It was grand final heartache for Albion and joy for Parkside in the Western Region Football League division 2 grand final.
The Cats faced the Magpies on Sunday afternoon at Yarraville Oval with the tension palpable about the ground, with the crowd piling in for the big game, and it lived up to the expectations.
After losing last year’s grand final to the undefeated Point Cook Centrals, the Magpies were determined to do what they felt they were deserving of, however, it didn’t come without a fight from the Cats.
The Cats jumped out to a great start, putting the Magpies on the back foot early, kicking five first term goals to two.
Although they were down by 22 points the Magpies got away with it lightly, with the Cats also kicking six behinds in the first term.
With the game seemingly on the line early in the second term, the Magpies showed they were up for the battle.
From there the Magpies were able to hit the scoreboard, however inaccuracy hurt them too, kicking two goals and five behinds in the second term to cut the margin back to just one straight kick at the main break.
In the premiership quarter the game was as even as could be, taking 23 minutes for the first goal to hit the scoreboard.
The Magpies went bang, bang, and stole the lead back before the Cats replied with two of their own, taking a four point lead into three quarter time.
Cats’ coach Blake Richards had a simple message at three quarter time.
“I guarantee you, us as a group, the Albion Football Club, the way we’ve been over the last 10 years is a hundred times hungrier than them,” he said.
“We need this more than them, we are hungrier, we deserve it more than them, get that in your head.
“This is all about hunger. At the end of a grand final it’s about who wants to work harder, who wants to get to more contests, who wants to put their head over the ball.
“There’s no system, there’s no structure… it’s 100 per cent about who wants the ball more.”
In the last term it was ferocious, contest after contest.
The Magpies were able to get the first of the term and put their noses in front.
The Cats returned serve with only minutes left on the clock, as Ashton Muir put one through from a set shot with the Magpies fans giving him some advice from the side lines.
With about a minute left in the game and the Magpies down by four, there was only one thing skipper Campbell could do as he was kicking out from full back.
His torpedo punt somehow found the chest of a team mate, he rolled and went sending the ball down to half forward and Jy Lambley.
Lambley wound up from just inside the centre square, the ball trickled through and the Magpies were four points up with just seconds remaining on the clock.
The siren sounded and the crowd erupted as the Magpies were premiers.
Harper Sercombe
