As half-time speeches go, Koroit's Damian Dobson says it was the most inspirational of his career and triggered a never-to-be-forgotten Grand Final comeback...

Prolific sports writer KEN PIESSE will next month release his new book FOOTBALL LEGENDS OF THE BUSH. It features home town heroes and those who came and conquered. An ‘A to Z' town by town list of every important player to play at VFL/AFL level is also included. For more, visit Ken's website www.cricketbooks.com.au

ZERO HOUR AT REID OVAL

When you're eight goals behind at half-time in any match, let alone a Grand Final, you're virtually assigned to playing for pride.

The Koroit boys were dead men walking in the 2003 Hampden League Grand Final against Camperdown at Warrnambool's Reid Oval. The second quarter was a shocker. Every time a Saints' player won the ball, he gave it straight back. Old stager Damian Dobson said the atmosphere in the rooms at the main break resembled a morgue. ‘No-one could say a word. The young blokes were all so disappointed.'

Koroit's captain-coach Jason Mifsud took himself off into a side room with the match committee, re-arranging the team, putting all his best players on the ball or up forward. After back-to-back Grand Final losses, he wasn't going to go down for a third time without an almighty fight.

Still the rooms were deathly quiet. Even the supporters stayed outside. Mifsud lay down for several minutes, all alone with his thoughts. ‘What is the legacy I will leave at this club?' he asked himself. ‘What is the legacy'

He rose and entered the main room and delivered the speech of his life. He was powerful, passionate and believable. ‘Fellas,' he said, gathering the team all around him. ‘The game starts again now. We've overrun them once (in the second-semi final). We're fresh (having had the week off). We can do it again. It's all about belief and trust. The scoreboard does not dictate our attitude. You saw out there in the last few minutes (before half-time) how we were starting to win more of it...'

He paused for effect, drew everyone even closer and speaking slowly, very deliberately and with increasing passion he said: ‘This fellas is our Zero hour. This is the time none of us will ever have again. This is our opportunity. TODAY... NOW. Let's win one contest. Then another... if we can be even four goals behind at three-quarter time, I promise you, they will freeze. They will freeze.

‘Together. All of us.... we can do this...'

As he delivered the ‘TOGEETTHHEERRRR, ALL OF US...' line, he raised his voice to a booming crescendo. The atmosphere was electric; every player re-energised.
Dobson, Koroit's club record games holder with 323 said the emotion of the moment was unforgettable.

Years later, he still remembers the speech virtually word for word. ‘Every person in the room was ready to go to war,' he said. ‘The resolve was just unbelievable. Jason made us believe that we could come back and we surged right over the top of them. You could just tell within the first five minutes that the whole momentum of the match had swung 180 degrees. It was one of those rare days; one that none of us will ever forget.'

Mifsud kicked eight goals himself, including seven after half-time. ‘Talk about leading from the front,' Dobson said. ‘He was sensational that day (Koroit going on to win 17.8 to Camperdown's 15.13, its first flag in 30 years)

• Excerpts from Football Legends of the Bush, Ken Piesse's 64th book, being published by Penguin on August 1.

Article first appeared www.vcfl.com.au 06 July, 2011

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