McLaren achieves first undefeated Great Southern Football League season since 1993

Five years ago this local country footy club had its third straight wooden spoon finish, now it has completed a history-making undefeated season.

A regional SA footy club has achieved the first undefeated season in its competition in nearly 30 years after a dominant grand final win.

McLaren comfortably topped Willunga 11.13 (79) to 5.5 (35) in the Great Southern Football League grand final on Saturday to complete the league’s first unbeaten season since 1993.

It caps off a remarkable season for the club, which achieved the milestone just five years after finishing with its third straight wooden spoon.

“There was a lot of relief when we got the win on Saturday – it’s a tough and high-pressure feeling going into a grand final with an undefeated record,” Eagles president Darren Lines said.

“The achievement is the culmination of five or six years of really hard work for these boys. Almost our whole side for the game was players who had come through our juniors system and either returned to or stayed with the club.”

Two of those long-time players are star captain and Mail Medalist Brett Ellis and grand final best on ground Luke Mitton, who both dominated the contest against Willunga.

McLaren celebrates its undefeated premiership season after comfortably surpassing Willunga. Picture: Great Southern Football League

Ellis particularly has led by example for years at the Eagles and remains an established superstar of the GSFL.

The club’s homegrown talent combined with coach Gianni Petrucci – previously an assistant coach with Sturt – has created a powerful nucleus the rest of the competition has been unable to stop.

“We won our third wooden spoon in a row in 2017 but we knew if we stuck with our process and kept getting games into our younger guys we could improve,” Lines said.

“Once we brought Gianni in we started to see improvements across the board – we made it to a grand final and some finals series but we probably weren’t quite ready then.

“There were some slight tweaks in the game plan this year but I think the ultimate success has finally come with experience, a lot of our veteran guys and even our younger guys have experienced the lows and the highs – all of the challenges that come along with footy.”

McLaren captain and midfielder Brett Ellis took out this year's Mail Medal in the GSFL. Picture: Great Southern Football League

McLaren – led by Ellis’ brilliance on the ball – completely dominated the competition this season, blowing teams away almost every week.

Lines said the Eagles primed for many more successful years at the top of the league.

“Ellis is a super leader and just a fantastic player who has the respect of everyone in the competition and we’ve got a few guys who are also really starting to become experienced stars now too.

“We’re continuing to invest heavily in our junior program and to support our kids and our youth, which will only keep us competitive.

“Right now we’re going to enjoy what we’ve achieved this season and then we’ll attack next year with everything we’ve got.”