Named: Eastern league’s top 10 grand finals since 2000
It’s been almost three years since a suburban football grand final. We’ve named our top 10 Eastern league deciders since 2000. Did we get it right?
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It's been a long time between drinks for local football clubs toasting premierships.
Almost three years in fact.
But before Covid, the 21st century produced its share of thrilling senior grand finals in the Eastern league across all divisions.
We’ve sifted through the archives and chosen a top 10 since 2000.
Did we get it right? Vote in the poll or comment your favourite below.
10. South Croydon v Mulgrave – 2009 Division 2 Grand Final
South Croydon 14.16 (100) def. Mulgrave 12.19 (91)
Best on ground: Ben Osborne (South Croydon)
Special for a number of reasons for Dogs fans – but most of all, this would mark the dawn of the club’s foray into top-flight football after competing in third division just three years earlier.
The wind would have a considerable influence on proceedings, as Mulgrave piled on the goals early to lead by 42 points at quarter time – a lead that would be tough to overcome in a grand final, even with the aid of the breeze.But one characteristic defined the Bulldogs’ side of 2009 – belief — and they had it in spades. Slamming through eight majors to one in the second saw the Dogs in front at the half, but an all-important ‘premiership quarter’ would see Mulgrave kicking with the wind.
A goalless third term against 3.8 to the Lions saw a 27-point margin at three quarter-time – and despite the assistance of the breeze, grand finals are tough to win from five goals behind at the final change. But the match followed its script, and a barnstorming last quarter had South register 6.8 to Mulgrave’s 1.2 – resulting in not only a nine-point win for the red, white and blue, but a form of redemption after coming so close two years earlier. Led by master coach Paris Harvie, the top-flight was now the Bulldogs’ home – a division which they still occupy today.
9. Heathmont v Glen Waverley Hawks – 2011 Division 4 Grand Final
Heathmont 14.10 (94) def. Glen Waverley Hawks 13.9 (87) – extra-time
Best on ground: Darren Sheen (Heathmont)
An extra-time war of attrition for the ages.
The Hawks had built for this and finished a game clear on top of the ladder and were hunting their first EFL premiership after snapping a 49-game losing streak four years earlier. Heathmont had finished third and had tasted flag success twice in the past seven years. Matt Carnelley and Andrew Azzopardi up one end for the Hawks, Darren Sheen and Michael Aitken up the other for the Jets, among a host of stars from both sides.
In a muddy scrap, the Jets led at all changes – including 22 at three quarter-time. But a steely resolve from the Hawks saw them chip away at the lead in the last to tie the scores at 81 apiece when Azzopardi nailed a true captain’s goal from a set-shot late, moments before the final siren sounded at Tormore Reserve.
The Hawks had all the momentum and Robbie Davies set up Simon Grasser four minutes into extra-time to give his side the lead for the first time. The lead however was short-lived, as century-goalkicker Michael Aitkin goaled after the siren of extra-time half one, to put the Jets back in front by a point.
The second half presented its opportunities for both sides, but Heathmont’s Kev Clark pounced on his, kicking truly from a set-shot to put the final nail in the Hawks’ coffin. Premiership coach Steve Buckle would pay tribute on the dais to Glen Waverley, which had fought valiantly and left nothing out on the park come the conclusion of this epic thriller.
8. Vermont v South Croydon – 2017 (Premier) Division 1 Grand Final
South Croydon 10.12 (72) def. Vermont 7.12 (54)
Best on ground: Dan King (South Croydon)
It didn’t have the grandstand finish others on this list might have, but the narrative and theatre for neutrals – and South Croydon fans – were present all the same in one of the great grand final upsets.
Red-hot favourite Vermont had dropped just one game all season and entered the finals in blistering form. It had demolished South Croydon to the tune of 76 points just two weeks prior in the semi-final to book its place in the decider, while the Dogs had to slug it out with Blackburn an extra week.
After winning the toss and kicking with the breeze, an inaccurate Dogs outfit gained the ascendancy and asserted itself to their more fancied opponents, kicking 4.7 to quarter time to lead by 17 at the first break. The Eagles hit back in the second, keeping South goalless to take a one-point lead into halftime, when many thought the well-oiled Vermont machine would continue on its merry way from then on. Wrong. Five goals to one in the all-important premiership quarter saw the Dogs with a 25-point buffer at the final change.
