EFL 2018: Doncaster East hammers Lilydale by 60 points to win Division 2 premiership

DONCASTER East is enjoying its first Division 2 premiership after breaking through for its third Eastern Football League flag.

THIS was the premiership it deserved.

Grand final heartbreak made way for premiership joy on Saturday as Doncaster East clinched its third Eastern Football League premiership.

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After two grand final losses in the previous three seasons, the Lions finally saluted on the last day of the season with a 60-point win over Lilydale at Tormore Reserve.

The contest had all the trimmings of a classic at halftime, with Doncaster East holding a five-point advantage.

Tom Appleby on the go for Doncaster East. Picture Davis Harrigan

But the experience and class of the Lions shone in the second half as they powered away to a 15.11 (101) to 6.5 (41) victory.

Lilydale was restricted to just one behind from halfway through the second quarter as Doncaster East stormed to its first flag in 11 years.

The win was also the Lions’ first second-tier success in their 51-year history, with the triumph to sit alongside the 1993 and 2007 premiership cups.

After grand final defeats in 2015 and 2017, Doncaster East coach Steve Buckle said there was an expectation on his side to taste the ultimate success.

“There was a sense that, not that we deserved it or that we had it, but the guys just really wanted it,” Buckle said.

“It was more because we had been in this position before and we hadn’t got over the line.

“The monkey was still on the back so to speak so we needed to shake that.”

Doncaster East players celebrate on the siren. Picture: Davis Harrigan

But promotion will not come with the premiership as the EFL moves to a five-tier model in 2019.

Doncaster East president Michael Gordon was relieved the club had been able to stand up to the grand final pressure.

“This year we thought our season had been pretty consistent and that the expectation was that we had to do it now,” Gordon said.

“It was now or never … certainly there was a bit of pressure around the place.”

The margin crept into double digits for less than 60 seconds in the first half, with both sides going stride for stride in an entertaining Division 2 decider.

A snap from Gordon Parker/Blue Ribbon medallist Dillon Viojo-Rainbow and a set shot into the breeze on a difficult angle from spearhead Tom Gordon gave the Lions the last two goals of the second term.

The game was turning in Doncaster East’s favour.

Jake Whiting gets a kick away. Picture Davis Harrigan

Four goals in a 10-minute burst midway through the third quarter then blew the margin out to 31 points before Jack Sholakis made it five unanswered goals for the term just before three-quarter time.

All that was left to do in the final term was to celebrate as the Lions enjoyed the grand final spoils.

Viojo-Rainbow, a 2017 Port Melbourne premiership player, was a class above in just his sixth game for the club, kicking three defining goals.

The 22-year-old gave Doncaster East its first goal for the game with a dribbling effort from the pocket, his second was a classy roving snap from a pack and the third was another telling effort when the Lions were running hot in the third quarter.

Viojo-Rainbow’s former Carlton teammate Simon White also led the backline superbly, showing all the experience from his 87-game AFL career.

Buckle said the victory was just reward for the loyalty of the club’s band of volunteers.

“It is a small committee and they do so much,” he said.

“It’s not a huge supporter base but the ones who do support, they are loyal and they have stayed the whole time.”