FOOTBALL

MID GIPPSLAND

By MITCH BERCHREE

 

NOT even a Brett Eddy masterclass that saw the Foster superstar slot 11 majors was enough to stop Fish Creek claiming an unbelievable 39th senior football premiership.

In a game that those in attendance will surely talk about for years to come, the Kangaroos came from behind to topple the red hot favourites 18.11 (119) to 16.11 (107).

The crowd, which drew a Mid Gippsland Football-Netball League record gate of close to $50,000, got everything and more you could want from a grand final on what was simply a perfect day for footy.

The Meeniyan Recreation Reserve ground was in A Grade nick, the weather gods delivered a pearler and the players, to a man, did their bit in what must be one of the all-time great premiership deciders.

As they did when they took care of Yinnar in the semi-final, Foster flew out of the gates. They got out quicker than Black Caviar and looked to have the game more than under control at the first break when they led by 32 points.

With Foster kicking to the changeroom end, it started with, who else, but Brett Eddy. He out marked his opponent seemingly effortlessly to go back from 40 metres out and kick truly. The pass from Tom Schneider a ripper.

The very next forward 50 entry saw Eddy do it again. Another strong mark and goal. We joked that he might kick a dozen. He nearly did.

From the subsequent centre clearance, league medal winner Jack Weston swooped on a loose ball up against the boundary line. He took a brief pause, assessed his options, and decided to cut out the middleman, kicking a belter from the boundary line. Fish Creek had hardly touched the Sherrin and Foster was low level flying.

Fish Creek finally hit the scoreboard after 13 minutes when Jai Stefani was infringed in a ruck contest. His side was in desperate need, and the big man didn’t let them down, with his drop punt sailing directly over the umpires hat from near on 50 out.

The Kangaroos fans, players and neutrals, hoped this might spark the underdog and give us a contest going into the second term.

If anything, all it did was tick off Foster, who then set about finishing the first term with more scoreboard carnage to go into the first break with a lead of greater than five goals.

Gippsland FM stats man Sam Crane noted a much more even quarter than the scoreboard suggested, with the glaring difference being inside 50s, which Foster led 21 to 13.

With winners all over the park, especially in their front half, there was much conversation at the break as to which, if any of his match-ups, Fish Creek coach Jarrod Walker may change. Jacob Kenny and Tom Valenta had both done time on Eddy, Angus Norton and Jack Weston seemingly had the footy on call and Blaine Coates, who started deep forward as a foil for Charlie Wilson, had hardly seen the footy.

Whatever the instructions were, they slowed things down in terms of the scoreboard pain. In fact, it took nearly 15 minutes for Eddy to win a free kick and kick his fifth for the game, but this came after Fish Creek had wasted no less than three gilt edged opportunities to goal. Jack Davis, outstanding on the day missed, Blaine Coates, who roared to life after quarter time, missed and so did Charlie Wilson

Sure, the scoreboard was still a serious problem, but the game was on a much more even kilter halfway through the second term.

And when the Kangaroos finally found their radar, the chasm on the scoreboard became a much more manageable 20 points at the long break. It started for Fish Creek with a Charlie Wilson special, and was followed up by a Brady Mitchell goal and ended with Wilson helping himself to his second just before halftime.

All of a sudden, there was a touch of momentum and more than a little bit of hope for Fish Creek.

We pondered just how close Fish Creek needed to be at the last change to be a chance. They said “get stuffed” to being close and decided to go in with a three-quarter time lead.

A seven goal to two third term, truly in this instance the premiership quarter, saw the game spun on its head. From being down by close to six goals to being up by 12 points at the last break. It was as crazy to watch as it is to write.

And remember they are doing this against a side that lost just a single game for the year and won their only other final by 12 goals.

The two most dominant players on the park were now in red and white. League medal winner Jackson Wiedemann willed himself into the game and was everywhere. Luke Williams, quiet early and perhaps hindered by a sore shoulder, decided it was time to put his undies on the outside and turn his jersey into a cape.

And all this after the Foster superstar, Brett Eddy, opened the scoring for the term with a mark and goal over Jack Hayes.

From then on though it was pretty much all red and white.

Wilson capitalised on a Jack Davis centre clearance for the immediate reply to Eddy’s goal. Then Tom Cameron marked and goaled from a Williams centre clearance.

The centre clearances according to Crane ran eight to three for the quarter in favour of Fish Creek, and it felt like they scored from nearly every one of them. After missing several gimmes earlier, they were now kicking them from anywhere as Wilson was about to show. Hard up against the boundary around 40 out, he took a set shot. Too far out to banana, too far out for an opposite foot snap, he simply kicked a drop punt over the umpires lid and the crowd rose as one.