The Eagles continued to charge in the last when Joel Perry drew his side within 12 points nearing time-on. But the cup was headed to Cheong Park when the Dogs’ Frank Anderson put paid to any resurgence, kicking the sealer to send the club’s faithful into raptures.
7. Doncaster East v Bayswater – 2005 Division 3 Grand Final
Bayswater 8.12 (60) def. Doncaster East 7.13 (55)
Best on ground: Simon Denton (Bayswater)
Along with South Croydon in 2017, this is one of the great grand final upsets of the past two decades.
Minor premier Doncaster East had only lost one game all year, finished four games clear on top of the ladder, and had defeated second-placed Bayswater three times during the year.
In a tight, low-scoring tussle at Tormore Reserve, the Waters stunned Doncaster East early for a 25-point quarter-time lead. Doncaster East hit back in the second to cut the margin to 14 at the half, before taking control in the third to edge in front at the last break.
Come on down, Michael Sankey – the only player on the ground to kick a goal in a seesawing last quarter – twice, including the matchwinner in the form of a scintillating soccer goal right on the line approaching time-on. Doncaster East would lock the ball inside its front-half for the desperate last five minutes. But Bayswater’s work at the stoppages would stifle any run the minor premier had, to hold on and record one of the great grand final upsets this century.
6. Mooroolbark v Waverley Blues – 2008 Division 3 Grand Final
Waverley Blues 12.8 (80) def. Mooroolbark 11.12 (78)
Best on ground: Tom Miles (Waverley Blues)
Neck-and-neck all day, which set the scene for a grand finale in the form of a matchwinning major in the dying moments.
Mooroolbark had finished the season atop the ladder, two games clear of the Blues who’d finished third on percentage. Despite the gap the ladder had suggested, the duo had matched up in the final round of the home and away season, as the Mustangs scrapped their way to a four-point victory in a low-scoring affair.
The better rested of the two teams, Mooroolbark breezed its way past Nunawading in its first final to book its spot in the big dance, with Waverley comfortably accounting for Boronia and Nunawading in each of its finals to make it through.
Despite one having the week’s rest and the other playing an extra week, just two points split the sides at quarter time and halftime and just eight at three quarter-time, with the Blues ahead at the latter two breaks.
The final quarter saw a desperate, faster finishing Mooroolbark steal the lead but the Blues would wrestle back the momentum for the final five minutes. Needing a major to snatch back the lead but missing a couple of opportunities, the occasion begged for a matchwinner.
Enter Ryan Tily who seized his opportunity, swooping in with what one former Blue describes as “the highest kick I’ve ever seen, 30 metres long and 70 metres high”.
The Blues win by two points and head into Division 2 for the next season, but the Mustangs’ rise shouldn’t be forgotten – they’d played in a relegation match 12 months prior, and went on to take the ‘09 flag.
5. South Belgrave v Forest Hill – 2013 Division 4 Grand Final
South Belgrave 11.20 (86) def. Forest Hill 11.5 (77) – extra-time
Best on ground: Leigh Odermatt (South Belgrave)
The season records of these two sides suggested this was to be a walkover for South Belgrave, which had finished the season minor premier and undefeated. What happened next still sticks in the minds of many.
Having lost the decider to The Basin the year prior, the Saints earned their shot at redemption but an underdog Forest Hill outfit stood in the way. The Zebras had finished the season in fourth position on percentage, and had won nine games in the regular season to the Saints’ 16. A win against fifth-placed Kilsyth in the first week followed by upset wins over Silvan and Ferntree Gully in the next two weeks would see the Zebras contesting its first grand final since 1993. South Belgrave had earned the first week of the finals off, and advanced to the decider with a win over Ferntree Gully.
Unbelievably, Forest Hill would lead the grand final at all changes – with four goals to one in the opening term for a 17-point lead, 13 points at halftime and seven at three quarter-time. Most at Mitcham’s Walker Park were expecting the onslaught to happen at some stage in the final stanza – but an inaccurate Saints booted 2.7 to the Zebras’ 2.0 to tie the scores 71 apiece the final bell.
