Weekly Times | WHILE parts of the state might be wishing for more of a drink, for Chiltern it has been more a case of rain go away.
The Tallangatta and District Football League club has not played or trained at home since August 1, when it played Kiewa Sandy Creek, after a string of wet matches on its home ground tore up the turf.
“It wasn’t even football that day, it was nearly water polo,” first-year playing coach Mark Doolan said of the match against the Hawks.
More rain since has not allowed the ground to recover, so Chiltern’s footballers have trained at St Monica’s Primary School’s basketball courts, and at Howlong and Corowa-Rutherglen before settling briefly at Wodonga Saints’ ground.
But with that oval to be top-dressed this week, the Swans were preparing to train at Emerald Oval in Wodonga before its preliminary final match on Saturday.
It’s a bitter blow for the club, which president Mick Eames said spent $15,000 over summer having the ground resown with couch grass.
As well as the financial impact — Chiltern’s final home match was moved to Sandy Creek — Eames described a feeling of “hollow success” for a town unable to get behind the side because it was not training at home in the finals series.
But even without the ideal preparation, it’s full-steam ahead for Chiltern in the finals.
Last year, when Doolan was an assistant coach, Chiltern made finals for the first time since 2007 and bowed out after an elimination final loss.
The Swans have now gone two better after defeating Rutherglen in the elimination final by 64 points, and backing it up on Sunday with a two-goal win against Thurgoona in the first semi-final.
It sets up a preliminary final date with the Hawks, who were beaten for the first time this season in the second semi-final by Tallangatta.
“Everyone’s rapt and it has surprised some people that we’ve gone this far,” Eames said.
“(Doolan’s) done a brilliant job to get the kids playing that way and also the older players who are setting a great example.”
