LAKE Boga’s under 15 footballers secured back-to-back premierships by defeating Swan Hill by 51 points in Saturday’s grand final.
Opening proceedings for the day in windy and at-times rainy conditions, the Magpies seemingly had the game under control from the opening stages after opening up an 18-point lead by quarter-time.
It was the third quarter that would prove to be the difference, however, with Lake Boga kicking three goals to one for the quarter and opening up an unassailable 37-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The Magpies’ domination continued in the final term, with four more goals sealing back-to-back premierships for Lake Boga, 13.4 (82) to 5.1 (31).
The victory was a proud moment for first-year coach Ryan Heil, who said he was pleased with his team’s four-quarter performance post-match.
“Going into this game I just wanted to make sure we still played that same style of football we had all year,” Heil said.
“We just wanted to win the contested footy and run in numbers and support each other.
“I didn’t want them to get overawed by the situation and get carried away with what the opposition were doing and I think they did that really well.
“They stuck to our game plan and were awesome.
“We knew Swan Hill have a really good spread game and they always use that short option, while we like to play a more defensive zone.
“They really picked us apart last time so we really focused on our defensive efforts.
“I think that was the difference in the end.
“We knew they would stick with us for a while, but our talls don’t get any shorter the longer the game goes so we thought we’d prevail in the end as long as we stuck to our game plan.
“They (Swan Hill) played a great game of footy and, like I said on stage, they will be a real force to be reckoned with next year with so many bottom-age players.”
The win capped off a terrific season for Lake Boga after they went through the season undefeated and finished on top of the ladder, with Lachie Heil judged to be the best player on the ground.
After winning last year’s premiership, Heil and his team felt the air of expectation from the very start of the season, with the Magpies’ coach proud of his players for their level of commitment and work rate across the entire season, not just in the final game of the year.
“It was difficult at the start,” Heil said.
“Before the season even started there were a lot of murmurings that we were going to be undefeated through the season.
“It’s probably unfair on the guys to go into a season like that.
“At the end of the day, talent doesn’t win premierships – hard work does.
“While it’s okay for everyone to say we were going to win the premiership, it almost felt like a bit of an expectation and that can be hard to live up to.
“I’m really proud of the boys who kept their head throughout the whole year and kept working on the things we wanted them to work on.
“Our philosophy was first option, all the time – doesn’t matter who it is, whether it’s our youngest player or oldest player – which brought everyone into the game.
“I’ve been really blessed.
“You don’t often get a group like this to coach and they’ve been really good, which made my job really easy.”
Lake Boga were well served by Heil, Reef Mulligan, Lucas O’Reilly, Novak Demarchi, Kye Fleming and Jarra Kelly, who finished with a game-high four goals.
Jace Lloyd, Noah Pearson, Archie Brown, Tom Robertson, Jimmy Kelly and Lenny Ryan were the better players for Swan Hill.