After 19 minutes of some of the best footy you would want to see, against an awesome opposition, Fish Creek was within a kick.

So, who inserts themselves in the game? You know he does.

Fish Creek had the ball in its defensive 50. They look to set up offence from their back half and kick a dangerous ball to centre half back. As if he read the script, Brett Eddy started his run before the ball was even kicked. He impacts the marking contest, wins the ball at ground level and snaps around his body to put some space on the scoreboard or his side.

With Sam McGannon in the ruck, Fish Creek was able to utilise Rhett Wiedemann as an onballer and rest brother Jackson forward at times. It seemed to work a treat when ‘Jacko’ slotted his regular goal-of-the-day contender from up against the boundary. Freak factor huge, work rate even higher. Astonishingly good footballer.

Fish Creek’s Brady Mitchell slotted a couple for the quarter too to compliment his work around the ground, and all of a sudden, it was now a question of what Foster had left in the tank.

The answer was plenty. The champs of the home-and-away season and 2025 premier piled on seven last quarter goals. Weston, Norton, Angwin and Bentley went on a tear. They ran, they tackled, they chased. They all did. You don’t kick seven goals in the last term of a grand final without everyone contributing.

The coach, Jake Best, threw himself in the middle and won the first two clearances. He then kicked the first goal of the term. They stormed to the line did Foster.

Think Doremius coming after Might and Power or Our Waverly Star trying to run down Bonecrusher.

The only issue for Foster was that Fish Creek too kicked, yep, seven goals in the last term.

Wiedemann and Wilson countered the Best goal, and the margin was back to 12 points. That is where it would stay when the final siren sounded to end what was simply an unbelievable game of footy.

It is impossible to do the game justice in writing without the words of Henry Lawson or Les Carlyon, and it probably should be against the Geneva Convention to list better players as to do so infers there was bad ones.

The medals were split and not one person dared criticise Brett Eddy for his 11 goals getting one and Jackson Wiedemann for getting another.

An interesting insight into the medal winners, Wiedemann wore his with pride alongside his premiership medal, and Eddy had his off before he had even left the dais.

Grand finals are about “we” and not about “me”, or something like that.

Both coaches have been great contributors to this column over the season, and both were kind enough to offer up a few words directly after the presentations.

Best, obviously shattered, simply said “Fishy too good in the end, amazing in the middle” before adding “Eddy was outstanding”.

A beaming Walker reflected on the early part of the game saying, “I thought we were in trouble after our start, massive second and third terms with our huge work rate to get us playing the game on our terms”.

“Huge credit to Foster and in particular Eddy, he was massive all game.”

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MID GIPPSLAND

By LIAM DURKIN

 

HILL END Football-Netball Club’s successful junior program continued at the weekend.

The Rovers won the Mid Gippsland Football-Netball League under 16 premiership, defeating Yinnar by four points.

Spectators were treated to a heart-stopping finish at Meeniyan Recreation Reserve.

Hill End made it harder than it perhaps should have been, after very nearly blowing a 16-point three quarter time lead.

The Magpies did well to get back in the game, after trailing by 22 points at halftime.

Hill End managed just one goal in the final term, but it proved to be very decisive.

Tom Bastin (Hill End) was judged best-on-ground. Others to play well were Patrick Russell, Dylan White, Sam Mackenlay, Ashtan Stafford and Bayley Twaddle.

Best players for Yinnar were Teddy Try, who tried really hard, Tyler Connaughton, Jaxon Bull, Nic Walsh, Patrick Mills and William Frankland.

Both clubs will be hoping to retain most of these players as they graduate into senior football in coming years.

Yinnar did not field a third this season, and will aim to see its top-age fourths players move up the grade.

THE Magpies had no luck in the reserves either, losing to Meeniyan Dumbalk United.

Yinnar was never really in the hunt, and lost 7.5 (47) to 3.7 (25).

The scoreboard flattered the Magpies to a large extent. Yinnar only scored 0.1 (1) in the first half.

The result reversed the second semi-final result, which Yinnar won by 27 points. MDU however had a number of senior players drop back for the grand final.

Toby Richards, Zack Brown, Oliver McColl, Gabe Olver, Lachlan Pollard and Ryan Mayo were best for the Magpies.

Jarroy Hoy collected the best-on-ground medal for MDU.

THE Demons won a close under 18s grand final by four points.

MDU survived a shot after the siren against Tarwin to win 5.6 (36) to 4.8 (32).

Aaron Bruce (MDU) got the medal for best-on.