By Alysia Thomas-Sam @Alysialts
Football is full of weird and wonderful behaviour and South Belgrave is no exception to the extraordinary.
“The boys give me a bit of stick for this. Sometimes when I’m due for a haircut I try and have it on a Saturday morning. “Yeah, the boys laugh at me, I tend to have this thing where, I don’t know, I just happen to play a good game if I’ve had a haircut,” 2013 Division 4 Blue Ribbon Medal winner Leigh Odermatt said.
Despite feeling like a trim will make him more aerodynamic on the field, there’s another extraordinary creation he’s part of with fellow teammates Cody Morris and Alex Bakens.
As the old saying goes, ‘good things come in threes’ – well, it’s also true for forwards. South Belgrave sit comfortably in 5th place on the ladder and are beginning to ring alarm bells for big clubs of Division 3 in the likes of Mitcham, Wantirna South, Boronia and Templestowe.
So, why have the Saints been able to come straight out of Division 4 and take on Division 3 with such competence? Some say it’s got to do with the ego of the infamous trio… “On field during game day, we complement each other well because obviously we’re pushing in the same direction so we obviously all want to achieve the win and do the right thing by each other.
“And we don’t let our egos get in the way, everyone’s got a bit of an ego, anyone in football that says that they don’t – then they’re kidding themselves,” Odermatt admitted.
Perhaps ego alone is not the key to playing well; maybe admittance of ego is the answer.
Although Odermatt, Morris and Bakens all like to have a good day out and kick a bag of goals, in the end, the mindset that you’re playing for the team – that’s how wins are achieved. “We all play on a Saturday and we all want to play well individually, but I think the best thing about us three is that even though we’d like to do well individually, if we don’t tend to have a good day personally, then we’re happy to get the win and that means more to us at the end of the day,” Odermatt explained.
With their previous forward leaving the club, it seemed Odermatt and Bakens were cut down to a duo. Fortunately, ex-Rowville forward in Morris jumped into the Saints guernsey. “He’s just been a perfect fit, you couldn’t pick a better replacement.” It’s a really harmonious group and obviously we all want to see the club do well,” he said.
But, trios don’t just form out of nothing. There are always connections present and the remarkable bonds – which can arise over the simplest things. Odermatt describes the trio as being “chummy off the field” originating from their bond over getting a “bit older [and] a bit wiser”, but ultimately having the same goal in common: success.
“We’ve got a tough month ahead, but if we can sneak a couple out of that, we’re every chance of sneaking into that fifth position which is what we’re aiming for,” he said. It’s that chance at finals footy again. Remaining in fifth position seems like it’s not aiming as high as you could be, but for the Saints who are official Division 3 intruders – snatching up a place in the finals is almost illegal.
This cohesion of the forward line and appreciation for teamwork is what sets South Belgrave apart. The magnificent trio in Odermatt, Morris and Bakens is an exemplary display of camaraderie intensifying individual effort.
Although they all can play on a Saturday afternoon, they know they don’t all have to be the best – and that’s the admittance of ego.
This trio is kept alive through a mutual love of football.
Although a love for football is not as extraordinary as the possibility a haircut could improve your game day performance, it’s a different kind of extraordinary – the kind that keeps Odermatt out at training “on a Tuesday and Thursday night [and] getting rained on.”