Deer Park’s run to the Western Region Football League division 1 flag was timed to perfection.
The Lions emerged one-point winners over Spotswood, despite
trailing in Saturday’s grand final at Chirnside Park from the 13-minute
mark of the first quarter until the last 30 seconds.
PICTURE GALLERY: Deer Park v Spotswood, grand final
Only a miracle would see the Lions overcome a 41-point deficit they faced in the second quarter.
That miracle came in the form of collective belief, ensuring they
never threw in the towel and kept grinding away to see if they could
catch a break.
The Lions slowly got on top in the stoppages after getting smashed
in that area in the first quarter and a half. They had the Woodsmen on
the back foot and second-guessing themselves in the second half, forcing
them to protect their lead after making all the early running.
A telling burst of five goals in seven minutes from the 12-minute mark of the second quarter breathed life into the Lions.
Then a regular trading of two goals for one eventually stacked up in their favour.
The Lions left it late, too close for comfort for their
long-suffering fans, taking the lead with about 30 seconds left on the
clock courtesy of a rushed behind from Woodsmen player-coach Chris
O’Keefe.
O’Keefe had no option but to force it over as he was squeezed up on his defensive goal line by a Lions pursuer.
The Lions players were so immersed in the contest that it took
most of them several seconds after the siren to realise they’d broken
the club’s 19-year top flight premiership drought.
Once it registered, a sea of blue and gold converged in the middle
of Chirnside Park to celebrate. Dejected bodies in Woodsmen green and
gold were left strewn across the turf in stunned disbelief, some
punching the ground in anger, others shedding a tear at losing a second
consecutive grand final by a point. It doesn’t get any harsher than
that.
Lions player-coach Marc Bullen hailed his side’s refusal to concede defeat when most in the grandstands had given up on them.
This was daylight robbery at its finest, but to commit a heist,
you need an opening and that came in the form of the Woodsmen’s
inability to slam the door shut.
“I don’t think they gave the killer blow,” Bullen said.
“We left our run like a good thoroughbred down the Flemington straight [and won by] a little half-nose.
“It was a war of attrition and we came out on top.”
It was Deer Park’s fifth division 1 flag, to go with a three-peat from 1939-41 and victory over Spotswood in 1994.
THE DEER PARK PREMIERSHIP TEAM
Marc Bullen (player-coach), Shannon Broadbent (Herb Pascarl Medal), Heath Ayres, Cameron Trewin, Ben Foley, Daniel Nelson, Shaun Harrison, Kwame McHarg, Shylo Smith, Luke Guerra, Josh Jones, Matthew Towner, Jackson Barling, Kevin Klix, Jake Desousa, Ryan Crawford, Craig Morrison, Chris Stewart, Rhett King, Steven White, Joseph Laverde, Sam Hunt, Joe Dwyer, Corey Brown, Chris Kelly, Luke Buttigieg.
WRFL DIVISION 1 GRAND FINAL STORIES
The breakdown: Quarter x quarter
