EDFL 2018: Roxburgh Park secures maiden flag with Division 2 grand final win over East Sunbury
ROXBURGH Park traded in the devastation it has experienced on the final day of seasons past for an overdue dose of elation on Saturday.
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ROXBURGH Park traded in the devastation it has experienced on the final day of seasons past for an overdue dose of elation on Saturday.
The Magpies marched to their maiden Essendon District Football League senior flag and banished the painful memories of grand final defeats in 2014 and 2016 with a tense six-point victory over a plucky East Sunbury in the Division 2 decider at Windy Hill.
It was a premiership ahead of schedule for the club, which finished sixth last season, under first-year coach Michael Farrelly.
But the monkey Roxburgh Park had carried may have turned into a gorilla if it failed to knock off the Thunder.
“There are so many people behind the scenes that were almost in tears just thinking about today because of the monkey on the back with 2014, 2016. I’m over the moon for the boys,” Farrelly said.
“The one thing that’s standing out to me … is supporters who I actually haven’t met yet hugging me in tears saying ‘thank you’ because they’ve been a part of the club for so long and it’s great to see some success.”
With rain falling and the wind howling, little separated the sides after the Magpies kicked the opening three goals of the match.
East Sunbury’s Kamen Ogilvie nailed two majors in his team’s run of three unanswered goals which gave it a two-point advantage at halftime.
The pair kicked two goals apiece in the third term to set up a grandstand finish, with Roxburgh Park leading by a solitary point at the final change of ends.
While many in the crowd may have thought the Thunder’s young guns would run over the more experienced Magpies, it was Osama Saad who converted the only goal in a pressure-packed final term at the 10-minute mark.
Desperate lunges and speculative punts punctuated the last quarter before the siren sounded to signal a 6.11 (47) to 5.11 (41) victory to Roxburgh Park.
While the Thunder had the advantage in speed — which was somewhat negated by the wet conditions — the Magpies’ superior size proved a telling factor.
“They were probably the surprise packet, along with us, for the year,” Farrelly said of the vanquished.
“I think everyone tipped Coburg Districts, Moonee Valley, Northern Saints to be up there and us and East Sunbury sort of got put aside as the wildcards.
“I said to the boys, ‘if you want to be the best, you need to beat the best’. That was our motto.
“To beat them by a goal was phenomenal.”
Farrelly admitted he was “a little panicky” at three-quarter-time with East Sunbury kicking to the scoring end in the last stanza.
He needn’t have worried, however, with skipper Harley Short producing a colossal performance in the midfield and claiming the medal for best afield, while Farrelly, Travis Cooke, Adrian Mackinnon and Jamie Grant also starred.
Farrelly heaped praise on the club’s inspirational captain, who was named in his team’s best 14 times from 20 games this season.
“He’s been phenomenal,” he said.
“He won’t mind me saying that he probably started (the year) a bit slow and he’s just been building and building. He’s a star.
“What people don’t see is the stuff he does behind closed doors. He is one of the first ones there and most nights he’s unlocking and doing the things that are off-field that players don’t see.
“That’s why he’s so loved around the club because the people, the parents, they all see that.
“He is a phenomenal person, but he’s a gun.”
The Magpies will now prepare to tackle Division 1 for the first time since entering the EDFL’s senior ranks in 2005.
“We’ve re-signed most of our list, which is fantastic,” Farrelly said.
“We actually started it probably two months ago. There are a couple of guys where it depended if we went up or stayed down, purely from the aspect of staying at the club because they want to play at a higher level.
“But now they’ll stay because we are at the next level.
“But it’s a big step. We’ve got a lot of work to do with sponsors and off the field now to make sure we’re right for next year, but we’ll worry about that in November.”
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