Danny Gregory was a man on a mission on Saturday.
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After an extended period away from Central West AFL, the experienced coach was back at the helm of the senior men’s side at George Park and helped deliver the region a comprehensive 24.26.170 to 3.5.23 triumph over old rivals Northern Riverina, winning back the Matt Smith Memorial Shield in the process.
Matt Smith was a star with Cowra and kicked over 200 goals in one of the Blues’ premiership wining seasons in the mid-2000s.
Gregory was a close friend of Smith’s, having coach the gun forward to flags in 2005 and 2006 with Cowra.
The Central West head coach boasted an unblemished record as mentor of the region’s top side in the lead-up to Saturday’s game and ensuring that remained in tact was a goal of Gregory’s leading into the clash but, perhaps more importantly, so too was winning back the shield named after his late, great mate Matt Smith.
Gregory delivered an emotional post-match speech in accepting the shield, and, while holding it, said he came out of his coaching retirement to “win this back”.
Northern Riverina won last year’s fixture at Ungarie and Gregory knew if Central West was to reclaim the Matt Smith Memorial Shield, it needed to start hard and start fast.
The hosts did just that, booting the game’s opening 12 goals.
“We had talked about having a positive start against them. We knew if they got the jump early they’d be hard to beat. The whole plan was to win that first quarter,” Gregory said.
That plan was executed by a slick midfield and a dynamic backline, with a stack of potent kicks coming from the half-back line of Peter Grundy, Paul Long and Tom Regan.
“Jenkins, Rothnie, too, they’re high class midfielders and they took it upon themselves as leaders to put their stamp on the game. They were brilliant. And I thought our ruckmen were great, too,” Gregory added.
“To be fair, (Northern Riverina) were undermanned. It’s always good to win though.
“I’ve only just come back and got involved in footy again this year and I certainly believe the standard has improved dramatically. The single tier comp has a lot to do with that.”