INTERVIEW: Nathan Van Berlo - 11 September 2026

0:00All the closer we get to this semi, the more confident I'm getting and I don't know why, but maybe our next guest can share that with me. Crow semi is Saturday night. It's first the Lions at the Gabbour and it is 100% a winnable game at our best. Joining us is Ed Lade, Smithville, Manager Nathan Van Bale, VVV. Welcome. Good day, Rowie. Hi, Jimmy. Thanks for being on. On your VV. There is no doubt for four quarters. Your best is good enough. Yeah, we've only believed that too and we know that is the case. Being able to deliver that against arguably the best team in the comp over the last couple of years. It's easy to say it's been done, but that's certainly the task that we've set of felt this week is to play our brand of footy for as long as we possibly can and that's the aim of the four quarters. Yeah, Nixie's keyword all week is being belief and that win against the ball dog should certainly give you that. Yeah, I mean, it certainly wasn't our strongest game of footy for the four quarters, but what we did, what we're able to show in that last quarter was real resilience and grit

1:01and some learnings from, I guess, some losses in the past where we got headed in that last quarter, we're able to regroup structurally straighten up and then finish off really strongly. So that was a big part of building belief with the groups and got that first final, we're now out of the way now and are fairly focused on a big challenge tomorrow and not. And when you lose momentum, do we able to turn around like you did in a cutthroat final like that mid quarter that that certainly would give you a belief was bloody impressive. Big call, Taylor for coming. Yeah, really tough decision this week. It was probably, it has been the toughest call of that to make in my time back at the footy club and we're very fortunate at the moment where we're extremely healthy as the playing squad. So we felt as a match committee, the Zach Taylor is a really important member of our group at this point, obviously missing the one game after the GWS injury and just feel like the out there, a favourite polish to our front half and just hold on, I'll be the most amount of touches down there, what he does helps us score and

2:06and I guess get our system going. So really important member we felt needed to come in and unfortunately, I was out coming with one message out this week and he's really unlucky off the back of a strong call with last week. But when you're in this sort of shape, that often means that you've got a healthy squad and you're all fit and fine. We're hoping that that composition of the spots continues for a number of weeks yet. Well done. There was one thing you'd like of your mid fielders or the man of your midfielders to get right tomorrow, what would it be? Yeah, we had a good discussion this week around our contesting particular and on the weekend around 10 events, we let ourselves down in that space and we take our hats off of the board to a certain elite 10 events team but we happen to become up against another one this weekend. This is a line. So a massive part of the game and we put our backs under too much pressure last week with our inability to get that aspect of the game on our team but at least even this evening that contest. So we've gone to work this week and we're hoping that we're in much better shape comes tomorrow night. So it's not just been about stopping in general for the line,

3:09it's a big part of in playing their 4-1-2-footing game and putting one of the pumps so we know that's going to be a big part of getting a point and getting that game on our terms. There were plus 10 center square you do that tomorrow you lose end story. I had to look at a few of them and I'd love you. You're the manager of that midfield area. This is center square. Was it McCandry's direction he was hitting? Was it the structure? Was it the personnel? Was it was it how you set up? Because he's got his glove on to a lot of them but they shocked you guys Nathan. Yeah they were on to a few. Which happened every week and we would like to think we do that for opposition teams as well and we felt we're able to force the scramble in there. Enough funds to be able to at least half that contest and get it going our way. It's fountain telly Richards and employees were two good at ground level and I made us pay. So part of it is if we're able to force that scramble game but it's not a clean exit for them and we're able to get it back on our terms we need to be able to make sure we at least win our fair share then

4:09it's not part of those contest and so many times I'll probably get give it back to them and they went inside deep and put our backs on the pressure particularly in our third quarter. So yeah we're going to try to arrest that as best we can tomorrow night and we've been really fortunate this year that it's watching McCandry's now to give us more than his fair share looks in there so we need to make sure we're maximising that. Well I think he's the number one center square rock-tapper not the clearance number but to get his hand on it. Can you change that up gone to picket style? Can he hit it forward? Can you change his hit spots? Can you do something different that can open it up that they can't pick you off? I mean he is at times that dominant him to rank and if they could work something out whacking it forward. See how gone wax it forward sometimes VB I never see us do that. Yeah yeah we've easy said and done some time but we've we've certainly gone to work this way with I guess we have a look at a different couple options for us in there. Lockhe has his preferred hit spots at the moment and he's been out I guess get

5:10that down to a fine art this year and get some dominant looks for us in there. As you said all proteins have gone to work about a picket off a number of times so I believe to I guess keep them on us while using all parts of the vehicle as a big part of I guess keeping them on us and hopefully tomorrow night well but to do that understanding as well that Sraper and Fort certainly very good luck in their own right and they're able to access full parts of the circle as well so we're going to have our work cut out for sure. I Nathan watching the Sydney game I thought locking Neil they curved his influence did you sort of have a look and see how they were able to do that? Yeah I mean the swans were unbelievable with the way they executed last week and James Robotham was the one that went to Lockhe Neil last week and put a fair bit of work in women around Stoppage so we've had a look at that and I guess Robotham was able to still impact off his own boot and have an impact off into themselves so I've got you know in case the Will Ash Coffee's formed this year's being unbelievable locking up a number one clearance player and

