By Michael Scalzo

Kalkee is there or there abouts again in 2022 heading into finals – just as it was in 2021. 

The Kees would consider themselves a premiership fancy and it would be hard to mount a case against this belief. 

They were the only side to beat minor premiers Rupanyup this season and only dropped games to Harrow-Balmoral – in round two and round 13. 

The Kees spent a get-out-of-jail-free card after only just pulling off a victory against a severely COVID-19 impacted Jeparit-Rainbow in round five – but have since done everything needed to land themselves a top-two spot and the crucial double chance. 

Does the fire still burn for the Kees? They lost the grand final to Harrow-Balmoral in 2018 and it could be the Southern Roos there again, standing in their way.

The red and blue would not like the fact it was the Southern Roos who were the only team to get the better of them this year – twice. 

Their round-13 clash saw the Kees reap 13 scoring opportunities compared with the Southern Roos’ 27 – so while the final result might be a convincing 39-points, an inaccurate Harrow-Balmoral might have allowed the Kees to cellophane over some cracks in the way they line up against the reigning premiers. 

However, conversely, it seems Rupanyup, at least on paper, has the stronger top-three outfit in 2022. The Kees’ recent success against the Panthers will form part of an interesting dynamic this finals series. 

The Kees in 2022 have gone to town on teams in the lower third of the ladder, however only scrapped through against sides within the middle tier. 

A 146-point win against Natimuk United in round nine, a 148-point win against Pimpinio in round 10, a 151-point win against Taylors Lake in round 11 and a 149-point win against Kaniva-Leeor United in round 12 are all huge victories against young and inexperienced sides. 

However, less than one-goal wins against the Storm in round five, and Edenhope-Apsley the round prior, might suggest the Kees, while a strong side, are not ready to storm into the elite tier just yet. 

However, Kees players and members would think differently. 

Senior coach Stuart Farr, before the start of the season, praised the strong junior football culture at Kalkee and rated highly his young players making inroads into the senior side – and, indeed, those already embedded within its structures. 

After some player turn over at the end of 2021, his capacity to rebound with Kees young guns has been impressive. 

He said the Kees hoped to ‘move the ball fast’ and ‘use their leg speed’ as a compensation for a lack of height. 

“We also want to be a high-pressure side, win the ball back well and lock it in our front half,” he said. 

Indeed, the Kees pressure on the ball carrier in 2022 has been a weapon of theirs, something obvious to people on the other side of the fence – as is a team buy-in to a hard-nosed element across the centre of the ground. 

Farr also said there were no excuses for the Kees not to qualify for finals this year. 

They have done that comfortably; now let’s see how far they can go.  

There is no doubt the Kees have become part of the league’s stable of powerhouse clubs again, and their success this August would reward a club that has a football culture to rival many.

Players to watch

Jasper Gunn

Gunn has become an integral goal-kicker for the Kees in 2022, much more than he has in past seasons. The midfielder-forward has kicked 29 of them this year, besting his recent season totals, his work now more reflective of his younger years as a teenager at Kalkee when he found them regularly. He only kicked one goal against finals sides in 2022, however that does not mean he won’t this weekend.

 

Jayden Kuhne 

Kuhne, a previous Horsham District league leading goal-kicker, has been racking up bags of goals again in 2022. Multiple bags of six and seven, one of nine and a 13 are highlights of a good season for the forward. He has kept the tally ticking over against the competitive leaders, but without the huge numbers we have seen him kick against the bottom third of the ladder – therefore, a very dangerous goal kicker if the midfield allows unfettered entry into the forward fifty.

 

Louis Papst

A mid-sized defender who can take on the dangerous small forward, but capable enough in the air to play taller if need be. With dash from deep in the backline, he should be as reliable as ever this August. 

 

Simon Hobbs

A Kees barometer and consistent ball winner. Hobbs has hit the scoreboard, too, when needed later in the season. Maybe cannot be stopped, but could be limited – and will need to be by sides keen to temper the Kees’ self-belief. 

 

Kalkee’s road to the finals

Coach: Stuart Farr

Round 1: W. 22.21 (153) d Kaniva-Leeor 6.5 (41). Away.

Round 2: L. 9.15 (69) to Harrow-Balmoral 20.5 (125). Home.

Round 3: W. 13.11 (89) d Rupanyup 9.12 (66). Home.

Round 4: W. 13.9 (87) d Edenhope-Apsley 12.11 (83). Away.

Round 5: W. 9.14 (68) d Jeparit-Rainbow 9.8 (62). Home.

Round 6: W. 16.12 (108) d Laharum 3.7 (25). Away.

Round 7: W. 13.11 (89) d Noradjuha-Quantong 13.6 (84). Home.

Round 8: W. 6.8 (44) d Swifts 1.5 (11). Away.**

Round 9: W. 32.14 (206) d Natimuk United 9.6 (60). Away.*

Round 10: W. 24.23 (167) d Pimpinio 2.7 (19). Home.

Round 11: W. 28.22 (190) d Taylors Lake 5.9 (39). Away.

Round 12: W. 27.21 (183) d Kaniva-Leeor 5.4 (34). Home.

Round 13: L. 8.5 (53) to Harrow-Balmoral 13.14 (92) Away.

Round 14: W. 22.18 (150) d Natimuk United 5.5 (35). Home.

Round 15: W. 7.16 (58) d Noradjuha-Quantong 6.9 (45). Away.

Round 16: W. 23.20 (158) d Taylors Lake 1.0 (6). Home.

* Highest score. ** Lowest score.

 

Total: Won 14. Lost 2. For 1872. Against 827. Points 56. Percentage 226.36. 

 

Leading goal-kickers 

 

Jayden Kuhne 61, Corey Williams 23.

The entire August 17, 2022 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!