Matt Sharp re-lives grand final heartache and shares his desire to win a flag with Holbrook

Sharp's played in good teams on both sides of the border, from Violet Town to Benalla and then Belconnen in the ACT before three years with Lavington in the Ovens and Murray.

He reached back-to-back grand finals in 2015 and 2016 but on both occasions the Panthers were defeated on the big stage by Albury.

Now entering his fifth year as the coach of Holbrook, who finished a truncated 2021 second on the Hume league ladder, Sharp's pursuit of the elusive premiership is driving him on to even greater efforts and persuading others in the green and gold to hang around for one more crack at the Holy Grail.

As recently as March, Sharp was lifting CAW's provincial shield after top-scoring for Lavington in the grand final win against North Albury.

But there's a gaping hole next to his collection of cricket silverware.

"With footy, I haven't tasted it," Sharp said, speaking on The Border Mail Sport Podcast. "I still don't know what the key ingredient is to that.

"I've lost six grand finals, so that's been bloody tough, but in saying that, there's always been one team that's been a stand-out in all those years that I've lost.

"In terms of teams getting a tick for the year and coming runners-up, you definitely deserve a tick but you finish as a good team, you don't finish as a great team.

"Did I have a good time during each and every year? Yes, definitely. I've always played with great people, who want to win, but I just haven't found the missing piece to the puzzle to get that success in footy."

Sharp will become a father in 2022, with his wife Kayla due to give birth to their first child early next year. He's already preparing for that life-changing moment and is passionate about his day job in the disability sector but football still inflames the passions like nothing else.

"Times have changed a little bit but it's what I live for, 100 percent; the celebrations, holding the cup and what I'm going to saying holding the cup up," Sharp said.

"It definitely plays through my mind every single day.

"I'm very jealous of the Alburys, the Brock-Burrums and the Yarrawongas and then watching Lavi do their thing (in 2019), super jealous. It's what you play for.

"Unfortunately, if I meet up with them in 10 years' time, I'm going to be a bit older so I could be on the Light Ice but I've definitely dreamt of the five-year reunions and the 10-year reunions and the memorabilia up on the walls.

"I'm sure it's a special bond you have with 22 other people that can be never taken away from you.

"I'm as hungry as ever and I hope the 50 players at Holbrook are just as hungry.

"A few of them were definitely going to call it quits but they're hanging around and I'm sure they're thinking what I think."

And what Sharp's thinking about is the one thing COVID denied him and the Brookers this year: the chance to play finals at Walbundrie.

Holbrook were superb in 2021, blowing most of their rivals away only to fall twice at the hands of minor premiers Osborne.

Their dream of revenge was dashed on August 14, when regional NSW went into lockdown and the football season was effectively dead in the water.

"We were very fortunate that NSW hung on so long for us to be able to get 16 games in," Sharp said.

"All my family's in Victoria so I knew what they were going through but it was just hanging, that hope.

"Personally, I really wanted one more crack at Osborne.

"I don't think we executed both times (we played them) and they didn't allow us to, so full credit to them, but I just feel like we had a couple of tricks up our sleeve and a couple of blokes they hadn't seen who might have thrown something different at them.

"I'm not going to dismiss the Rands and Brocks because all it takes is one wet and windy day at Walbundrie to have a bad day.

"Everyone's seen it happen in finals footy but I would sit down on the couch, get up, go look at the board and I'll move someone's name and then I'll move someone else's name to the board, I'll go sit down again on the couch and then 15 minutes later, I'll go back and play with it again, different game plans.

"It definitely did take it out of me but at the same time, I had to hang onto that hope that there might have been an opportunity to play a game.

"As coach, you've got to lead from the front but I had some really good support in the background.

"We got through it together but 2022 definitely has a theme of unfinished business."

With recruiting season in full swing and coaches busier than ever, Sharp has put cricket on the back-burner for now with burnout a very real issue throughout community sport.

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"I don't think I've actually had a break to be honest," he admitted.

"It's nearly a 24/7 job because there's a big footy community out there, a lot of towns close together and blokes are popular with mates and family connections so as soon as someone sees an opportunity to make a phone call, we've got to somehow be on the front foot.

"We've got a recruiting team and we always look after locals first, making sure they feel important, because sometimes they can be missed, but I'd also like to think we've created a culture out there that guys want to stay.

"We all know you need a phone call to feel important and our guys were very much on the front foot.

"We had the week off for the top-two position and we were going to use the Henty week and the following week to sign all our players but it turned to absolute crap.

"It was about recruiting but, to their credit out there, the older people genuinely care about people so it wasn't so much about 'what are you doing in 2022?' it was 'how are you going' first and 'can we help in any way?' and the 2022 conversation happens after that.

"I'd like to think we do it pretty well out there."

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