By LIAM TWOMEY
FROM the moment he walked into the Footscray Edgewater Cricket Club, Steve Chapman knew he had some talent on his hands.
Having previously coached Dandenong to a premiership, Chapman signed with the Bulldogs before the 2013/14 season and wasted no time taking his winning ways across Melbourne to Farnsworth Avenue.
Initially, Footscray was the surprise packet of the competition after a hot start to the season.
But this was no flash in the pan, and going into the final round, a win will see the club finish the home-and-away competition on top of the ladder.
“When I was talking about the job initially, I couldn’t put my finger on why Footscray hadn’t been involved in finals,” Chapman said.
“I felt that if we were anywhere near what I believed the side could be then we would make the finals. I never thought we could be as high as second or indeed, if we finish the last round with a win, that we could finish on top.”
With finals just one week away and despite Footscray’s place in the post-season looking likely since the opening rounds of the season, the Bulldogs haven’t been getting ahead of themselves.
Apart from a couple of passing comments, a finals campaign hasn’t been spoken about in great detail among the players and coaching staff.
“I haven’t let the guys and I haven’t wanted them to (speak about finals),” Chapman said.
“I wanted them to talk about what was coming up on Saturday and talk about literally the first session.
“I didn’t want them to get distracted or get ahead of themselves. I have got a group of lads here that haven’t had a lot of finals experience or success. I think it is important to keep their feet on the ground and ask them to consider what is coming up rather than what potentially could happen in x amount of weeks’ time.”
Footscray will find out its round one finals opponent at the conclusion of its match with St Kilda.
Regardless of which team the Bulldogs take on, one player going into the match in hot form is Travis Dean.
The number three batsman hit his first Premier Cricket first grade century against Dandenong last month and then followed it up with a brilliant 95 when taking on Camberwell.
Chapman is confident that more runs will follow for the rising star.
“I think he (Dean) has come of age,” Chapman said.
“There are a lot of people around the traps that reckon this kid will play for Victoria within a couple of years. He was the best under-19 cricketer going around in the country a couple of years ago. He has always had it in him. I think it was just a case of him working it out for himself.
“The 95 runs that he got were every bit as classy as the hundred he got against Dandenong. It was a completely different set of circumstances from the Dandenong game where his ability to hit the gaps and be fluent was every bit as skilful as his ability to leave in the game at Camberwell.”
