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Finals flashbacks
by PAUL DAFFEYEVERY so often, fans are treated to the emergence in the finals of a young star. In 1990, that star was Chris Lewis. Until then, Lewis had been known as an opportunist forward with sublime skills and mop of hair. His hooded eyes suggested intensity, but in his earliest days he played like his smile, which was wide and untroubled. During the 1990 season, by which time he was aged 21, Lewis was in danger of being dropped from the West Coast team when his father Irwin suggested he knuckle down. "My old man got on my back and I knew I had to work harder," Lewis later told The Age. The result was four weeks of sustained finals brilliance, beginning with the qualifying final against Collingwood at Waverly Park. Lewis's opponent, Mick McGuane, had the better of him early, but Lewis responded by gaining several possessions in heavy traffic, notably in the centre square. Reports afterwards praised his lightning reflexes, which were considered perfect for his new role as a ruck-rover (strange to think that term was still being used as recently as 1990). The highlight of Lewis's game - and, as he revealed in the interview for this article, his 1990 finals series - was his left-foot snap from underneath the scoreboard for a goal in the third quarter. Collingwood's Peter Daicos responded by kicking a miraculous goal in the final quarter. "My goal was better," Lewis explained from Perth, where he's on holiday with his partner and new baby daughter. "Peter Daicos was supposed to do that sort of thing!" West Coast full-forward Peter Sumich had the chance to win the match for his team when he took a mark 15 metres out on an acute angle just before the siren. The Eagles were a point behind. Sumich kicked a behind and left the scores tied. "It was heart-breaking," Lewis said. "We were devastated." Lewis and McGuane again squared off in the rematch the following week, with McGuane shadowing his opponent's every move in the first half. Lewis improved as the match wore on, but McGuane narrowly took the points. There was no stopping Lewis in the following fortnight, however, as he burned off Melbourne and Essendon in superlative performances. Against the Demons, he played such a blistering 10 minutes in the second quarter that he effectively killed off Melbourne's chances. Former Richmond champion Barry Richardson, writing for The Sunday Age, said Lewis was too quick and slippery for the Melbourne taggers. Lewis was then clearly the Eagles' best in the loss to Essendon in the preliminary final, after which he revealed his father's motivational talk during the season. The Sunday Age reported that, as well as his undoubted skill, Lewis had shown true grit throughout the finals. Lewis, who is now 37, has spent the past two years in Ballarat, where he's coached a young Sebastopol team through two struggling seasons. He's relished his time immersing himself in the local football culture. "Everyone in Victoria has got an opinion on footy," he said. Now back in Western Australia to visit relatives, he's weighing up whether to resume coaching in Ballarat or move his young family back in Perth. Whatever happens, he'll always be appreciated in Victoria for, among other things, his 1990 finals series. From The Age. 26 September 2006 |
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