It seems the Western Region Football League division 1 grand final never disappoints.
For the second year running, the biggest match of the season was
decided by a single point and it is now seven times since 2002 that it
has delivered a result by a goal or less.
Check out our quarter-by-quarter breakdown on how the 2013 edition had us on the edge of our seats until the final siren.
PICTURE GALLERY: Deer Park v Spotswood, grand final
First quarter
You normally have a feeling-out process in a grand final, when
players try to impose their verbal and physical will on the contest. But
not this time.
The speed of the game was too hot from the outset for the players
to worry about issues on the periphery and it made for a good clean
contest early on.
Three minutes in the Woodsmen were off and running with the first
goal of the game, registered by Mahmoud El-Hawli after a dish-off from
Matthew Fogarty.
Fogarty was the player who settled quickest into the game, racking
up touches across half-forward and getting his chances on goal, but
kicked only two behinds for his hard work.
Shannon Broadbent hit back four minutes later for Deer Park, set
up for an easy goal after Chris Stewart intercepted Elliott Wood’s
errant kick out from full-back.
And when Luke Guerra goaled from the set shot after an assist from
a four-bounce Kwame McHarg, the Lions had the lead for the only time
until the final minute.
The pendulum swung towards Spotswood favour for the remainder of
the quarter with the triple towers of Murray Boyd, who booted three
exquisite set-shot goals for the term, Lachie McGhie and Jason Cloke in
menacing moods, Tom Langlands dominating the clearances and Simon
Pocervina and Wood repelling anything that went into the defensive 50.
QT: Spotswood 5.4 (34) Deer Park 2.1 (13).
Second quarter
It was a rollercoaster ride in the second term.
Spotswood came out strongly, extending their lead to a game-high
41 points after a pair of goals to the dangerous Mick Lewis and a classy
one on the left foot out of the stoppage by Tom Langlands.
Deer Park had their best purple patch of the game with a
scintillating burst of five goals in seven minutes, when they were
ignited by the running fleet of Herb Pascarl best-on-ground medal winner
Shannon Broadbent, who did a power of work at the base of the big men’s
feet, Heath Ayres and Josh Jones.
An ever-present for the Lions when the chips were down was Kwame
McHarg, one of the few Lions willing to take the game on when they
needed a touch of daring to get back into the contest.
Having seen their lead cut to two straight kicks, the Woodsmen
finished off the quarter as they started with the last two goals from
Cloke and Matthew Fogarty to reassert their authority on the half and
take a commanding, but certainly not unassailable, 24-point lead into
half-time.
HT: Spotswood 10.9 (69) Deer Park 7.3 (45).
Third quarter
Deer Park’s erosion of the lead didn’t start until they’d absorbed
a period of Woodsmen attack, and the lead stretched to 33 points after
Will Langlands was clattered into and goaled from a free kick.
The Woodsmen, so wasteful in front of goal in the first half,
might look back on the opening 10 minutes of the third as the time when
the rot set in, converting just once from scoring opportunities.
Josh Jones, so often the spark, pulled one back for the Lions
before Cameron Trewin made it two in a row when he outpointed the
previously flawless Ahmed Souki to cut the deficit to 21.
A clumsy kick-in from Craig Morrison, which landed in the lap of
Michael Fogarty and was returned with interest, sapped the Lions’
momentum.
But the Lions got back up off the canvas and went again, this time
stringing together goals from Daniel Nelson, Broadbent and Shylo Smith.
Smith’s goal was a by-product of a Shaun Harrison chase-down
tackle on Luke Ryan that must have given the Lions a lift heading into
the three quarter-time huddle just 11 points in arrears.
For the Woodsmen, 11 more scoring shots and just an 11-point lead
to show for it, there seemed to be a hint of deja vu from last year’s
grand final, where they frittered away chances and lost to the Altona
Vikings by a point.
3QT: Spotswood 12.15 (87) Deer Park 12.4 (76).
Fourth quarter
As they had done in the previous three quarters, Spotswood were
first to get the goal umpires to wave two flags when El-Hawli ended a
run of three Deer Park goals to extend the lead to 17.
But you never got the feeling the Woodsmen were steady and Deer
Park did the bulk of attacking, only to be repelled on three occasions
by Woodsmen defender Bryce Miles.
The Lions’ persistence was finally rewarded with Trewin goaling from a set shot after a tremendous contested mark over Wood.
This was met by an immediate counter-punch, when
speed machine Sam Myors burst from the middle for the Woodsmen and hit a
diving Cloke on the chest. He goaled to get the lead out to 15.
Only two sides had registered 100 points against Spotswood all season and that’s what it was going to take for the Lions.
A dribbled goal to Harrison after a palm-off from Stewart helped the Lions cut the single figures approaching time on.
It turned into a desperate struggle, the Lions scrambling a couple
of behinds, while the Woodsmen penetrated, but shots from Will
Langlands and Miles to fall agonisingly short.
Cloke appeared to be dragged down on the lead, but no free kick
was forthcoming and the Lions were able to clear the dangerous
situation, turn defence into attack and eventually find a game-levelling
goal through McHarg.
In a frantic last minute, Wood made a tremendous goal-saving
spoil, but a centred ball moments later landed in the hands of Woodsmen
onballer Chris O’Keefe, who could not help but rush a behind under
pressure and give the Lions a one-point lead before the siren sounded.
FT: Spotswood 14.15 (99) Deer Park 15.10 (100).
WRFL DIVISION 1 GRAND FINAL STORIES
The breakdown: Quarter x quarter
