meltoncentralfnc caught up with captain Brian Wheelahan
You have been here since 2005, what are your views of the Club?
Having come from a more professional club is that it is definitely more family orientated. I’m not making a joke of it but it is the best club I have been involved at, the performances are the most upsetting and frustrating knowing that you have 10 to 15 blokes who really care and live, breathe and sleep footy. As appose to other clubs, you feel comfortable bringing anyone down for the first time and it's funny you walk away and those people talk the club up, say how wonderful it is. You don’t have clicky groups like other clubs do, between paid and non-paid players which is something the club should strive to keep. The perfect example of this was last year when the reserves won the grand final and the senior boys were there to celebrate with them and that is a great reflection on how close this playing group is but at the end of the day, you are after performances on the field from the senior team. Hopefully that will come, we are headed in the right direction, we just need to win some games to ensure the club goes further.
After your first year at the club you were awarded the captaincy. You have been the captain for five years now and have been described as a loyal and passionate player at Centrals. What are your views of the captaincy at Centrals?
Not to big note myself but I love leading the boys out, whether it is at training or whether it is out on the field. It is frustrating and challenging to work with a variety of blokes, especially those who haven’t lived up to their own expectations and I simply put that down to not working hard enough. If we had more blokes who had the same mentality as Nanners (Glenn Nankervis), Bully (Kane Bullen) and Matty O’Brien, I’m sure it would make the captaincy a lot easier. We have great leaders at our club and I’m sure in a couple of years when I’m done, there’s blokes that can easily do the job. Yes it’s a great honour but I’m not the only bloke that leads Centrals, however I still like to do everything I can in preparation and training to try and lead from the front. I would love to captain Centrals to a final series otherwise I haven’t done what I have set out to achieve out of footy at this club.
There were a lot of rumours that you were courted by many clubs within the league and outside it, throwing lots of money at you. What convinced you to stay at Centrals?
I didn’t really speak about it to anyone, yes I did get a few offers but developing that mateship and whether that meant me playing with another RDFL club or any other would leave an empty feeling with me. Centrals is my home now after spending my childhood at Albion, this is my number one club and if anyone asked after I retired, I would proudly say Melton Centrals is my number one club. Some blokes have found it hard to come back to the club, especially when you wake up on a Sunday morning from a loss or that at the end of the year you have only won 3 games but if we keep the core group, attract a few others and show that as mates we can do anything, this is the club I want to play finals footy at.
New coach, new recruits and a different team. What do you think about it?
Yeah I think the blokes we have recruited are not only quality players but they are quality blokes off the field. I know that Pig (Paul Sproule) has been frustrated with blokes who come down whenever they like, the transition will take time. Our aim is finals footy and although we have lost a few, our goal is still there and time will tell if it is realistic. We keep training and working hard and keep fronting up and have a crack then who knows. It’s a different coaching style, a unique one, play hard, play together which I haven’t played under before. The club needs to be patient with Pig, the players need to be patient but if we are on the same page, the results will take care of themselves.
Last year you were out from Round 5 with a serious broken leg. What do you want to achieve this year?
My goal is to play every game and stay fit. I haven’t been this fit for a long, long time. I did all the preseason so there is no question on my fitness so my personal goal is to play every game. Another personal goal is to make sure I look after myself. When I do get injured I do guess that I become a little selfish and want to be right for the next game. A team goal would be to win more games than last year, if we do that then we could be knocking on the door for a finals birth.
OK, what are your views on the following…
Dad
Obviously I love him heaps, he is my number one supporter with whatever I do, work, footy, cricket. He is very hard on me but he obviously wants the best for me and the team. For example, he talks up the footy club and compares the club to no other. He loves being welcomed by the club from Helen and Hans, the coffees and the invites into the President’s Luncheon. Yes he is hard, he tells you how he sees it but yeah I would prefer him to come to games and voice his opinion rather than sit at home doing nothing.
Bully
Funniest bloke at the club, loves a drink and a bit of fun but in all honesty, you want to talk about loyalty then he is one that typifies it. I’m sure he is the number one target from our club and I’m sure he has been offered lots more but he loves our club and will be loyal to the end. He is definitely the future of the club and will definitely be a future captain at Centrals, there is no doubt about that!
Dutchy
He is a real gentleman of the club, the work he has done behind the scenes shows that he really loves the club. To miss out on last years grand final for whatever reason and to come back and be himself, not miss the preseason because this is his club, is a show of a great character. He is someone that the club needs.
Thanks for your time Wheels, good luck for the rest of the year.
