Nagambie clinched the under-18 Kyabram District League premeirship in fine fashion on Saturday.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Nagambie’s under-18 football side kicked off a massive Kyabram District League grand final day for the Lakers in fine fashion, storming to a dominant premiership victory over Murchison-Toolamba at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.
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Despite a shaky start, the Lakers were supreme all day, pulling further ahead as the game wore on to clinch a 15.9 (99) to 3.13 (31) win by the final siren, capping a stunning year that saw them defeated just once en route to a minor premiership and ultimately the flag.
It was a vastly different feeling at the final siren compared to 12 months ago, when the Lakers were left in despair after going down to Tallygaroopna, but it is that defeat that makes it all the more sweet according to coach Bo Harrison.
“It feels amazing mate,” he said.
“The boys have put in a lot of work to get back here from losing it last year against Tally.
“It’s been heads down, bums up, they really pushed hard in pre-season and had another ripping year this year, so I’m just really proud of them.”
Nagambie's Cooper Coll was named best afield in the win.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Having won the past two encounters against the Hoppers in round 17 and the semi-final by 97 and 69 points, respectively, the Lakers headed into the contest as firm favourites, but were immediately on the back foot as Murchison-Toolamba brought a suffocating pressure from the opening ball up.
Tyrone Lawrie-Miller started like a house on fire, intercepting strongly on the wing to help set up the first goal of the contest for the Hoppers, which came via Cooper Gow, while also delivering a pinpoint pass to Brodie Trevaskis inside 50, though he was unable to convert.
For the opening 10 minutes it was one-way traffic as the Hoppers dominated, but when Jack Fletcher won a holding the ball free and kicked truly to put Nagambie on the board for the first time, it flicked a switch for the Lakers.
The flying Flynn’s – O’Brien and Bush – soon added a second a third for the Lakers, while Xavier Bush added a fourth, and with his second after the quarter time siren, O’Brien put Nagambie ahead 5.2 (32) to 1.3 (9) at the first break, and they didn’t look back from there.
Nagambie captain and best on ground Cooper Coll celebrates the grand final win with coach Bo Harrison.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
“Obviously we played Murch two weeks ago, then got a week off before we played again, so I think it probably helped Murch to start,” Harrison said of his side’s sluggish start.
“We lacked a bit of touch early, but once we got our ball movement going, we turned things around and managed to put a score on the board.”
The Lakers’ domination saw them extend the margin at every break, adding four goals to two in the second term to lead 9.3 (57) to 3.7 (25) by half time, and tightened the screws even further after the main break.
While the forward line was at its illustrious best, with league-leading goalkicker Flynn Bush adding five goals to the 128 he had already booted heading into the clash, with runner-up O’Brien adding a further four to the 78 he had kicked, the defensive end proved just as strong.
Keeping the Hoppers goalless in the second half, the Lakers were supreme as a back six, but it was Cooper Coll – who had been named best afield in all three clashes between the two sides heading in – that was awarded the best on ground medal for his role at half back, helping firstly to stop any forays forward from the Hoppers before sending the ball back into the Lakers’ forward half at speed.
The Lakers celebrate the under-18 triumph.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Having wrapped the game up relatively early, the Lakers were able to soak in the achievement in the final term, with the outpouring of emotion at the final siren a year in the making.
“Other years, you get really close ones, you can't really enjoy it until the end,” Harrison said.
“But the boys put the hard work in in the second and third quarters, they got the score on the board.
“From there it was just keep the momentum going and count down the clock.”
