Tea Tree Gully wins Adelaide Footy League second tier flag, beating Sacred Heart Old Collegians
From second-to-bottom in 2019, to taking home a flag a year later. Tea Tree Gully held off a plucky Sacred Heart Old Collegians side to claim the Adelaide Footy League division two premiership.
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Tea Tree Gully held off a massive fight back from Sacred Heart Old Collegians to claim the Adelaide Footy League division two grand final by six points on Saturday.
The Wolves led by 26 points at the main break before SHOC wrestled the game back in their favour, only for Tea Tree Gully to hold on and prevail 10.14 (74) to 10.8 (68) at Norwood Oval.
It caps a remarkable turnaround for the Gullies who endured a huge fall from grace last year.
After winning the top tier grand final in 2018, Tea Tree Gully finished 2019 second-to-bottom due to a mass exodus of players and was relegated to the second tier for 2020.
But the club was desperate to get back to being a powerhouse and was rewarded with the flag after ending this year as minor premiers with a 7-2 record.
Coach Justin Maschotta was proud of his side.
“To the boys, to their credit, they just gusted it out,” Maschotta said.
“We have eight or nine guys in this team who didn’t play in 2018.
“We lost 12 premiership players last year – they were always going to come back – but we sacrificed the year and gave opportunities to our young kids.
“We are really getting the rewards now.”
Tea Tree Gully’s Ryan Spittle starred and was fittingly awarded the best-on-ground medal.
The Wolves second quarter was what won them the game as they forced SHOC to play catch-up football.
The eventual winners booted 3.5 in the second stanza, while holding SHOC to just one major.
SHOC got themselves back into the contest the third quarter with four quick, unanswered goals.
Patrick McCarthy booted two of those, while Peter Spurling and Cameron Rankine also helped cut the margin to seven points at three-quarter time.
Shaun Tapp then gave SHOC another sniff when he marked and slotted the ball through the big sticks late in the final term but time ran out and the Wolves managed to hold on.
Sacred Heart coach Steve Kay said his side showed tremendous character to fight out the match.
“I am gutted,” Kay said.
“But all credit to Tea Tree Gully; they were too good when the game was there to be won.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the guys today.
“But we are really ambitious and we want ultimate success so until we achieve that our goals are to continue to work towards that.”
Tea Tree Gully’s 2018 flag win was its first in the top tier and was dedicated to former teammate Jon Burkin who died in December 2018.
Sacred Heart Old Collegians, meanwhile, last won an A grade premiership in 2001 when it beat Seaton Ramblers in division three.