Keilor’s Mick McGuane led the Essendon District Football League to a dominant victory over the Southern Football League in the AFL Victoria metro championships on Saturday.
First-year interleague coach McGuane made all the right moves as his side dominated from the start to secure the 81-point win, 16-13 (109) to 4.4 (28).
Dean Galea was a dominant force up forward for the EDFL, booting a game-high five goals and being supported by Michael Tanner and Patrick Rose, with two majors each.
Around the ground, there was no stopping ruckman Andrew Browne who continued to build on his reputation as one of the state’s best local footballers. Browne controlled the middle of the ground and took out the medal for the EDFL’s best player.
McGuane said the decision to go in with only one ruckman and an extra midfielder had paid dividends.
“It was hard early on and they were winning the inside ball and we were getting the outside ball,” he said.
“We knew once we got it into space we could control the game.
“Our philosophy is picking blokes who can use their speed. Andrew Browne rucked for most of the game and was very influential at the stoppages. He also went forward and kicked our first goal, and his second efforts were massive.”
The result means the EDFL will jump from fifth to fourth on the AFL Victoria interleague rankings.
At next year’s championships, EDFL will take on the Northern Football League.
McGuane says his players are committed to achieving long-term interleague success.
“Ash Arrowsmith said before the game, ‘This is a chance to make this a five-year thing, not a once off.’ There was immense buy-in from all of them and the key was that no one thought they were better than the others.”
In other weekend results, the VAFA maintained its status as the number one-ranked league in the state with a five-point win over the Northern Football League.
