Matt Hogan and Mick Dormer from Port Sharks guests On the Bench,
THERE'S an adage in rugby league that teams have to lose a grand final before they win one.
THERE'S an adage in rugby league that teams have to lose a grand final before they win one.
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00:00Hello, welcome to On the Bench. I'm Marty from the Port Macquarie News. I'm joined here
00:07with Mick Macdonald from the Manning River Times and we're back to where it all started
00:11with the Port Macquarie Sharks president Mick Dormer and first grade coach Matt Hogan. Thank
00:16you for coming in again. Mick, do we have any housekeeping to get done?
00:20Well, of course, for now it's the second week of the semi-final series. Cracking game last
00:26Sunday at Old Bar. This weekend we'll be at Old Bar again on Saturday. The first grade
00:30of course, the Pirates will host the Williams Tigers and on Sunday, the Port Regional Stadium.
00:35The Sharks minor premieres. The Sharks will play the MacLean Valley Mustangs and of course
00:39the winner there goes straight to the grand final and hosts the grand final. So it's a
00:42big weekend fellas? Yeah mate, yeah, big weekend coming. Looking
00:46forward to it. So, home ground to Beany. So that's where we started out, you know, our
00:52plans for the start of the year. So to host that major, we've set that goal. Minor premiership
01:00was also a notch in the belt, but like I said, job's still there to be done.
01:05And a big achievement for the club too, we've got about five Port Macquarie Sharks in the
01:09finals this weekend, is that correct? Yeah, all the teams are still fighting for
01:15a spot in the grand final. So we've got our women's side play down at Old Bar against
01:20Kempsey tomorrow. Reserve grade play Taree tomorrow down at Old Bar, so they're both
01:27the eliminations. And then on Sunday, we've got our league tag girls who got minor premiers,
01:32they take on the Breakers. Reserve grade, oh Reserve grade, 18s who also got minor premieres,
01:38they take on Lake Caddo and then obviously the big one.
01:41Yeah, that's great. It's been a great year Mick, were you expecting
01:44to be that good at the start of the season? Um, we were hopeful. So we did talk about
01:50it, we actually spoke about it at our season launch that we'd love to see all five teams
01:55in the semi-finals. We had pretty good squads at that stage, good coaching and management
02:04staff, so we were pretty hopeful right from the start.
02:07Your league tag and your 18s, they'll start fairly strong favourites I would imagine.
02:12Yeah, they will. Breakers have really started to come good, so I think they were struggling
02:19for players at the start of the year, but then they've put together a pretty good squad
02:23now and they've been stringing together some really good wins. They gave Warhope a fair
02:27touch-up in the semi-final last week, which you've probably heard about. And our 18s haven't
02:33lost a game, but they've had some real tight ones, and they've had pretty close battles
02:38with Lake Caddo and Wingham in all their matches this year.
02:42Matt, have you been using any of the 18s in the first group?
02:45No, I haven't been mate. I've got two young fellas on the wing that are eligible for 18s,
02:49Jack Tierney and Will Rosenblum. I've given my young fella Zeb, I think he's played three
02:56games off the bench, and young Ethan Clarke as well. So yeah, I've blotted four of them
03:00this year.
03:01And how are you guys shaping up in first group?
03:04Mate, like I said, we're as good as ever. There's going to be no excuses, we spoke about
03:08it last night. Everyone's, other than Dill Clark, he got some pretty bad news on Thursday
03:15with his wrist. He's back in the cask again, and he'll miss the remainder of the season.
03:19But everyone's fighting for it, and to be honest, we're ready to go to Sabi if we have to.
03:25And it's all fell into place, really. When I was finishing, Albara were going to finish
03:30the minor premiers on points differential, and you guys kind of played the country second
03:34and third, and then Wingham upset Albara, and everything changed. The whole competition
03:38went on its head.
03:39Yeah, it was a bit like that. Even against Warhol that day, I felt like, you know, obviously
03:45they were in a lot of favour, so Albara against Wingham, and so I give Mitchell Wilbur and
03:51a couple of others a rest, and I guess, like I said, they upset them, and we slipped straight
03:56into that minor premiership role, and obviously I feel like we'd done that little bit of a
04:01favour for Wingham as well that weekend by toppling Warhol. Give Wingham that home semi
04:06as well. But yeah, at the end of the day, mate, we're fighting fit, we're ready to go.
