Almanac Sport: A tribute to two pros

On Saturday I had the privilege to watch two absolute guns go about their trade in two different sports.

 

And there were some parallels with these players – BITS Saints midfielder Stephen Pugh and Gladstone Port City Power evergreen, Daniel Green.

 

Both men copped brutal knocks several weeks ago.

 

Both men came out triumphant in wins against Gladstone Suns and North Gold Coast Seahawks on a frosty Saturday night.

 

Green was helped off the court some weeks back after wrecking a knee and the worst was thought and many thought it was season over for the dynamic 40-something year-old guard.

 

Pugh could barely walk a couple weeks back.

 

The professionals they are and the manner to how they made sure their bodies were right is a testament to them.

 

Let’s start with the man they call ‘DG’.

 

He helped his beloved Port City Power team notch a brilliant come-from-behind win against second-placed Seahawks at Gladstone’s Kev Broome Stadium.

 

Green initiated the comeback and centre young gun Mitch Knight finished it off with 10 last quarter points to finish with 21 while ‘DG’ nailed 14 points.

 

Some of Green’s dish-offs to Knight was of the highest class and Joshua Morfey, just 16 and all of 20kg’s of him (that’s a stretch).

 

Morfey stands at something like 195cm and is a string bean.

 

But what he did also sparked the comeback with a bucket to make it 56-46 at three-quarter-time, Seahawks’ way.

 

The visitors stretched it out to a 12-point lead before rallying in front of a boisterous crowd.

 

DG nailed a triple for 51-58 and then swished a brace of shots from the charity stripe for  53-58 before a trademark jumper from the veteran to close it to 55-58.

 

The Seahawks seemed to have settled as the lead went out by six.

 

That’s when Knight put his huge frame to work inside the paint.

 

His deft-touch jumper gave the Power the lead for the first – and final time for 68-67.

 

The Seahawks had one final chance but turned it over as yet another young gun for the Port City Power Dylan Owen closed it out with one from two from the foul line.

 

Here’s the parallel that was mentioned earlier.

 

DG is in his 40s and has the agility of players in their late teens or 20s.

 

As Power coach Mick Catlin said:

 

“DG is always positive…if he’s up and about, the younger players feed off that and he gives the team confidence.”

 

That’s exactly how it unfolded.

 

That’s exactly what the impact Stephen Pugh, the BITS Saints running and gunning machine has had on the younger players at Boyne Island.

 

While Pugh’s performance was a treat to watch at Gladstone Suns’ Clinton Park with his gut running through the midfield and laser-like kicking that found the burly chests of Brendan Huth and Brendan Clarke numerous times, it was the debut of 16-year-old Ty Fitzgerald that was dare one says…’special’.

 

The blonde teen used the ball with class and won it as well.

 

He has a 360 degree awareness in a game that requires it.

 

‘Pughy’ was excited with the crop of young guns at BITS.

 

You could tell and it fed off into the rest of the team.

 

Here’s another.

 

The baby-faced Harry Tancredi who booted the final goal of the game in which the Saints closed out the Suns to a scoreless second half.

 

Tancredi’s awareness belies his 16 years and Pughy is a man on a mission.

 

He wants to make sure that he and his crew of teenagers are to be a part of the next successful phase at the Saints.

 

 

 

More stories from Nick can be read HERE.

The Tigers (Covid) Almanac 2020 will be published in the coming weeks. It will have all the usual features – a game by game account of the Tigers season – and will also include some of the best Almanac writing from the Covid winter.  Pre-order right now HERE

 

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