Sturt win back-to-back SANFL premierships after thrilling one-point win over Port Adelaide
STURT coach Marty Mattner has masterminded back-to-back premierships for the Double Blues, conquering title favourite Port Adelaide by just one point at Adelaide Oval on Sunday. GALLERY: See the photos
- Back from the brink, Sturt is ready to be incredible again
- Port Adelaide finds positives from campaign
- Sturt’s season turnaround set scene for a flag to remember
STURT coach Marty Mattner is a genius after masterminding back-to-back premierships for the Double Blues.
After taking the club to last year’s SANFL crown in his first year as a senior coach, Mattner’s mob conquered title favourite Port Adelaide by just one point in a highly entertaining, tense grand final at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
Mattner is contracted to the Double Blues for next season, but there would be genuine fears at Unley he will be lost to the AFL system.
The Double Blues had to fight back from a nightmare start when they did not win a game until round six. And make no mistake, they were a sore and battered group going into the title decider against a side flooded with AFL names and class top up personnel.
But Mattner’s influence had the players believing. Even when Port’s Tom Gray levelled the scores midway through the final quarter they believed.
“It was a bigger battle this year to get where we were,” Mattner said. “We started zip-four and had a lot of injuries.
“We talked about managing that and getting through, talked about finals, then top three.
“It was an old fashioned good game. Both teams gave everything and neither team disappointed in terms of a great contest. There were over 40,000 fans and it is one of the best grand finals I have been involved in.”
The Double Blues had implored the importance of a strong start and they got that to secure a 15-point lead late in the first term.
The defensive actions of both teams was a constant and the pressure was intense.
Port spent lengthy periods deep in attack in the second half of the second term and into the third period. They wasted chances, but they also confronted a Double Blues defence, led by Evans and Jack Stephens, which refused to buckle.
The heat of the battle was reflected by the goal drought. After Gray bagged a goal 11 minutes into the second quarter, the next major was not kicked until 23 minutes into the third when Double Blues’ Aidan Riley snapped truly.
When Brendan Ah Chee nailed a goal 24 minutes into the final term, Port trailed by a point. There was to be no more scoring in the frenetic final few minutes.
“The boys worked hard, persisted, and full credit to the playing group,” Mattner said.
“You want to play against the best and be the best and to do that you have got to win these games. Our set-ups and structures probably got us through the last quarter.”