Sea Lake Nandaly capped off their perfect season with a perfect finish, defeating Nullawil by 14-points in the North Central Football League grand final on Saturday.
While the Tigers led all afternoon, Nullawil never threw in the towel, fighting to the final siren before eventually succumbing 10.16 (76) to 9.8 (62).
Sea Lake Nandaly are the first team this century to go through the season undefeated in the North Central, which co-coach Bryce Delmenico said reflected their focus on teamwork after the match.
“We set everything up around team-orientated footy,” Delmenico said.
“So I think just buying into one another won it for us.”
It was a day to remember for the Tigers, who also claimed victory in the reserves and under 14’s grand finals.
The game was a scrappy affair, with both teams missing key opportunities in front of goal and wasting possessions.
Sea Lake Nandaly key forward Josh Jenkins was the game’s top goalkicker with four majors, but he was uncharacteristically inaccurate at times and missed some easy opportunities.
The Tigers got off to a strong start, kicking three unanswered goals in the first quarter, with the Maroons not scoring their first goal until the 10-minute mark of the second quarter.
While scoring may have been hard to come by for Nullawil, their resolute backline kept them within striking distance throughout the game.
Nullawil went into the half-time break 22 points behind, but rallied in the third term, kicking three goals to Sea Lake Nandaly’s one to end the quarter just 12 points behind.
The game was decided when the Maroons missed two key opportunities in front of goal in the opening minutes of the final term, before a lucky bounce delivered a goal to the Tigers, giving them a handy 18-point lead with just 10 minutes left on the clock.
Mitch Farmer kicked two more goals for the Maroons, but it was too late, with a goal from Sea Lake Nandaly’s Matt Farrelly sealing their fate.
Tyson Mckenzie kicked three goals for the Tigers, including the goal of the match, and won the Des Darcy Medal, while teammate Jack Poulton won the AFL Victoria medal as best on ground.
Poulton said the Tigers knew it would be a tough match, despite their two and zero win-loss record against Nullawil this season.
“We played them a couple of times and they didn’t have a full side, but we knew that they’d have a full side this time and would bring the pressure,” Poulton said.
“They’re a pressure side, and they did that from the start, they did that for probably three quarters before we just overran them a bit.”
While it was a far from pretty game to watch, that mattered little to Delmenico and the Sea Lake Nandaly faithful.
“Today was just so scrappy for us, normally we look to switch the footy a lot more and get a lot more cleaner entries, but not today,” Delmenico said.
“It wasn’t pretty, but I think just the willingness to win and the camaraderie amongst each other got us there.”
Fellow Sea Lake Nandaly coach Billy McInnes said the team’s midfield performance was key to their success, with the playing group working hard behind the scenes to make sure they were match fit after a near four-week break.
“We did a lot of work at training to try and keep us up to standard,” Mcinnes said.
Along with McKenzie and Poulton, the Tigers were also well served by John Summerhayes, Kane Donnan and ruckman Ryan O’Sullivan, while for the Maroons, Ben Brennan, David Isbister, Dean Smith, Matt Quigley and Jonathan Casey were among their better players.