Enter Alex Bakens with two flag-winning goals in extra-time – the man who would find himself in a second drawn grand final of his career in the space of six years no less – and the Saints were set for glory. 2.3 (15) to 1.0 (6) in extra-time saw South Belgrave nine-point premiership winners – their first flag since 1996.
Spare a thought too for the best on ground Leigh Odermatt, who like Bakens, had also played in his second extra-time grand final that day – albeit twice in three seasons.
4. Vermont v Noble Park – 2007 (Premier) Division 1 Grand Final
Vermont 10.14 (74) def. Noble Park 10.10 (70)
Best on ground: Nathan Henley (Vermont)
The ultimate grudge-match between the EFL’s two juggernauts of the 2000s, done justice by a grandstand finish with a game-deciding kick after the siren.
The likes of Mullett, Cullen, Greig, Talevski, Froud versus Anderson, O’Brien, Barlow, Kemperman, Black to name just a few. Vermont was shooting for its third consecutive flag, and Noble Park, which had won back-to-back premierships across 2003-04 after joining the league in 2000, was looking to regain its throne.
The Bulls had finished third in 2007 behind Vermont which had claimed yet another minor premiership. Despite the difference of three wins in the home and away season, Noble Park had claimed a significant victory over the Eagles in the semi-final. Blowing their adversary out of the water with a seven-goal second term blitz, the Bulls booked their spot in the decider winning by 26 points. The Eagles had to come from 32 down at three quarter-time the next week, toppling East Ringwood by seven points for a shot at a threepeat.
Despite a slow start, Vermont took control after quarter-time with five goals to one in the second, which the Eagles would be unrelenting in giving up throughout the third as a scoring stalemate ensued – the minor premier 16 ahead at the final change.
The Bulls charged their way back into the contest in the final term, courtesy of two majors from Heath Black and Benn Logan on the run to cut the margin to five points. Noble had its chances to steal the lead late, but the game’s biggest climax was to come. With the seconds ticking down, the Bulls had one last roll of the dice – Daniel Norman sent it into attack in the direction of Daniel Kennedy, who was paid the mark and would find himself kicking to win the match after the siren. A gut-wrenching miss followed – a feeling you’d not wish upon any player.
The Eagles had claimed the flag by four points – and the threepeat – an era which goes down as one of the most dominant of the 21st century.
3. East Burwood v East Ringwood – 2002 (Premier) Division 1 Grand Final
East Ringwood 13.12 (90) def. East Burwood 9.11 (65)
Best on ground: Paul Arthurson (East Burwood)
A triumph 15 years in waiting for the ‘Roos.
The pair had squared off in the ‘87 decider, with the Rams pinching the flag late in a frenetic final quarter, courtesy of a rushed behind which would separate the two sides at the final siren and ensue heartbreak for the royal blue and white. Little did ‘Roos fans know that day that they’d have to wait until 2002 to have another crack at the league’s then powerhouse for the ultimate prize.
With names such as Buzaglo, McCormick, Porter and Sheers leading minor premier East Ringwood, and the likes of Houlihan, Slater, Arthurson and Hislop for East Burwood which had finished fourth and was shooting for its third flag in four seasons, the stage was set.East Ringwood trailed at all breaks, kicking just two opening-half goals and was staring down the barrel of another defeat to East Burwood on the biggest stage, with the margin 33 points at three quarter-time.
What happened next was akin to a sports drama film with an epic conclusion. With a renaissance led by the usual suspects, East Ringwood put through 10-straight in the final term to two behinds, to bring the club its first flag in 18 years – and for the fans, some form of revenge for what had happened 15 years earlier.
2. Ringwood v Mitcham – 2019 Division 2 Grand Final
Mitcham 12.12 (84) def. Ringwood 12.10 (82)
Best on ground: William Gordon (Mitcham)
The most widely spoken about on the list in recent times and will probably be for some time.
Mitcham fans will remember it as not only a stirring grand final victory but an epic conclusion to one of the great finals campaigns. Ringwood fans wouldn’t recall the day with such fondness.
