FOOTBALL

MID GIPPSLAND

By LIAM DURKIN

 

 

THIS year marks a decade since Newborough Football-Netball Club’s last senior premiership.

In this mini-series, the Express looks back on how the Bulldogs took the 2016 Mid Gippsland Football-Netball League senior competition.

This week picks up at the start of the finals series.

NEWBOROUGH finished on top of the ladder and advanced to the second semi-final.

The Bulldogs had won 16 games in a row, and looked a safe bet of taking the shortest route to a fourth grand final in five years.

Instead, disaster struck.

Newborough lost to Yallourn Yallourn North by 13 points.

“It was a reality check,” Bulldogs coach at the time Dean Caldow said.

The Bulldogs trailed at every change, and were kept goalless in the third term.

Having lost three grand finals by less than a goal in the years preceding, the little man on the shoulder was growing in stature.

The obvious question: was there talk of Newborough choking again?

“Not from us, outside it was always there,” senior player Rob Wilson said.

“We had enough level heads, had enough experience just to say ‘the past is the past’, we’ve got this to focus on, this three week block, (to) keep moving forward.”

With the result, and a report, in the book after YYN’s Tim Phillips struck Newborough opponent Tom Wilson, both sides had plenty to contemplate.

“They were yahooing after the game,” Newborough player Tom Hallinan said after YYN won its way through to a second consecutive grand final.

“For us it was a reality check, but just have to saddle up, get ready to go again, you find out who your opponent’s going to be the next day.”

The distraction of the tribunal loomed large, and saw Phillips rubbed out for the big game.

Around the same time, Newborough was confronted with one of the great unknowns: Morwell East.

The Hawks appeared the furthest thing from a premiership threat during the regular season. They finished fifth on 38 points, a full 30 short of Newborough, and won just one of its last five games leading into finals. One of those losses was against Trafalgar, which was the only reason the Bloods didn’t (given the context of history and perceived notions of Trafalgar exceptionalism) claim an unthinkable wooden spoon.

(Showing just how there can often be no rhyme or reason in football, Morwell East won more games the next season and finished seventh).

As they say though, finals is a new season.

Morwell East certainly proved that in 2016, beating reigning premier Yinnar in the elimination final, and then backing up to dump Mirboo North out of the flag race a week later.

They very nearly did the same to Newborough as well.

The Hawks led by 12 points at halftime in the preliminary final, and were only five points adrift with one to play.

Having not tasted defeat for 16 weeks during the season, the Bulldogs were potentially just 30 minutes away from losing two games in a fortnight.

What’s more, they would go out in straight sets.

In the end, Newborough survived an almighty scare, getting up 13.7 (85) to 10.11 (71).

Making the grand final was hardly cause for celebration though, as the Bulldogs resembled the walking wounded once the song was sung.

“There wasn’t any slabs of beer,” Hallinan said.

“It was just a bunch of ice packs.

“Blokes just sitting there going ‘alright, we’re over that hurdle’.

“Just watching from the side, we had a lot of sore bodies,” Caldow added.

“We only just got over the line, lost three of our key position players.”

“It was all about the recovery, relief, and sadness for those guys absolutely,” Hallinan said.

While getting there can often be the hardest part, Newborough was about to head into a grand final with a new-look team.

It was going to do it without their captain as well.

Next week: Newborough’s own Bob Murphy moment.