McCall Almost Does It All In Masterful Smith Medal Winning Season
From my vantage point high above the playing arena at the Canterbury Velodrome at Tempe watching the Women’s Open Premier League Grand Final on Saturday between the undefeated two-time defending premiers the Wollongong Devils and the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, it was clear to me a storm was brewing and even though there was not a cloud in the sky, I knew an unstoppable force of nature was just about to hit the cauldron and I wondered if the Roosters were prepared for the monsoonal like effect that ‘Cyclone Jess’ was going to wreak upon them and their dream to pull off one of the greatest upsets and most improbable of victories in the rich history of the Vawdon Cup.
The Devils went into this game as the shortest of short priced favourites, Makybe Diva would have been hard pressed to get shorter odds given the fact that the Wollongong girls were standing on the brink of history staring down the barrel at a hat-trick of titles and two undefeated seasons back-to-back before tap-off – quite an astonishing achievement in the modern game given that Women’s Touch is traditionally so intensely competitive and close.
Wollongong have been building a dynasty for the last six years and coaches Joel Willoughby and Annette Mounsey have crafted this collection of incredibly close friends and exceptional Touch players into a tight knit machine that sets the benchmark for Women’s Touch at a level that few teams have been able to match strides with over the last few years in particular. Their ‘men’s style’ of Touch with mastery over the static game and an ability to swing freely into phases when the occasion demands constantly keeps their opponents guessing and has set a level of game play that other teams have been forced to chase and even emulate in order to become more competitive.
At half-time in the only game that matters Eastern Suburbs, the rank underdogs, went to oranges with a surprising 2-0 lead and the Wollongong faithful looked decidedly edgy for the first time in a very long time. The Roosters first-half defence was nothing short of top shelf. Roosters coach Christian Frost, one of the most thorough and astute thinkers in the game, had clearly done his homework and the Roosters girls successfully repelled the Devils’ pet plays adjusting with a granite like commitment to policy and maintaining their shape time and again in the first half. Young dynamos Ash Quinlan, Maddie Studdon and inspirational Roosters’ evergreen captain, Kristy Judd were also causing the usually composed Devils defence all sorts of problems, running amok in attack and seemingly the tri-colours looked to have the game well in hand at the break.
I looked over to the Devils camp at the half-time interval and then I saw it. I had seen the teapot stance, that look before and I knew Jess McCall was not happy and that if the Roosters were to win this Grand Final they were going to have to aim up all over again in the second stanza and that McCall was going to make them fight every inch of the way to take away something that she was not willing to gift wrap for them, in fact the Roosters girls would need to rip the Vawdon Cup trophy out of her hands kicking and screaming.
That’s the competitiveness of Jessica McCall – a fighter of the highest order who just doesn’t know when to say when and who expects nothing but the highest quality efforts and performances from herself. She drives herself hard and is not very tolerant of her own errors. She pushes her own boundaries like true champions do and does not like letting anyone down especially her teammates.
The hands on the hip and the tapping of the foot impatiently, McCall was filthy with herself and chomping at the bit to get back into the action and make amends. I had coached Jess back in 2009 in the Australian 20’s Mixed team for the Youth Trans Tasman Series in New Zealand and we were down at half-time in the deciding Test and Jess was striking a similar pose to Saturday’s half-time one – Macca, was not happy. The scorel ine had nothing to do with it, it was about her own contribution. I saw the annoyance on her face and just before the players took to the field again in New Zealand I patted her on the back and offered her some encouragement.
“Head up Jessie girl, the game always has a long way to go,” I said.
“No coach, I was rubbish that half, promise you’ll get my best now,” Jess said.
The fact that she was already head and shoulders above any player on the field and that she had been concussed in the second Test loss in the morning and had defied medical opinion to play and co-captain the side mattered little to her.
Jess went out and scored off an Aussie four-on-three phased shut down line – straight between the two middle Kiwi boys to get us rolling in the second half. She just kept coming with inspirational attack and defence for the remainder of the game, and made good on her promise to give her best to the team.
Unfortunately despite Jess’s and everyone else’s heroics on that day we lost 11-10 in a heartbreaker that shattered our tight knit Mixed family, just as Saturday’s 7-5 loss to Easts would have gutted Jess. But as it was on that windy day in New Zealand three years ago, when the full-time siren sounded last Saturday, Jess McCall could have given no more.
Despite Saturday’s loss Jess’s dominance in the second stanza proved to all and sundry why she was such a worthy recipient of the Karen Smith Medal for the Best and Fairest player in the NSWTA Women’s Premier League in 2012.
Almost singlehandedly Jess McCall pulled her beloved Devils back into the contest with four amazing individual efforts that created touchdowns, matching Men’s Mark Boland Medal winner Dylan Thompson’s incredible individual performance to do likewise.
McCall shrugged off her ability to produce big plays on cue when they are required most, but admitted she like Thompson is never satisfied and always thinks she can do better.
“I was just so annoyed with myself. Not the girls. I was not playing well and really just needed to gather myself at half-time and get back out there as the captain and a senior player and lead the way. Easts defended really well in the first half and we left it until the last moment to step up and start playing. Our slow starts kill us and even though we were finishing strongly, we left our run a little too late. I do expect a lot of myself. I do put pressure on myself to produce the sorts of plays that matter and I really just love doing all I can to help our girls play some tip we can be really proud of. They are my best friends and winning and losing is a part of the journey. I couldn’t wish to experience it all with any better group of people, friends or coaches,” McCall said.
