EFNL 2023: Boronia wins Division 2 grand final
From finals heartbreak last year to a wake-up call earlier this season, the Boronia coach says his players “weren’t going to just talk about it” on the way to a second flag in five years on Sunday.
Eastern
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IT was “all chips in” almost 12 months ago, Boronia senior coach Matt Clark recalls.
Close to a year on and the Hawks are toasting a second senior men’s flag in five years after shaking off a gallant Heathmont outfit – 15.8 (98) to 9.12 (66) – in Sunday’s Eastern league Division 2 grand final.
A blitz of five consecutive goals to end the third quarter left the Jets in the dust, as Boronia’s Damon Fairchild claimed the Blue Ribbon Medal for best afield while spearhead Ben Robertson finished with a leading four goals.
It’s Clark’s third flag as a senior coach, having led Wantirna South onto the dais in 2014 before taking Boronia to its first crown since 2000 in 2018.
“Relief, excitement and pride” are the emotions for the triple premiership coach following Sunday’s triumph.
Clark recalled the club’s presentation evening last October as the start of this year’s flag push.
And from night one of pre-season, he knew his group “weren’t going to just talk about it”.
“This (premiership) was really pleasing, they all were, more for the fact about where we’d been,” Clark said.
“The way we rose the standards – we set them pretty high at presentation night that this is what we’re all chips in on, and you’re either in or out.
“To the guys’ credit, they came back the first night of pre-season so fit and they’d done a ton of work away from the club and it just showed me that they want success.
“They weren’t going to just talk about it – they showed it with their actions … the way they rocked up, so ready to go, I just thought ‘they want it’.”
After a heartbreaking one-point semi-final loss to East Burwood ended their season last year, the Hawks would lose just one more match thereafter on the way to the 2023 cup.
Finishing on top of the ladder with 17 wins this season, it would again suffer a one-point defeat – this time by Ringwood’s doing in Round 7.
The match was picked to pieces in the fallout. Clark’s charges didn’t look back, motoring to 13 consecutive wins.
“Although it was only a one-point loss, we looked at that last five minutes and our standards were really poor in a couple of areas and just our accountability,” Clark said.
“As a leadership group we spoke about it, as a whole club, our playing group, we went through it for about an hour for five minutes of footage.
“We set the bar high for what we expect, and we said at that time, ‘If this was a final, we would lose’ – and I knew that was going to have the biggest impact, because the guys were too prepared to play finals.
“From then on we built such momentum … our stoppage work went through the roof after that.”
Clark owed Sunday’s match-winning third-quarter rush to the grit of his midfield, with the bigger bodies of Josh Begley, Damon Fairchild and Luke Hannon moved into the engine room after the main break.
The shuffling of the magnets helped turn a one-point half-time deficit into a 28-point advantage by the final change.
“Heathmont were up and about and were able to win the inside contested ball which gave their outside run the opportunity to get going, and it was really hard for us to contain,” Clark said.
“We made some adjustments at half-time and put some bigger bodies around the footy … and our run opened up.”
The coach paid tribute to Fairchild for his best-afield showing, kicking two majors among his tireless effort through the middle.
“He’s been building this one for a while … he was really good for us the previous final and the last three or four games and he just got his run up and going,” Clark said.
“He’s a big body, six-one, six-two around the footy, but he’s really got strength into his game, tackles and hits the bodies really hard, but also his run (is impressive).
“He’s at that right peak age now where he believes in everything he’s doing and he certainly looks like that when he goes out onto the ground.
“It (the medal) probably could’ve gone to any of a group of four or five, there’s no doubt about that.”
Ex-AFL Bomber Josh Begley capped off his first season at the club with a “phenomenal” last-half display, his match also netting three goals.
“What I love about him is his ability to hunt the contest and just be aggressive at the contest,” Clark said.
“He hasn’t dropped that off since coming to us.”
Lifting the cup puts a full-stop on a turbulent campaign for captain Harry Burgess, who missed eight matches through suspension earlier this season.
“The resilience he’s shown – it’s been a challenging year for him,” Clark said.
“He was rock-solid in his leadership the whole time he wasn’t playing.
“He trained on Saturday mornings as well … it was exceptional and he was working harder than you normally would in a game, just to stay prepared and to let the guys know even if you’re injured, suspended or whatever, you’ve still got to keep the standards really high.
“He’s had to mentally deal with a lot this year … but to his character and his credit, he’s shown what a true leader he is – he’s one of the best leaders we’ve ever had.”
And how about Dean Grice?
One of just 15 legends among the Eastern league’s six-decade history, the four-time competition medallist and six-time club champion returned ahead of this season, resuming his 150-game career with the Hawks.
This year he donned the No. 13 worn by his late father Mark, a stalwart of the club who played through the 1970s and ‘80s before serving many years as team manager.
Despite making six teams of the year in his last stint, a Boronia senior premiership eluded Dean until last Sunday.
He’s one of many differing names from the 2018 premiership side to feature in the weekend’s victory.
It’s also been a build since the Hawks upset an unbeaten Ringwood in the decider five years ago, Clark says, with the club developing its next batch of stars and topping up with key recruits ahead of this season.
“I think collectively, the group’s as close as I’ve ever seen them,” Clark said.
“They care about each other and that connection, you can see on game-day.
“It has been a grind – we’ve had to put this list together over three or four years and last year losing to East Burwood by a point in the final made us think if we want to get back to being premiers, we’re going to have to change a few things.”
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