Prior to the 2026 season, the News posed a question to all coaches in the leagues around the region –“what does success look like for your club in 2026?”
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Despite only being installed as head coach of Nagambie in the pre-season, Anthony Haysom’s answer was perhaps the most ambitious of the lot.
“Probably winning the premiership… success for me will be whether we lift (the cup) at the end of the year or not,” he said.
It was a clear statement of intent, and on Saturday afternoon at a picturesque Mooroopna Recreation Reserve, Haysom’s Lakers achieved the ultimate to be crowned Kyabram District League senior football premiers.
Going toe-to-toe with Lancaster in a game full of momentum swings, the Lakers were able to produce the better football when it mattered, eventually sealing a 13.14 (92) to 11.19 (85) win to clinch their first senior flag since 2019, and capping a stunning 2026 campaign that also saw them crowned minor premier having suffered defeat only once all season.
“There's been so much hard work that's gone into it,” an overwhelmed Haysom said following the final siren.
“We picked up a bunch of new players from different leagues and a few older boys that I’ve played a bit of footy with, and I'm just so happy that they got the reward.
“There's a few of them that were hunting that last premiership, they still hadn’t got one, so I'm glad they got that last piece of the puzzle.”
Given the two clashes between the Lakers and Wombats throughout the season – both of which were won by the Lakers, though were tough and tight contests - many expected a bout that went the distance again in the decider, but Nagambie had other plans.
Instead of waiting for a decision, the Lakers came out swinging, aiming to land a knockout blow in the opening stages, and while they didn’t quite get the stoppage by quarter time, the Wombats had certainly been stunned.
It was the stars to the fore early for Nagambie, with Kobi Maynard booting the opening goal of the contest, while David Comi was patrolling the backline with aplomb, keeping the ball locked inside the Lakers’ forward half and ensuring any quick the Wombats mustered out of defence came back with interest.
Tom Barnes, despite being held to a solitary goal when the two sides met in the semi-final, was up and about early, clunking a strong pack mark and kicking truly, before intercepting a Wombats kick across goal and snapping his second.
Will Dalton was everywhere, bringing trademark pressure, and the Lakers were running on top of the ground, moving the ball with ease and kicking a fifth via Maynard to lead 5.5 (35) to 1.3 (9) at the first break.
The Wombats rallied and threw a few punches of their own early in the second, kicking the first of the quarter via Ricky Thomson and having numerous other shots as they stemmed the bleeding, though the Lakers countered again, with Lucas McKinnon slotting consecutive goals to once more extend the Nagambie margin.
Blake Fothergill joined the quickly developing party with 16 minutes gone in the second term, rolling his first through of the afternoon, and the margin was quickly out to 38 points after three unanswered Laker majors.
A Jamie Scapin goal dragged the Wombats back to 31 behind at the main break, though Nagambie was well and truly in control, ahead 8.9 (57) to 3.8 (26).
That margin was reduced back under 30 points with the first goal of the second half, as Coby O’Neill finished off some strong defensive work that kept the ball pinned inside the Wombats’ half, and was then cut to 19 points in the blink of an eye, with Blake McAuliffe snagging one on the run from the subsequent centre bounce, and it was game on.
Fothergill snapped the run, though, adding his second of the afternoon as Nagambie looked to steady, but the Wombats refused to go away, replying via O’Neill to keep the pressure on as they started to find level footing right across the ground.
Taking the more aggressive option through the middle, the Wombats began to ask serious questions of the Nagambie defence, finding space inside forward 50 as the quick ball movement caused headaches for Nagambie’s defenders.
The Lakers needed a settler, and got it in the form of a big roost from a big man, as Jono Moore took a solid mark on the lead, spotted up by a Fothergill bullet, and kicked truly from beyond 50m, but the Wombats refused to die, as skipper Charlie McLay and that man O’Neill booted consecutive majors in time on to reduce the margin to 14 points at the final change.
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Nagambie coach Anthony Haysom and captain Mark Nolan lift the premiership cup. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 2 of 11
Nagambie's Kobi Maynard. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 3 of 11
Lancaster's Thomas Davies. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 4 of 11
Lancaster's Jamie Scapin. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 5 of 11
Lancaster's Daniel Foley is tackled by Nagambie's Kobi Maynard. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 6 of 11
Nagambie's Luke Duffy lays a strong tackle on Lancaster's Charlie Mclay. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 7 of 11
Lancaster's Billy McLay. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 8 of 11
Nagambie's Mitchell Sanderson and Lancaster's Samuel Jackson compete in the ruck. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 9 of 11
Nagambie's Tom Preece evades a Lancaster defender. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 10 of 11
Nagambie's Jono Moore sets sail for goal. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 11 of 11
Nagambie sings the song after sealing the premiership. Photo by Rechelle ZammitIt seemed unlikely given the start they endured, but the Wombats heard the final address from coach Nick Ryan at three-quarter time trailing only 8.10 (58) to Nagambie’s 10.12 (72) and looked set to run over the top in a grandstand finish.
“It was just to keep sticking at it,” Haysom said of his final message to his players at three-quarter time.
“It actually felt like we had the breeze in that third quarter, and I put it on them.
“I said, ‘do you want to go and break them now, or do you want to let it come to the last quarter?’
“We couldn’t quite break them, they came back at us hard, which is credit to them, they didn’t go away.
“(Premierships) don’t get handed out easy, so it was really good that we could hang on in the end there, but the heart rate was up in that last quarter, even when the siren went I still thought they were going to win.”
It would be Nagambie though that nabbed the first of the last, Will Dalton converting a set shot after a brilliant mark to cap a superb transition play, and the Lakers pushed the lead back to 20 points, but the to-and-fro nature of the contest saw McAuliffe peg it back for Lancaster immediately.
The Lakers looked out of legs, and the Wombats were exploiting it at every opportunity, generating plenty of dash and shutting down any attempted foray forward from Nagambie.
But in such a tight contest, it was destined to come down to moments, and Liam Hockley took his, slamming home a second of the quarter as the Lakers again went 18 points in front, and with a second wind, looked to close the game out strongly, adding another via Dalton to go an even four ahead with 10 minutes left on the clock.
A late flurry from the Wombats reduced the margin, but the Lakers were never truly in trouble as they closed out the triumphant seven-point victory.
“That’s what we were striving for,” Haysom said.
“When I committed to the job in the preseason, it was all or nothing.
“If I’m doing something, I’m doing it to win, I’m not happy with second, and today was just so good.
“There’s a few boys that missed out, ‘Barney’ (Mark) Nolan, our captain, Paul Fry missed with a broken arm, Jack Threlfall played all year except finals, so there’s three blokes there, they’ll be dirty but they’ll all be so happy for the club.
“Hopefully we can come back here next year with a similar squad, and for those old boys that got what they wanted and maybe bow out now, we’ll need to go again with recruiting, and we’ll try and challenge again next year.”
Nagambie’s Blake Fothergill was adjudged best on ground by the umpires in the win, having slotted two majors and been influential in helping stave off the Wombats’ challenge late in the contest.