The Tigers entered each of their finals as the underdogs. They slogged it out in extra-time against Heathmont amid heavy downpour a fortnight earlier before toppling a Boronia outfit that had dragged itself from off the canvas to become one of the form sides. Ringwood, the minor premier in two of the past three seasons, had two previous finals campaigns in the back of its mind. 2017 saw the Redbacks fall to rival Heathmont in a preliminary final, one it had led by 36 points at quarter time. 2018 saw the club go undefeated, that is until it fell to an up-and-coming Boronia in the big dance. The current campaign was to be one of redemption.
The Redbacks charged to a 39-point quarter time lead which seemed a bridge too far, even for the Tigers, whose belief at that stage was sky-high. Mitcham hit back in the second and it was level-pegging from there on, drawing within a point at the main break and snatching a five-point lead at three-quarter time.
The sides rallied in the final term trading goals but Mitcham seemed like it would hold on late in the piece. What happened next dominated footy discussion for the next week. The Redbacks, two points down, launch one last foray into attack as the seconds tick down, as a mark is taken by James Parker just ahead of the siren sounding with a goal needed to win. The kick looks on its way – Parker begins to celebrate, convinced it’s home – the umpire rules it falling agonisingly short on the line for no score. Momentary confusion ensues but the ecstatic Tigers win an unlikely flag, their second in five years.
For Ringwood, confusion and heartbreak – again. The conjecture surrounding the available vision has the public split over whether the kick made the journey, but the officiating goal umpire is unequivocally certain of his decision.
In a remarkable show of sportsmanship, Redbacks coach Brett Rowe later entered the winners’ rooms to express his congratulations. A class act.
1. Knox v South Croydon – 2007 Division 2 Grand Final
Knox 18.16 (124) def. South Croydon 18.10 (118) – extra-time
Best on ground: Dusty Apps (Knox)
Often spoken about by many – including a number of players that played that day – as the greatest grand final the EFL has produced. For some, it’s considered the greatest game they’ve seen. A desperate, free-flowing, high-scoring affair with a grandstand finish under the crucible-like pressure of extra-time.
The pair had met two weeks prior in the semi as minor premier Knox disposed of second-placed South Croydon to the tune of 64 points. The polar-opposite would occur two weeks later, with the Falcons and Dogs locked in a titanic struggle – as the minor premier kicked ahead by 22 points to three quarter-time. But South Croydon charged back into the contest in the fourth with seven majors to Knox’s four. With the scores locked at 111 apiece as the final siren rang out at East Burwood Reserve, both camps – out on their feet having rallied for four gruelling quarters – readied themselves for one last hurrah.
The Dogs struck first, courtesy of a Nick McConnell major to give his side a six-point buffer, before the Falcons’ Lucas Bakes tied the scores again. But it would be Alex Bakens, whose fourth of the day would be the most valuable of all, edging his side in front which would ultimately be the matchwinner. Little did Bakens know when playing-coach and league great Stuart Wynd’s centring kick landed in his arms that it wouldn’t be the last time he’d snare the winning goal of an extra-time final.
A goal separated the pair after the first period of overtime, and the second half delivered end-to-end, desperate plays. South Croydon rolled the dice a final time with time running out when a charging Ben Osborne launched a long ball to the top of the goalsquare looking for McConnell who flew from the back, but the Falcons’ defence held firm as it had all day, and that’s all she wrote.
After the match, South Croydon co-captains Eamon Costello and Lucas Davies – two of their club’s most competitive beasts – filed into the Knox rooms with a slab of beer each to congratulate the winning team, despite clearly hurting from the gut-wrenching defeat. One of the great acts of sportsmanship and character following arguably the greatest-ever EFL grand final.
Honourable mentions:
– 2000 Division 3 grand final – Knox 15.9 (99) def. Templestowe 15.7 (97)
– 2001 Division 3 grand final – South Croydon 7.17 (59) def. Templestowe 8.9 (57)
– 2002 Division 3 grand final – Wantirna South 12.8 (80) def. Doncaster East 10.17 (77)
– 2014 Division 3 grand final – Wantirna South 8.10 (58) def. Templestowe 7.8 (50)
– 2017 Division 4 grand final - Donvale 10.8 (68) def. Forest Hill 8.8 (56)
– 2018 Division 3 grand final – Boronia 10.16 (76) def. Ringwood 8.12 (60)
– 2019 Division 4 grand final – Fairpark 7.7 (49) def. East Burwood 4.10 (34)
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