04:13I guess I reckon the attitude the last couple of weeks, it's been A1. It's been really good.
04:20Can't fault the player.
04:21And you were there last Sunday at Albara. It was a brutal game of football, and it was
04:26a great semi-final. It's one of the best semi-finals I've seen ever, and I go back a few years,
04:30it was a great game. But it's going to be harder to make up for them, isn't it, even
04:34though it's a week's break?
04:35It is, yeah. I was sitting back there licking my lips.
04:39I bet you were.
04:40Yeah, go harder, boys. Go harder. But no, it was a cracking game of footy. Like, two
04:47very good teams. I've said it all the time, I feel like between us, Albara and Kempsey,
04:52I feel like it's going to come down to just execution on the day, getting it right. I
04:57feel like there's not too much between them three teams. I'm not discounting Wingham
05:02as well, they're a very good team on their day, which showed in that final game against
05:06Albara, and they give us a fair fright at the back end of the season as well.
05:12You guys played Albara two weeks in a row, wasn't it, because of the draw with the wet
05:17weather. And how hard was it backing up after those games? I mean, they were two tough games
05:22as well.
05:23Two very tough games. The 12-all draw out there, I feel like it was a matter of missed
05:28opportunities that day by both teams. And then it was 12-all at Albara the following
05:33week with, I think, six minutes to go, five minutes to go. And like I said, it was just
05:38a one-on-one missed tackle that led to a try that took a day down six. So not much between
05:43either side, yeah.
05:44You had pretty close games against Maclay too, I think, is that right?
05:46Yeah, 12-6 up at Maclay in the first round. 12-6, that was in the mud, and I feel like
05:56even that day, we lacked possession severely that day. They had a lot of opportunities
06:01at us and our defence withstood them. And then I felt like the same in the second round
06:07as well. I think it was one part there, six sets of six in a row, and we defended that
06:13moment. I feel like that's going to play a big part this weekend. It's going to be defence
06:19and I feel like our boys are on in that department, yeah.
06:22Ma, you're speaking to Bo Champion this week. How are the Mustangs showing up? How have
06:27they recovered?
06:28He said there's a few bruised bodies still, but yeah, he said that they've come out on
06:33top quite good. Excited for the challenge. He knows it's going to be tough. The Mustangs
06:39haven't managed to crack the sharks yet to get a win, so it'll be a really, really good
06:44contest. And obviously, extra incentive for a home grand final. I mean, that would be
06:50massive for Kempsey as well as for Fort, so you've got that on the line. So yeah, it's
06:55going to be a really great game and all the boys in Mustangs are looking forward to it.
07:00And just with that, when finals time does come around at training, do you maintain that
07:05it's just another game or do you feed into the importance of what a win could mean for
07:10the team?
07:11Yeah, we're all mindful it is another game of footy. It's what we play, it's what we
07:17do, we love it. At the end of the day, we've got to treat it that way, but all our chips
07:23are going in this weekend. We're relying on a home grand final and yeah, so we're going
07:30out there and playing our best this weekend. There won't be any excuses anyway, matey.
07:35What sort of crowd are you going to look at, Nick? What do you think?
07:37This weekend, mate? I was going to be largely dependent on this weather, but if it blows
07:42away and the sun comes out, I'd expect that we're going to have a pretty big crowd. We're
07:46prepared for one. We've got a fair few people on board to volunteer on the day, extra few
07:53stations to sell a few products. So yeah, we should be pretty sweet, mate. We're ready
07:59for a big crowd, so hopefully we get a big one.
08:01Because crowds are funny though. Sorry, mate.
08:03I was just going to say, how's the car park situation up Port Regent? Is it still sort
08:07of...
08:08Yeah, the car park situation hasn't changed. So obviously there's council elections happening
08:12this weekend and nothing much is going to happen until the new council comes in, but
08:17hopefully the new council have got a bit more common sense than the previous 20 to 30 years
08:23of councillors and they sort it out.
