Prince Alfred Old Collegians claim 2021 Adelaide Footy League division one flag over Payneham Norwood Union
Prince Alfred Old Collegians’ rule over the Adelaide Footy League is official after a dominant grand final win delivered the club its second division one flag.
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It was a day two years in the making and one Prince Alfred Old Collegians always looked like refusing to let slip.
The Old Reds exacted revenge over Payneham Norwood Union to march to their second division one Adelaide Footy League premiership in a one-sided grand final at Richmond Oval on Saturday.
PNU claimed the flag in a four-point grand final between the clubs in 2019 but PAOC’s return serve was emphatic.
Like a well-oiled machine it barely missed a beat, seeing off a second-quarter spurt from the Falcons to dominate the remainder of the contest and triumph 13.13 (91) to 8.4 (52).
A proud PAOC playing coach Craig Pitt said the flag was a result of lessons learnt in 2019 and 2020.
“I don’t know the word to describe it but it is a sense of relief in a way because we did have such a terrific year,” Pitt said.
“Anything can happen in grand finals and when they really came at us in the second quarter they had all the momentum and it could have gone either way.
“We stayed positive and you can’t explain the feeling, it’s just fantastic.
“All year we’ve worked on playing footy that is going to stand up in finals and it’s fantastic for the group to have this success because they’ve put in so much time and effort.
“I’m just so proud.”
Princes shot out of the blocks with the first three goals of the match before Payneham managed to wrestle back some control around the ball.
And with a 6.5 to 1.3 lead in the latter stages of the second term the Old Reds appeared poised to blow the game wide open.
Enter Nick Jolly. The big man booted two as PNU kicked four unanswered to close out the half, cutting the deficit to eight points and giving the Falcons a much needed injection of belief.
But the momentum was short lived when PAOC’s run and ability to find the spare man began to truly tell its toll in a five-goal to one third term.
The Old Reds missed three very gettable shots in the opening minutes which would have closed the game out but it was only delaying the inevitable.
A slick snap from Tom Fisher 10 minutes into the last put the nail in the coffin and ensured the trophy would be heading to Park 9 that night.
Payneham coach Jace Bode said the Falcons were beaten by a better side with his team not brave enough with the ball at crucial moments.
“Sometimes you just come up against a team like PAC and have to play out of your skin to beat them and today we didn’t,” Bode said.
“To have three out of our top four senior teams across the men’s and the women’s play in grand finals shows how strong our club is and we’re in a really good position, even though we couldn’t get it done today.”
Star man Jack Trengove added to the Keith Sims OAM Medal he won on Thursday night by doing the double with a best on ground medal for the Old Reds in the decider.
Hayden Jolly was also silky smooth through the middle, ruckman Cam Giles was important while defenders Will Dalwood and Lochie Charlton stood up superbly.
But Like they have been all year, the Old Reds were well represented across the ground with a long line of even contributors.
The same could not be said for PNU.
Dylan Auciello however was superb in defence for the Falcons and the score would have been much worse if not for his ability to repel the Old Reds while under siege.
Midfielder Kristian Roocke and big man Jolly could also hold their heads high.
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