EFNL 2024: Balwyn wins heart-stopping Premier Division grand final
It had to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat – but Balwyn has held on in a cliffhanging Eastern league Premier Division grand final to clinch its first flag in eight years.
Eastern
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“WE won’t be rushing to watch that one back!”, Balwyn coach Brenton Sanderson exclaimed to the rooms pulsating with premiership euphoria after the match.
The Tigers held on in an ugly and nail-biting Eastern league Premier Division grand final on Saturday, breaking East Ringwood hearts with a 7.11 (53) to 7.9 (51) victory in front of thousands at Bayswater Oval.
Balwyn midfielder Bowen Smith worked tirelessly and was awarded the best-afield medal as the club clinched its first senior flag since 2016.
Leading for most of the afternoon – including by 17 points at half-time – Balwyn kicked just two goals after the main break to resist a second-half East Ringwood revival.
Closing the gap to just seven points at the final change, East Ringwood – on the hunt for its first top-division flag since 2002 – hit the front for the first time with seven minutes played in the fourth quarter after Chandler medallist and captain James Belo kicked truly for a long-range goal.
Trailing by four points, the Tigers simply had to dig deep.
And they did, wrestling the lead back through young gun Will La Motte at the 13-minute mark before Jake Sticca delivered the sealer ticking into time-on to extend the margin to nine.
But the Roos weren’t to be dismissed easily – rallying as Riley Weatherill snapped from deep in the pocket to cut the deficit to two points with 24 minutes expired.
East Ringwood immediately charged again with a desperate surge inside 50 – but its final roll of the dice would be denied by a game-saving defensive mark to Balwyn’s Jack Tillig.
The siren would sound with the ball inside the Tigers’ attack.
Sanderson, “relieved” in his own words, lamented his side’s wayward kicking, but couldn’t fault his players’ resolve, “finding a way to win” amid the crucible-like pressure.
It’s the second time in a fortnight the Tigers had pipped the Roos at the post, after edging the minor premier by three points in the semi-final.
“We didn’t play well (on Saturday) and it was a scrappy game – but the history books will only write that we had a two-point win,” Sanderson said.
“All of our finals were like that – all low-scoring and I don’t think we kicked more than eight or nine goals in any of our finals and we won them all by small margins.
“We had to find a way to win … when they (East Ringwood) got in front, it was almost like the jolt we needed to get back and start playing a bit better again.”
With hearts in mouths, Balwyn hit the final five minutes with two of its most influential players – ex-AFL Kangaroo Kayne Turner (suspected calf) and former VFL man Louis Cunningham (hamstring) – off the ground.
But their absence would pave the way for Tillig’s last-gasp heroics in defence.
“We had two of our absolute playmakers off with a few minutes to go, and it wasn’t really the design that we’d drawn up … after the centre-bounce Jack (Tillig) came around behind the ball and fortunately was able to take that game-saving mark,” Sanderson said.
“It was one of those days where you sort of have to think on your feet from the coaches’ box.
“That last nail-biting two or three minutes was as long as I’d ever experienced in footy.”
Best-on-ground Smith, who also finished with a goal, led the charge in an unrelenting midfield grind against East Ringwood’s band of stars.
“It was a pretty even performance from our midfield,” Sanderson said.
“I thought any one of those midfielders could have won it (the medal) – big Chev (Andersen) in the ruck was great, Noah Lever, (Alex) Urban, Smith, Turner I thought was great as well, and then we had guys behind the ball … Kaden Schreiber and Josh Pollocks played really good games as well.
“And Cunningham, his run and punch off half-back was really important.
“We didn’t have any standout stars but we probably had 14 or 15 guys that played to the level we were expecting.”
It was a who’s who of Balwyn greats in attendance from the club’s golden era which took in five consecutive grand finals from 2012-16 for four flags.
Former spearhead Jeff Gobbels – who is set to star on the upcoming season of Married At First Sight – even took a quick break from his filming commitments, flying in from Sydney to join his old premiership captain Rennie Gilchrist among the spectators on Saturday.
Current Balwyn captain Charlie Haley – who succeeded Gobbels – joins the esteemed roll-call of Tigers with a premiership medal.
“The first thing he (Haley) said to me when I took the (coaching) role two years ago was he’s at Balwyn to win flags,” Sanderson said.
“He’s so driven, he’s a great talent and he’s become a great leader.
“He was in tears after every final win, so you can tell for a guy that’s pretty tough and has a gritty resilience, he was quite emotional and when the siren went you could see the relief in his face.”
It’s also Sanderson’s first flag as a senior coach, after the former Adelaide mentor served as an assistant in two Geelong premierships.
He joins Daniel Harford (2008) and Dan Donati (2012, ’13, ’15, ’16) in leading the Tigers to glory in the Eastern league.
“I’m thrilled – it’s a great club to do it at with all the past players and the premiership greats, it’s awesome,” Sanderson said.
And there was nothing but respect – and admiration – for the opposition.
To overcome a star-studded East Ringwood outfit which finished on top of the ladder this season makes Saturday’s feat “special”.
“I really rate Ben Osborne as a coach – I think he’s a great tactician and what he’s done at that club has been unreal. The fact they had the three teams all in grand finals was a testament to them,” Sanderson said.
“James Belo is one of my favourite players to watch and obviously one of the hardest to coach against … I’m guessing if they’d won, he probably gets the medal. He was one of the most influential players on the ground and he willed his team back into it.
“You build hatred for clubs but we don’t have that with East Ringwood – we’ve got so much respect for them.
“I’m sure we’re going to have lots of great match-ups over the years.”
Balwyn 3.4, 5.8, 5.9, 7.11 (53)
East Ringwood 2.1, 3.3, 4.8, 7.9 (51)
Best players
Balwyn: Bowen Smith, Noah Lever, Louis Cunningham, Kaden Schreiber, Joshua Pollocks, Alexander Urban
East Ringwood: Damon Delaney, Connor Weightman, Joshua Weightman, James Belo, Chris Cerni, Jason Coghlan
Goals
Balwyn: Charlie Haley, Jordan Lisle, Nathan Oakes, Jack Tillig, Bowen Smith, Will La Motte, Jake Sticca
East Ringwood: Corey Preston, Sam Lowson, Josh Fox, Jamie Bennell, Will MacRae, James Belo, Riley Weatherill
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