08:25Excuse my ignorance here, because I'm obviously from Tarwee. What's wrong with the parking
08:29areas? It's hard to get out of there, isn't it?
08:31Oh, no, mate. It's just that they obviously built the stadium in 92.
08:35Yeah.
08:36And you know how big that stadium is. You could probably fit 7,000, 8,000 people in
08:40there. And if you compare that to Coffs Harbour, their stadium, obviously it's another level
08:46again, their stadium, but they've got 1,000 car parks and the council here have got 149.
08:53And they've been using 250 car parks as like an unwritten agreement. So there's no legal
09:01agreement between where the Hip Arts Club is, which used to be the RSL Club. So they've
09:07just been, it's like a handshake agreement that they could use those because it was mutually
09:11beneficial. But now that they're selling that land, the council are going to lose those
09:16250 car parks. So we're going to have an amazing stadium with bugger all car parks.
09:22And it's a fair way to town too, not as though it's an easy walk.
09:25Yeah, it's not the smartest thing you'd ever hear about.
09:28Okay, we'll cancel elections tomorrow, so it might all change next week.
09:31Hopefully.
09:32Matt, I've obviously said all year, there's a bit of a gulf between the top three sides
09:37and the rest.
09:38Yep.
09:40Ulbar plays Wigan tomorrow at Ulbar. Now I think Ulbar will get away with it fairly
09:45handily. I don't think they're going to be too good to Wigan, despite last week's problems.
09:50They'll be relatively fresh then to play the side in the final. And you've obviously got
09:55to build the hell out of one another again on Sunday. So they're not in a bad position
09:59are they?
10:00Oh, I don't think any side's, I'm not discreet in Wigan as well. Everyone's got a ticket
10:06in it. I feel like everyone's a chance at the moment. It's semi-finals football. I've
10:12been here and done it, and as a coach, as a player, things can happen. We're not discarding
10:18anything at the moment. Our job's this weekend, everything's going to be on us, not Kempsey.
10:23We know what's in front of us. They're a very, very good team. We've just got to eliminate
10:30them. Majority of the chances they're going to throw at us. I can't fault either team.
10:37Ulbar, they're clutch. They're clutch on their day. They're a very good team. I think you've
10:41seen that on last Sunday. They got limited opportunities, but when they did get an opportunity,
10:49I thought they looked very dangerous.
10:51They almost scored the last minute.
10:53The last three minutes. I'll tell you what, I was right in line with that ball. That was
10:58a tough call.
10:59I was a bit behind it. I didn't know how it was.
11:02I sang Troy every day of the week.
11:05They didn't bubble about, the Pirates.
11:07No, they got back to business. They're a very good team.
11:10I thought you were going to referee too.
11:12It was awesome. There was a couple of tough decisions. I thought they'd done awesome.
11:18That's why Bo Chambers has done marvelously well this year with the Mustangs, is their
11:22discipline. They did the same too. They used to have a bit of a reputation with a bit of
11:27ill-discipline towards the referees, but they copped it last week with the good and the
11:32bad and just played footy.
11:34They did that. Even when the chips are down, he's taught them how to react and respond
11:42from lower moments as well. Chems are a very good attacking team and when things don't
11:49go their way, it's rocks or diamonds with sides that have so much ability like that.
11:54I've been to them attacking sides and all that sort of stuff. Very good, very hot and
12:01cold, but they've got a good steady flow now. They're real good right across the board.
12:06Did Apex a match winner though, didn't he?
12:08Mate.
12:09That last try last week, the defence rushed up quickly to stop him from the field goal
12:15and being two seconds late, he's over in the corner.
12:18Yeah, he's a good try, wasn't he?
12:20Absolutely brilliant.
12:21He's a clutch player, mate. Like I said, we spoke about it. He's definitely on our team
12:27sheet.
12:28It was him that scored a freaky try when we beat him in the mud, wasn't it? Up 12-6.
12:36That was his try, wasn't it?
12:38Yeah, it was a very quick tap which we didn't respond to and then he got us in the 80th
12:43minute here at Port as well. Scored a very good try. He's a very good footballer. Like
12:49I said, they're very good right across the park. 1-17, which showed on the weekend, which
12:54they had to beat to beat Alba. He's going to get some special attention as is Lockwood
13:02as well.
