is celebrating will be lower on coach Chris Scott’s priority list this week. He will be busy reminding everyone that a game of AFL is yet to be played, not just the Corey Enright Commemorative Match. Scott as much as promised two weeks ago that Jimmy Bartel would not be risked despite his desperation to be part of the milestone game of his celebrated teammate. The fact the game is against lowly Melbourne will also be part of Scott’s preparation, ensuring the danger of the opponent is not overlooked in the hype of the achievement. Geelong got the Corey Enright media conference out of the way early in the week, with the man himself playing it down. The timing also works well for Scott, being a home game and getting it out of the way before the bye, allowing the Cats to focus on the second half of the season. The older heads will be able to separate emotion from the business at hand. They've done it any number of times now. The milestone will be a valuable lesson for the younger Cats on how to handle expectations mixed with sentiment and take on their coach’s hard-nosed approach. The time for celebration will be after the game, not before. It will also be a test of whether players can put the excitement of the gutsy win over Port Adelaide behind them and focus on a new opponent. The key selection headache still revolves around big-man stocks, with Rhys Stanley now cut down and Mitch Clark a week to week proposition. The startling development of Mark Blicavs remains the shining light in the ruck division, going up against another relative newcomer in 208cm Max Gawn. The big Dee might win the hit outs but will have no hope of keeping up with Blicavs around the ground. Despite a lack of wins, Melbourne has played more-attractive football this season. But even the Melbourne Football Club website predicts a Geelong win by 32 points.
Warriors take confidence into battle against Knights By JOSIP ZILIC NORTH Geelong Warriors will enter its round 17 clash against Melbourne Knights with renewed belief after grinding out a hard-fought 1-0 win over Green Gully last week. The Knights have had a roller coaster in terms of form since the season’s midway mark, with a draw, a win then a loss in their heaviest defeat last week, 4-1 to Oakleigh. Regardless of off-field friendships between the two teams, Sunday’s match at Knights Stadium will be hotly contested. The Warriors’ win against Green Gully in a scrappy affair was far from purist’s dream match but gave the lo-
cal lads something to build their confidence and keep a clean sheet. North Geelong started the match with some fluid moves as new signing Gareth Richards closed down defenders, forcing early mistakes. The Warriors’ pressure brought on the opener when Reardo Luka received a ball courtesy of Green Gully’s inability to clear the lines and spun onto his right foot from the edge of the box to drill past the keeper. Chances were few for either side in the first half amid numerous turnovers in attacking areas. Yusuf Yusuf had two opportunities to bring more joy to the North Geelong faithful in the 52nd minute, needing only a tap-in from a Gareth Richard
cross. But Yusuf put too much on it, hitting the bar and sending the ball back into play. With the second half wearing out, Green Gully brought on Luc Jeggo to spark his side. He repeated Yusuf’s move in hitting the woodwork, initiating a big late charge from the visitors. But North Geelong custodian Daniel Zilic denied the surge, stopping everything thrown at him. Zilic’s lastminute flying save allowed the Warriors to maintain their 1-0 lead and claim the win. Coach Micky Colina said the Warriors showed “signs that we’re growing up” with the victory. “We can use this to turn our fortunes around from here.”
DRIVER'S SEAT: Yusuf Yusuf drives forward for the Warriors against Green Gully. Picture: IVAN DUGANDZIC