EFL 2018: Whitehorse Pioneers claim Division 4 premiership after a 16-point win over Glen Waverley Hawks

IT wasn’t pretty, but Whitehorse Pioneers are celebrating their second Eastern Football League premiership after a come-from behind victory over Glen Waverley Hawks.

THEY hardly looked like winning.

But Whitehorse Pioneers are celebrating their first premiership in 11 years after a come-from-behind grand final victory over Glen Waverley Hawks on Saturday.

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The Pioneers failed to kick a goal in the first half and their first major did not come until the 16-minute mark of the third term in a scrappy Division 4 decider.

But a second-half fightback was enough for Whitehorse to overcome Glen Waverley and claim its second Eastern Football League premiership to go with the 2007 flag.

Whitehorse Pioneers coach Jamie Carpenter addresses his players. Picture: Davis Harrigan

The Pioneers booted the last six goals of the game after absorbing the Hawks’ intense first-half pressure, only hitting the front for the first time in the match with 10 minutes remaining to triumph 6.12 (48) to 4.8 (32).

Whitehorse coach Jamie Carpenter said he thought his side was gone at the main break, but rallied his players with a halftime spray.

“It was a poor first half, as a spectacle it was probably even poorer,” Carpenter said.

“I thought in that third quarter Glen Waverley started to tire a little and I told the boys that at three-quarter time.

“I said, ‘they’ve given us everything they’ve got and we’re a big chance to run over the top of them’, which is exactly what we did.”

Spring sunshine made for ideal conditions, but the game was played like a wet weather slog.

Whitehorse managed just four behinds in the first half and registered 1.10 to the 26-minute mark of the third term.

Michael McDougall gets a kick away. Picture: Davis Harrigan

Glen Waverley applied fierce heat on every Whitehorse disposal, but also found scoring difficult.

The tight confines of Walker Park also made for an ugly contest.

Despite looking the better team, the Hawks kicked just 3.3 and held a 17-point lead at halftime.

Hardly a matchwinning advantage but all the evidence suggested Glen Waverley was on track for its first EFL flag.

The Hawks’ cause was helped by Whitehorse’s inaccuracy. The Pioneers kicked 2.9 to the final change and had three more scoring shots but trailed by seven points.

As they say in the classics, it was a game of two halves.

Damian Bertacco was adjudged best afield. Picture: Davis Harrigan

Glen Waverley failed to kick a goal in the final 40 minutes, leaving the door open for the Pioneers.

Mitchell Ward kicked Whitehorse’s first goal midway through the third term. Charlie Thorn was then on the end of a turnover in the centre, cutting the three-quarter time deficit to seven points.

The Hawks failed to capitalise on their chances in the final term, kicking 0.4 to keep the Pioneers in the contest.

Whitehorse spearhead Andrew Padbury stepped up to cut the margin to three points, before Matthew Mariani put the Pioneeers in front at the 15-minute mark.

Two goals in a minute from the Frank Bibby/Blue Ribbon medallist Damian Bertacco and Alex Kumurdian completed the stunning comeback mission.

“To their credit they came out in the second half and they fought it out right to the end,” Carpenter said of his side.

“In the first half we ran over the footy about five or six times, we fumbled, our skills were terrible so it was almost like a completely different game in the second half.

“For the guys to hold on and listen and to believe, that is the best part about it.”