This weekend showcases the very best of Victorian Football as both the Team App Cup and the Dockerty Cup Finals are played out at Lakeside Oval in South Melbourne. In what should be a real spectacle of talent and skill across the genders, spectators will be able to gain free entry prior to 1pm when the women’s title will be battled out between Boroondara Eagles FC and FC Bulleen Lions.
Stocky’s Scribbles sat down this week with FC Bulleen Lions captain Tessa Sernio and women’s coach Bob McGuinness to talk about this Sunday’s Team App Cup Final, FC Bulleen Lions chances and it’s greater effect on women’s football as a whole.
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Tessa Sernio
Q. Last year’s win must still be fresh for you and many of your Bulleen Lions teammates. How confident are you of retaining the Cup in 2015?
Anything can happen in a Cup Final. We experienced that last year and go into this one in a similar position as underdogs despite winning it last year. Very tough opponent however we are confident that if we can put in a concentrated performance we can go back to back.
Q. You inspired the team last year with an incredible strike on goal to open the scoring? Are you planning another one?
Haha, definitely didn’t plan that one last year and I don’t think anyone expected it either! Can’t promise it will happen again, a lot of luck was involved!
Q. The team has changed since last year. What additions have been made and how has this impacted the team?
Quite a few changes were made, we lost quality players for different reasons however we bought in a lot of quality too. There are changes all over the park and it obviously takes a while to gel but I feel they’ve impacted the team well and fit in well with the way we want to play and will continue to do so.
Q. Who do you see as pivotal for a Bulleen lions win and why?
Can’t give you a one player answer, in order to bring home the Cup we are aware that it is pivotal for every player to contribute by executing their role the best they can.
Q. Boroondara lead the Sportsmart WPL right now. Who are their danger players and how will you nullify them on the day?
Boroondara have been impressive this year, they have strengths and experience all over the park so it makes it difficult to target one player. I think it’s important that we are aware of their strengths but go out with confidence in the way we want to play.
Q. As captain of the team what do you believe are key elements for the Lions to take back to back titles in 2015?
Obviously in a Grand Final there’s a significant amount of added pressure in comparison to a league game, dealing with the occasion is important however the key will be to work hard and concentrate on the execution of individual roles in order to get the best team performance that we believe will be successful on the day.
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Bob McGuinness
Q. Bobby thanks for your time today. What is the significance of this Cup to Women’s Football in Victoria?
The Cup is very significant from a couple of perspectives. Firstly, it provides a platform to better position the game and to provide additional visibility for the women’s game in Victoria. The fact that it is played before the men’s Cup Final means that some people who have never seen a women’s game might get to see the standard albeit for a short period of time.
Secondly, it allows teams from lower leagues to witness first-hand the quality that is across the different leagues and allows them an opportunity to challenge themselves and also perhaps encourage them to strive harder to be a part of a club in a higher league. So ultimately it provides a platform to improve the state of women’s football in Victoria.
Q. Although being the reigning champions from 2014, it would seem FC Bulleen Lions are coming into this game as the underdogs? Last year you were as well. Is this true and why?
I think we would be seen as underdogs and I think rightly so. Boroondara Eagles have been the benchmark all year in terms of consistency, structure and scoring. They are well coached and very solid with key players at the back in the middle and up front.
They also beat us when we played them earlier in the league. Consistency has been an issue for us all season and this is evident from the league positions and results, but if you can’t be up for a Cup Final you don’t deserve to be there, and we do.
Q. Boroondara are certainly playing good football as outright league leaders of the Sportsmart WPL right now. How do you prepare for a big game like this?
We prepare as we normally do. Against teams like Boroondara we know that they will press high and try and stop us playing our normal game so we work on strategies to counter that because they are good at it, but as always it can’t be all about them.
We need to be able to deal with the pressure and continue to play the football we are capable of and so that has also been a key part of our sessions this week. Confidence breeds success and right now Boroondara should be very confident and so we need to try and match that.
Q. Where do you see the game will be won or lost on the weekend? Who are the key players for both teams? And what game strategies are likely to be employed?
As I mentioned, we know Boroondara will press us high and press us hard and we will change up a bit to cope with that but our game is built around playing patterns so we will continue to employ that strategy. They are strong right throughout their lineup and you don’t have a record and a undefeated run like they have had this year, without being very solid and strong.
If you look at the way they play, their strengths are in midfield organised by Amy Jackson with the goal scoring efforts of Canadian Taryne Boudreau and the supporting runs and energy of Liv Ellis – much as it hurts me to see her against us.