McCall began playing Touch at Campbelltown as a five-year-old and with her whole family committed ‘Touchheads’ it is small wonder little Jess followed in the footsteps of her sisters Carlie and Mel and the ‘three musketeers’ spent their formative years locked in backyard battles with each other under the watchful eye of their devoted Mum, Marianne and their Dad, Mick, one of Australia’s best Touch players in the history of the sport and a Hall of Famer for both TFA and the NSWTA.
Jess does not hesitate to heap praise on her family’s influence on her and the integral part they have played in her rise and rise to the upper echelons of the sport.
“My sisters, we are three peas in a pod – they keep me grounded and offer me so much love and support. My Mum is just that amazingly selfless and giving to us all and you can’t put a value on that in words that would do her justice. Dad, well along with Joel (Willoughby), he is who I trust and respect most of all. We talk all the time about my game and he always listens and offers me great advice and tips and he’s also just a great father. I am blessed to have such an amazing support network within my own family and I have no doubt I don’t achieve anything I have without their time, effort, support, and sacrifices. I always want them to be proud of what I do and how I play the game,” McCall said.
McCall has had an exceptional season to backend an incredible run of achievement that has seen her emerge as one of the true superstars of the game in recent time. Her breakthrough tournament in the green and gold with the Aussie 20’s Mixed in 2009 spring boarded her into firstly the Australian Mixed Open squad, then into the Australian Women’s Open squad later in 2010. McCall impressed Australian Women’s Open coach Kerry Norman and the TFA High Performance panel enough to make her debut for the Australian Women’s Open Team in the 2010 Trans Tasman Series in New Zealand. McCall performed admirably and went on the win a FIT World Cup crown in 2011 in Scotland with the Australian Women’s Open team and help the team retain their Trans Tasman crown with a 2-1 series victory over New Zwasland at Mudgee in April 2012.
McCall also played in the inaugural Elite Eight final for the New South Wales Country Mavericks, won the 2010 and 2011 Vawdon Cup with her Wollongong Devils, and then narrowly lost the 2011 State Cup final to Canterbury and last Saturday’s decider to Easts in the Vawdon Cup Grand Final.
McCall joins an illustrious list of former winners of the Karen Smith Medal that include Easts’ grand final opponent Kristy Judd, her Australian Women’s Open captain Louise Winchester, and last year’s winner fellow Wollongong Devil and close friend Nicole Beck, who in Smith’s absence was on hand to present the coveted medal to her long-time teammate and on field partner in crime.
“To win the award is a massive highlight for me. I am very grateful to my teammates who have given me a great platform to work from and improve my game. I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of good things happen over the last few seasons and I really do enjoy my time with the girls the most. To win the Karen Smith Medal and have Nicole present it to me was pretty emotional. She just said how proud she was of me and how much I deserved the award after a really good season and that in itself meant the world. I was pretty excited to win such a prestigious award,” McCall said.
Like Thompson in the Men’s Premier League Grand Final, there is little doubt that the disappointment of the Grand Final loss stung the ultra-competitive McCall who was rueing yet another slow start for the Devils in big time finals and conceded it is an area that the ‘Gong girls’ need to give some attention to going forward.
“We were out enthused in the first half and Easts really did a great job defensively. No excuses, the better team won on the day, but we did ourselves no favours trying to play catch up. We can’t really complain though, we’ve had a pretty good run and as a club we’ve had a really successful 12 months. We will keep working hard and the best part is that playing in this environment with such a tight knit group really makes coming to training and travelling for games really worthwhile. Whilst ever you enjoy what you do it is never a chore,” McCall said.
Enjoyment and Jess McCall are definitely two words that fit nicely together, on and off the field.
The fun loving McCall was knee deep in ‘Silly Sunday’ celebrations with her Wollongong girls when I caught up with her, but despite the grand final loss, was still full of enthusiasm for what lies ahead for her Wollongong team and her in upcoming tournaments.
“Definitely will turn our attention now to State Cup and if I’m selected to represent Australia again it will be a great challenge in the Trans Tasman Series in February and then there’s Elite Eight in March and we’ll be back into preparation for next year’s Vawdon Cup before you know it. Gotta love your tippy tap!” McCall said.
Jess McCall’s never ending quest for improvement and desire to perform to her very best no matter what jersey is on her back, no matter what the state of play or the situation, has resulted in her producing a rare level of consistency and quality performances at all levels that have well and truly established her as one of the marquee players in the game.
Her leadership, durability, diverse skill set, natural aptitude for the game, and will to win set her apart from many emerging talents in the sport.
At just 23-years-old, the sky remains the limit for the intelligent playmaker and there is little doubt in coming years as she continues to expand and push the boundaries with her own game that Jess McCall will be pressing hard to become a multiple winner of the Smith Medal joining the likes of Louise Winchester, Amanda and Kristy Judd, Kelly Woods and Gab Rose who have all etched their name into Vawdon Cup folklore by winning the Karen Smith Medal twice since the medal’s inception in 2002.
Rival teams be warned if you see the tea pot stance at half-time it means ‘Cyclone Jess’ is brewing and things are just about to get interesting. With Jess McCall are things ever anything but interesting?
By Karley Banks
NSWTA Development Officer