13:03He is a dangerous player too.
13:04He's a very good footballer, mate.
13:05How are you going to shut them down?
13:08Just numbers, Marty. Extra attention. We can't be going in lightly on them. They just need
13:16special attention. Quality players do.
13:18Alba had a blow last week in the opening minute. Isaac Walboys went down with a knee. He's
13:23gone now for the year and probably won't play again.
13:26Yeah, that was early in the game, wasn't it?
13:28It was the first minute. He's only just come back late this year from a knee reconstruction.
13:33He's done that other knee.
13:35Yeah, it's very sad that. I really feel for him. I went and watched that game against
13:41Kempsey. I went and played Kempsey at Kempsey and I thought he was the difference. For a
13:47lad that had just come back, I think that was probably three games back, and he tore him
13:52apart, him and Jordan, that day. They were very good.
13:55You talk about backing up from a tough game. You blokes played in the week before, didn't
13:58you?
13:59Yeah.
14:00I think Marty told me it was a very early hard game of footy. They weren't anywhere
14:04near the best against Alba that day from what I heard. Alba thrashed them. Backing up from
14:09this game Sunday next week is not going to be an easy thing.
14:12Well, the coin's flipped. Alba have been following us for the season.
14:16Yeah, they've been following us. Whatever we've done to teams, they've come off the
14:21back of it and rode that wave. Hopefully, the coin's flipped and we're coming off the
14:26back of their performance on the weekend.
14:29It comes round.
14:30It does, mate. Yeah, 100%. That's the plan.
14:33Alba, this will be their last home game tomorrow for this season, and they've got a terrible
14:38record at home in finals football. I think they've played five games there, not since
14:412023, and lost four of them.
14:44Yeah, right.
14:45You guys were down there last year.
14:47Yeah.
14:48The Breakers beat them in the grand final in 2022. They only just got a hold of Kempsey
14:54in the final last year, too. They were beaten last weekend, so it's not a great...
14:58Of course, you've got guys now that feel like they've turned a park into a footy field.
15:03Yeah.
15:04They're spending a week scaffolding up and putting... whereas you guys just go and play,
15:09don't you?
15:10Rock up, yeah.
15:11I think it's an insignificant advantage. I don't think playing away from home in the
15:15last two games, assuming they do, will be that big a disadvantage for them.
15:19Yeah.
15:20And because you lost one last year, Mandy, how much of an incentive is that to go one
15:25better this year?
15:26Mate, we've been licking our wounds since Sunday.
15:28We've missed business.
15:30Yeah, definitely. These boys, from the day they rocked into pre-season, their focus has
15:35been on two weeks' time. So there's been no stun and turn. Our prep... I can't fold
15:42a thing. Attitude, effort, in all aspects of the game, training, performance-wise. Handling
15:49things, hence why we obviously had the best for and against in the comp, especially against
15:56anyway. So attitude, as we say, defence wins big games. Our defence, most of the season,
16:04we've had a couple of lapses at times, but I feel like we've been A1 all year with that
16:09department. Definitely, I think it was even silly Sunday, Mick. I had lads coming to me
16:17that day saying, when's pre-season start? They'll hurt. I've got no doubt they won't
16:25be letting this one slide.
16:27Yeah, and it's a 12-month preparation. You don't start planning in January. The stuff
16:35that goes on during the off-season, Mick, do you have a break in the off-season at all
16:39from before you start?
16:41It'd be nice if we had about six weeks, but that'd be about it. It's probably six weeks
16:47and then we'll reform a new committee in the AGM and then you're back into it. And obviously
16:53the guys that are really serious, they don't stop going to the gym. Stop their fitness.
16:58They probably have a few weeks off and have a decent holiday, but most of them get back
17:03into it pretty quickly.
17:05You enjoy it? You enjoy the administrative role?
17:08Yeah, it's pretty good. We've only got a small committee, but we've got a really good
17:12committee. Real hard workers. We've got a couple of ladies that are running the canteen
17:18that are amazing. We don't have to think about the canteen. They've just got to run like
17:24a well-oiled machine, haven't they, mate?
17:26Yeah, they've done well.
