By Jonty Ralphsmith
If there was one player in the Southern Football Netball League that would appear from nowhere to produce a game saving smother, it would be Brandon Osborne.
Cranbourne’s inspirational skipper has made a career out of stopping players with his unbelievable closing speed and read of the game.
It’s he who led the team song post-game and, after a solid but unspectacular game, it was he who stood up in the dying seconds when the game was on the line.
Osborne closed quickly when it looked like Dingley’s Tom Morecroft would cap an energetic performance with a red-time goal in the square to put Dingley in front.
The siren sounded as the ball trickled through for a behind in front of the vocal Dingley supporters, giving the Eagles a two-point win.
Dingley did not lead all day but was within touching distance of, literally, stealing it at the death.
In a bruising game of footy, there were several moments in a momentum swinging seven-goal last quarter which threatened to prove decisive.
A big Anthony Fischer hit on tough reigning league-medalist Lucas Walmsley resulted in a yellow card for a player who had, to that point, been so influential.
Walmsley, who had been opened up and smashed, bravely got to his feet quickly when he saw Eagles drawn to a scuffle, kicking it to Lochie Benton in the corridor which resulted in quick metres gained and a goal.
At the last break, Dingley coach Zach Horsley demanded his team ‘take your ripple’ and own the opportunity when it arrived, putting it on Benton, in particular, to lift.
His vision was a step ahead as he went up a notch in the last quarter, blind handballs and dash making him a potent threat on transition.
Cranbourne led by just seven points at quarter time and one point at the main break, with both teams kicking just three goals in a tough opening half.
The Eagles had the majority of the play but a combination of poor entry kicks and excellent defensive performances by Alex Windhager and Kristen Feehan kept Dingley in it.
Zak Roscoe, who won the first centre clearance of the game to signify he was ready for September, got the second half started with a bang for Cranbourne.
He burst from the centre, took two bounces and, like he has made a habit of doing this season, slotted a goal from the arc.
He kicked another soon thereafter, with Tyson Barry also finding the big sticks, the margin at 15 points at three-quarter-time.
But while Roscoe was doing the scoreboard damage up one end, livewire Morecroft was causing headaches up the other.
The Dingoes haven’t had an A-Grade tall marking forward all season, with Morecroft using his smarts to pounce front-and-centre and smartly use the leading lanes that presented, finishing with three goals.
The game opened up in the last quarter on the big ground, with six of the 18 goals kicked after the last break as Dingley played with dare and confidence, and Cranbourne’s attack looking more ominous as Marc Holt got his hands on it a couple of times.
Lachie Lamble, out of Saturday’s game with a concussion, was a big loss given the way the last quarter was played.
For extended periods in the last quarter, the margin was around the three goal mark, including when runner Nick Darbyshire, best-on-ground, slotted one from 30.
Luke Bee-Hugo and Roscoe each missed chances to absolutely slam the door shut on a comeback and a resilient Dingoes outfit kept coming.
Manny Dolan and Cam Hansen each converted tough chances early in stoppage time, with Jackson Peet going inside 50 late.
Then there was the chaos ball from stoppage that landed with Morecroft, the smother and the siren.
The Osborne smother, Roscoe goals, Darbyshire scuttle and many more chronicles may all go down as mere clauses, stories to reminisce, on the route to another premiership.
Certainly, it was another exemplar Cranbourne finals performance in an era of resilient triumph.
