By David Nagel
A 25-year drought has finally come to end for the Tooradin-Dalmore Football Netball Club after the Seagulls became the champions of West Gippsland football with a 46-point grand final victory over Phillip Island.
Five goals to Julian Suarez, and a best-on-ground performance from ruckman Piva Wright, propelled the Seagulls to one of the greatest days in the club’s history at the Garfield Recreation Reserve.
The Gulls’ reserves capped off an unbeaten season with a 48-point triumph over Kooweerup, while the B Grade netball team is also celebrating hard after a thrilling 38-36 win over Nar Nar Goon.
But the spotlight was well and truly on the senior football team, with coach Lachie Gillespie and his impressive array of stars looking to add further glory to Jon Gahan’s 1997 success.
Kicking into a strengthening breeze in the first term, the Gulls matched, then bettered the Bulldogs, who had jumped the Seagulls in their two most previous outings.
The Seagulls took a 13-point lead to quarter time, and never looked in danger of defeat after extending the margin to 29 points at the main break.
Two goals in three minutes to Suarez – midway through the third term – stretched the lead to 40 points and the battle for this year’s premiership was effectively over.
Gillespie was a proud coach as he absorbed the atmosphere after the match.
“I’m super proud of every one of them,” he said.
“We tried to work really hard on the fact that we didn’t need to do anything outside of our normal game and just embrace that first quarter,” he said.
“We know they’re a champion team and they were going to come hard, they threw everything at us, that was their best chance, and we just thought we had to try to be better for longer.
“I’m rapt, but I’m more rapt because everyone is happy.
“We’ve won it, and that feels great, but our club is in a great position, with our 16s coming through, our 18s are great, our reserves won, the seniors won, and that puts us in a good position moving forward.”
At the same time, skipper Jordan Kelly was still trying to get his head around being a senior premiership captain.
“That sounds very surreal, I’m a bit shocked, still in shock, it’s been a long time coming, I’ve been here nine years” he said.
“Relief is what I’m feeling at the moment.
“25 years is a long time, but we’ve done it now and it’s unbelievable to be honest, you have to pinch yourself to make sure it’s real.”
In A Grade netball, Inverloch-Kongwak is the champion team in West Gippsland after the Sea Eagles fought off a determined Bunyip in a cracking 45-41 shootout.
Sea Eagles midcourter Kelsey Buxton was named best on court in the victory.
Grab a copy of this week’s Pakenham Gazette – which includes a bumper 24-page football-netball Liftout – for full coverage of the biggest day on the sporting calendar.
FOOTBALL
SENIORS
TOORADIN-DALMORE 3.2 6.6 10.7 13.10(88)
PHILLIP ISLAND 1.1 2.1 5.4 6.6(42)
Tooradin-Dalmore Goals: Julian Suarez 5, Blake Grewar 2, Stewart Scanlon 2, Lewis Hill, Steven Robb, James Trezise, Piva Wright. Best: Piva Wright, Brent Macaffer, Julian Suarez.
Phillip Island Goals: Cameron Brown, Orlando Kane Gillard, Jesse Patullo, Jordy Patullo, Cameron Pedersen, Billy Taylor. Best: Cameron Pedersen, Zak Vernon, Eli RIchards, Mark Griffin, Orlando Kane Gillard, Matt Jackson.
AFL Medal: Piva Wright (Tooradin-Dalmore).