17:27There's been twice, one of them.
17:28Oh, of course.
17:29You'd better give her a plug. They're doing awesome. They are. They're amazing. And all
17:34the staff that helps them as well.
17:36Yeah, so they've made it relatively easy. Have you done the role before?
17:43Many years ago. I was tied up in a log one time.
17:46So you probably know then.
17:48I'm an advice football writer, mate.
17:50There's a fair bit more involved than probably what you think when you take it on. But yeah,
17:55it's been good. It's been enjoyable. And I suppose when you've got a really good club
18:00behind you, it makes it easy. With the players and all the management staff, the coaches,
18:05it's a pretty good crew. And that was evident last weekend with the amount of people that
18:11went and watched the minor semis. So we had our girls playing, our reserve grade playing,
18:18and we had a fairly good number of people from all the other teams and families that
18:24came and watched them and supported them.
18:26That was awesome.
18:27It was good.
18:28And you had a pretty good junior league and a pretty successful year too. I think you
18:31went through two or three competitions. Was there a tier one and tier two these days?
18:34It gets a bit confusing, but I noticed the Sharks are on top of a few grades.
18:38They did, mate. They fared fairly well in the semi-finals and in the grand final.
18:43And we've got, in terms of the senior committee, we've got a bunch of really good workers
18:51from the juniors whose kids are now old enough to come up to senior, so they'll be coming
18:55through in the next year or two.
18:56A bit of a funny year this year for you guys too, because the Breakers fell away so much.
19:00And that's obviously a big clash between the two towns' rivals. Sort of, say, a bit different
19:07this year. Wasn't that a build-up for that game, I would imagine, because they were right
19:11down the bottom of the comp?
19:12Yeah. Breakers are still Breakers, though. They'll get up for us, no matter what. Even
19:20when Sharks are on the bottom of the table and Breakers are at the top, it's still a
19:25tough game of footy. A lot of banter, a lot of cross-town banter, but like I said, mate,
19:32they won't be down there too long. They're all talking about it now. I was talking to
19:39Brent Eastbury a couple of weeks ago, mate, and they're opening up the checkerboard.
19:43I thought, mate, you haven't heard much about them, have you, what they're doing next year?
19:46No, they're keeping it pretty quiet at the moment, but I'm sure we'll hear some news
19:50soon in the off-season.
19:51I've heard a couple of those boys that went north this year might be coming back home
19:55next year, but we'll leave that for the off-season.
19:58Yeah.
19:59Some very competitive old boys that are heavily involved in the club that won't stand for
20:05getting wooden spooned too long.
20:07That'll be the first time, I think, too, in the club's history. Even when they formed,
20:11they were sort of competitive. Back in the day, they were the Cavaliers, I think, and
20:15they were sort of always competitive. It'll be certainly the first time since they've
20:19been the Breakers anyway, so they're not going to cop that, I wouldn't think.
20:24No.
20:25So, Matt, will you coach again next year? Are you keen to go again, win those awards
20:27and move on in?
20:28Don't put that one on me, mate. Let's just get past this.
20:33He signed a five-year contract.
20:35Oh, really?
20:36Yeah.
20:37They get him on the NRL, OK, so he's got the full support of the committee?
20:43Yeah, absolutely.
20:45OK, you're gone. You're gone.
20:48Like, seriously, you don't have to ask him that question because he's got three years
20:51to run on his contract.
20:53I've got a head full of grey hair, mate. Like I said, I do enjoy it, mate. I do enjoy it
20:59and they're a crackin' bunch, right through to from 18s to right through to first grade.
21:05I come for the play. Everyone's bought in right through the pre-season. Yes, you do
21:12have to ask some people at times on that and see where, you know, you can test out
21:16the mental capacity of people, but, like, yeah, they've all bought in. It's a great
21:20club. Like, Mickie's doing a crackin' job, the committee, like everyone's. It's great
21:24to be a part of anyway, to be honest, yeah.
21:26I tell you what, Mick, it's going to be interesting next year as a first grade coach with some
21:32of the 18s that are coming through. So if the bulk of the boys hang around in first
21:36grade and then we've got a really good core of reserve graders and then you've got some
21:40really good 18s coming through, it's just where he's got to fit them all.
