ROBBIE Jackson might be stepping down as coach of Wodonga but he showed there is life in the old Dog yet with a gutsy half century in the grand final loss to Belvoir.
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The umpires’ player of the year showed his class with a fighting 54 not out as Bulldogs teammates tumbled around him.
Jackson paid tribute to Belvoir and, in particular, Eagles fast bowler Matt Jaensch.
“That’s probably the best bowling I’ve faced for a while, particularly on a wicket that’s nice and hard,” he said.
“I was more than comfortable chasing 220. We thought par was probably closer to 250 but they just bowled far too well.
“Congratulations to them, they were far too good for us today.”
James Tonkin was the only other Wodonga batsman to reach double figures with 23 and Jackson said he felt the Bulldogs had a chance while the pair were at the crease.
“I needed an ally and I thought I had it with ‘Tonks’,” he said.
“If ‘Tonks’ and I batted for an hour and a half or two hours, we were going to be right in it or probably even in front.
“We just needed one big partnership.”
Jackson said he was excited for next season and looking forward to taking a step back at Les Cheesley Oval.
“A lot of people are asking how I’m going to go with it, well, I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
“I can go and work on my batting and be a better batsman and I can still help the kids out behind the scenes.
“A lot of people think I won’t be able to do it because I’m a control freak but I can control things from a distance.”
