For South Melbourne, the sweet taste of Derby day success was the perfect reward for what coach Chris Taylor labelled as a “very tough week” in the club’s recent history.
An off field spat between winger Nick Epifano and the South Melbourne supporter base was dealt with internally, and with the distractions put aside, South were able to claim a maximum haul against their title challenging rivals.
“After the week and the drama we’ve had – we had a sending off last week and another incident that we had to deal with – I thought the boys equipped themselves well, and reacted pretty well. That was the most pleasing thing for me,” Taylor said.
“It was quite testing for us. We’ve had injuries, we weren’t sure if Matt Theodore would be ok to play, and Jake Barker-Daish has only had three training sessions with us. So it was a bit of a gamble, everything we did, but sometimes it pays off and today it did. A fantastic result for us and really pleased for the boys.
Looking at the game itself, Taylor, much like the supporters, felt the tension of a tight, topsy-turvy game, which saw some big decisions throughout the clash.
“In the derby games, there’s always a lot of feeling. The penalty was a bit contentious, an incident at the end was contentious, but that’s what happens in derby games,” the South coach said.
“It was your typical derby game, but luckily it’s come out our way. I thought we deserved it, we were the better side all game, but they’re always going to be tight games.
“Melbourne Knights never give up so it’s always going to be a tough game right up until the finish, and it was today.”
Reserving some words for Epifano – who remained on the bench in the win against the Knights – CT was quick to defend the youngster, who also reiterated the players backing for him.
“Nick [Epifano’s] a good kid. At times he can be a bit hot headed, and things haven’t gone his way the last couple of weeks.
“But he’s a crucial player, and the boys really felt for him over the last week. It was probably a good thing we didn’t bring him into the action today and kept him away from the main game.
“But all in all he’s very pleased, delighted in [the rooms]. We’ve come through a very tough week, and there’s a lot of positives for us.”