6:13throw a reiner in the mix when he comes up out the ball and and done pleased as honest as they get around the contest so we know they've got stars they're going to come in and out of there they like to get on the move in there which can be challenging at times but would like to think if we get our message right where we could at least as we get out there share of clearance work down the other way and get in that forward look. They have very good at scoring inside 50 I think the number one at that conversion but you guys are very good at that as well it's it probably comes back to that that midfield battle doesn't it so the race to getting the most inside 50s could be the winner yeah it's a bit of that to me for us as well it's about not just getting it inside 50 because if we just blaze away inside just they're going to be tall behind the ball and I'll give Harris Andrews and the Lyker we need to look at it and we know how strong they are in the air so it's going to have to be with this good method and at times it's just going to be our forward our feet forwards just getting the ball to ground and we think we'll have an advantage if we'll ever get it to ground and like I said we have been typically really efficient when

7:15that ball does go inside our 50s so again a bit of supply help it's really good message with how we go inside 50s going to be really important too far. Oh absolutely get more than 55 inside 50s give our three talks one-on-one looks I just think they're a bit they're a bit well I'm not going to say they're useless but they're not as good one-on-one I don't reckon as a defense but anyway who's on your wings? Well that's the way to my own off that one right I'm not gonna get too much to wait yet but we've got some familiar faces rolling through there. I have a similar look around the ball but as I said we've got that coming going out of the team and that tailor coming in there's going to be a little bit of a twig there but it's time we won't see what happens to my own off. We're not going to put Dan Kurt and back on their ayer. I can't tell you just yet Rolly but we've been liking a fair bit of what he's been doing. Oh God thank God I think everyone thinks and we saw some key stats coming out from champion data that when we bring the heat we being the crows and the differential between that

8:18and the opposition and we're in the positive we win. I know that's a simple thing but that's got to be a given tomorrow that for four quarters we're just going to get out this mob. Yeah and that's exactly what if you look at the finals games last week, four four in particular and you're going to be able to run a lot of touchdown I mean there the ability to be relentless with their pressure was the best of the lot of us and they got the game with their terms off the back of it so pressure is a big part in modern day 40 at the moment and as you said over the last two years our ability to apply pressure on the opposition's arguably the best in the comp so we've got to make sure that we're able to, well we've been under the pressure tomorrow and all right and if we're able to do that then we'd like to think we get enough turnovers and cause an off I guess pay off in their game that we're able to give a full of every chance in our fun half so it's going to be a big battle of who keeps their ball in their fun half along the period of time knowing everybody touched on how efficient both four lines are for each time. Yeah, just Murray Davis bringing some good intel about Brisbane. Yeah he does you know

9:22everything about 95% of their group the honest and how they operate and how their system works so that's been really helpful for a fair period of time for us now and it's one thing knowing it though that another thing trying to stop a net to go and out and executing so we typically had some really good tassels with Brisbane in the past we know we got headed quite convincingly bottom up here early in the year and round seven but we take some good learnings out of that and hopefully we're able to put them into practice tomorrow. Yeah well that round 17 we've got nine different players in the team that they believe so that's massive and good ones what real good ones. Yeah big a big change in personnel and again some learnings out of round seven I mean Brisbane came off a pretty heavy loss the week prior to that too and we came out we got a I guess appeared in that third quarter where they just turned it on and we weren't able to go with them that's again hopefully some key learnings out of that and we're able to arrest that in the mentioned if it comes and make it come we get it going L.O. One thing I noticed last week Nathan was Sydney and Harris Andrews they just didn't leave him to just stand there and in a set

10:28they they had opponents on him that were deliberately moving around making sure that you know he wasn't in one spot for any length of time. Yeah I mean he's a massive part of their team defense and how they work in keeping their back 50 and if you're able to let Harris do what he likes behind the ball then you're asking for it to be honest so there's a fair bit of system that goes into trying to teach him the countable but again if he's running to the wrong spot he knows he's too smart he'll just roll off and go into setting himself so there's a bit of method and I guess running patterns that keep him honest they're going to be really important and at times that's going to be trying to use you select the opponent other times he's going to move to the ball off the line and other times he's going to be having to be playing through him so our big guys you have to play big our small guys if they end up on him and have to be honest and we're going to have to be making sure up the ground that we're using good method during the side. Yeah I love it when you go back out opposition and you chase the lead when you were down in that last quarter you just went

11:28and played your DNA footy and that's the best the luckiest start or that Maria's picked up on that VB. Maria here's gone now Maria is Maria our uneasy says she's a female 83 we think it's a dude a prolific text that prolific VB we leave the T sign at home VB. We've got all sorts of signs in our you know keep bag and depending where the game sits and what I guess what the chaos and control game looks like we might have to go to different modes but typically when we're applying it our best the players are able to manage no using game in the game they're there enough coaching since they out of it as much as we can so yeah we'll clean up the customer all right I've got full control of the game they're in a good head space and they're controlling our specs again we know we need to control. Do you know you've won every single game this year we have never held up the T once all the T seven all the boxing love do you know that that is a true stat champion data boxing boxing love that's getting the fight because if you're in it you don't

12:30need to hold that bloody red thing up and T seven is the extra and the T that that is a dead set fact that should be your goal tomorrow VB well the fun you use Roy we actually went to one of those modes late in the game last week and helped us get the windside after arguing against that but you could have won by 40 points yeah you know different modes okay all right yeah now we we love playing yeah our freedom brand of footy but there's time and place oh no I know you guys keep doing what you're doing don't listen to bullfeeds like me VB all the best cannot wait for tomorrow this whole state will crow supporters I've got a real I don't know I don't know what's the right word I'm looking for but really not anxiety really excitement about what I quite confidence that that would be it VB all the best thanks for your time yeah appreciate time guys thank you say no there is a that's the there is a quiet confidence even me