21:44So, yeah, Simon, you said he's playing 18s. Is he going to be around here next year or
21:48is he moving on?
21:49Yeah, that's yet to be decided, but, yeah, I'm pretty sure he is. If he does venture
21:55out and, like, get a trial or something, you know, do something, it goes to March, so it's
22:01over and he'll be back, you know, so.
22:03How are you going to coach your son? Is that in first grade?
22:06No, I've coached my son right through junior league. I walked away from coaching first
22:10grade for about 10 years, mate, and that was, I've chased footy around all my life and I
22:15dedicated that part to my family and my children as well. I try to put that part into them,
22:20so. Hence why I walked away from it and only come back last year, but, like, nah, he knows
22:25the grounds, mate. There's no favouritism and I'll probably make it harder on him at
22:29the end of the day, so.
22:30It doesn't seem to bother the Cleary family too much, does it?
22:34Nah. Except Ivan seems pretty calm. Zed knows how cranky this bloke is.
22:40And speaking of coaches and coaching, Mitchell Collins, the William, the captain coach, who
22:46said on numerous occasions during the year that this is it, no more. He said on this
22:50very segment last week, no, no, I'm helping with the, picking the coach next year. He
22:55said, nah, I'm definitely not coaching next year. And you've said before, Mitch, you're
22:58not going to coach next year? Season off, just go, just concentrate on playing?
23:03Yeah, just play, mate. So, that's where I'm sort of at for it. We've had a fair few applications
23:09come through for it, yeah, so. We've had about seven or eight come through, so.
23:14I rang him up on Wednesday to get the, what's going on with the team and blah, blah, blah.
23:17I said, oh, by the way, he said, I'm coaching next year.
23:20Hey, right.
23:21I said, you aren't kidding. No, no, no, no, no, no. If he'd done that backflip at the
23:25Paris Olympics, he'd have come up with the gold medal.
23:27Oh, he what?
23:29Oh, well, he said, he said, we've got some good kids coming through and I thought, well,
23:32you know, I don't really want to hand it on to somebody else. I thought, that'll do. He
23:35must have said ten times this year.
23:37He did, on this segment.
23:38Yeah, yeah, except, but anyway.
23:40But they advertised about six weeks ago, didn't they?
23:42Yep. Well, he was going through the applications.
23:44Oh, okay, so they did get applications.
23:46Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:47I thought maybe they didn't get many, so.
23:48No, no, they got, he said they got a couple from Queensland. You can imagine why you want
23:51to leave Queensland and go to Wigan, but anyway. Anyway, Mitchell will be there next
23:56year to get a couple of, be a couple of changes on the coaching front. I think the Bulls might
24:01be able to look out for a new coach as well, but they haven't confirmed that, but I don't
24:04know if Christian's going to, going on next year. He's had a lot of trouble with his knee
24:09this year, but, but anyway, that's for next year to concern itself, I suppose. We haven't
24:12got through this year yet. So, fellas, thanks for coming in.
24:16Good luck on the weekend.
24:17You as well.
24:18I'll, I'll, I'll be here, I'm leaving the, Marty's in charge of Sunday. She's looking
24:22after coverage.
24:23I'll be there.
24:24Stepping into the mantle for next year. The King's dead, the Queen's, Long live the Queen.
24:29That's it.
24:30Should be, I'll tell you, the next week's anywhere near as, sorry, this week's anywhere
24:34as good as last week. We're in for a couple, a couple of great, couple of great games and
24:38hopefully, a few guys, hopefully, Port Macquarie in a couple of weeks' time for the grand final.
24:42That's the plan, mate. That's the plan. As, you know, like, as you say, this part of the
24:46season, you, that's, you'd expect to see that as well, like, good football, so, and
24:50that's where the good sides come into play and, like I said, come this weekend, mate,
24:54we'll, we'll be throwing all our chips in.
24:56Okay, well, good luck and thanks, Marty, again, for putting up with us.
24:59Thanks, Marty.
25:00And we'll see you next week. We're back in Taree next week for On The Bench and, of course,
25:02On The Bench is sponsored by Classic Design Jewels of Taree.
25:06Thanks, mate.