Hastings surges from fourth to take the Nepean premiership, defeating Frankston Bombers in grand final
HASTINGS gets on a roll and wins the Nepean league premiership, beating an inaccurate Frankston Bombers by 27 points at Frankston Park.
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HASTINGS snapped a 21-year premiership drought when it toppled hot favourites the Frankston Bombers by 27 points in the Nepean league grand final on Saturday.
The Blues led all day in front of a huge crowd at Frankston Park, withstanding a Bombers third-term surge to secure the club’s first flag since 1995, 11.15 (81) to 6.18 (54).
Hastings captain Paul Rogasch was awarded the VCFL medal for best-on-ground after a dominant display in the backline.
The premiership capped a whirlwind finish to the season for the Blues, who came from fourth spot and won all four of their finals appearances.
Hastings coach Brendan Dunne said his close-knit team rode a wave of momentum.
“All of a sudden half way through this year everyone started believing,’’ he said.
“To do it the hard way and win four finals, it’s pretty special.
“The boys played their best footy in the finals. When the pressure was on they stood up.
“There’s a lot of history at this club. They’ve won the most flags on the peninsula but we hadn’t won one since 1995 so we’ve been in a massive drought. There was a lot of pressure at the club this week.
“I’m in a bit of shock.’’
While the erratic Bombers took more than an hour to kick their first goal, spraying 14 behinds in the process, Hastings took its chances, kicking goals at a steady rate to build an advantage.
The Blues led by 15 points at quarter time and 35 points at halftime.
Kicking with the breeze in the third term, the Bombers lifted and made a concerted charge — but a string of more behinds failed to hurt Hastings on the scoreboard.
Frankston was eating into the Blues’ lead through points, not goals.
Frankston coach Beau Muston was dominant up forward but his three shots in as many minutes yielded only two behinds.
Bombers fans roared with delight when forward Zac Longham marked 10m out, but his set shot slammed into the goalpost and Bombers players around the ground sighed. Soon after, he booted another behind.
Although misfiring, the Bombers were coming, and fast.
Finally, at the 12 minute mark of the third quarter, the Bombers scored their first goal, by Brad Whittley. Frankston had cut Hastings’ lead to 25 points.
On a roll, the Bombers made it two goals in a row — a Nathan Lonie cannon that travelled 55m. When Frankston spearhead Luke James took a grab in front, the red and black army on the terraces was roaring. But his shot missed. A goal would have had the Bombers within 13 points. Hastings went forward and Nathan Gray kicked a crucial goal against the flow to restore a 24-point Blues lead.
Frankston finished a good quarter with a late goal, a clever snap by Micky Maiorino, to be 18 points behind — within striking distance — at the last change.
Hastings had one hand on the cup when it began the last quarter, kicking with the breeze to the Kars St end. The grip tightened when Shaun Foster snapped a goal after only two minutes … and when Colin McVeigh threaded a freakish snap from the boundary, the Blues were out by 31 points.
The Bombers kept coming but their earlier misses proved costly.
At 4.48pm, the siren blurted, and then sounded properly — ending the Blues’ flag drought and sparking a tremendous celebration.
Dunne said his side’s pressure played a part in the Bombers’ hour-long run without a goal.
“We tried to force them into running around the corner and having shots — it’s actually a tricky wind out there,’’ he said.
Dunne revealed former West Coast Eagles premiership star Peter Sumich spoke to the players on Tuesday night, and his message that a grand final victory consisted of a chain of moments helped.
Dunne said he and his players — now premiership teammates — would have a bond for life.
“I said before we ran out, ‘whether we won or lost it wouldn’t change about how proud I was of you. The result didn’t matter’,’’ he said.
“What we’ve been through over the past two months has been just incredible. We’ve gelled as a football side and most importantly we’ve gelled as mates — and now we’re really good mates.’’
Dunne paid tribute to his former Karingal co-coach and great mate Jason Hammond, who died in 2013. “He taught me everything I know,’’ Dunne said.
In the reserves, Rosebud won the premiership after a resounding 54-point win over Red Hill, 9.11 (65) to 1.5 (11). Matt Baker was best on ground.
And in the under-19s, Sorrento capped a splendid season with a 7.11 (53) to 4.6 (30) win over Red Hill in the grand final. Angus Callaghan was best.
Hastings grand final squad: Dale Alanis, Jay Austerberry, Chris Biviano, Andrew Booth, Lance Brouwer, Luke Clark, Matt Clifford, Mark Devereaux, Brendan Dunne, Shaun Foster, Nathan Gray, Terry Green, Jake Hewitt, Luke Hewitt, David Hull, Scott Jansen, Peter Mawson, Colin McVeigh, Josh Mulheron, Dan Noble, Steve Robb, Paul Rogasch, Luke Smith, Aaron Vinson, Josh Ward.
Hastings 3.3, 6.8, 7.9, 11.15 (81) d Frankston 0.6, 0.9, 3.15, 6.18 (54)
GOALS
Hastings: C. McVeigh 3, L. Hewitt 2, N. Gray, M. Devereaux, M. Clifford, P. Mawson, S. Foster, L. Smith.
Frankston: M. Maiorino 2, B. Whittley, N. Lonie, S. Foster, L. James.
BEST
Hastings: P. Rogasch, S. Robb, L. Brouwer, M. Devereaux, S. Foster, N. Gray.
Frankston: J. Chapman, B. O’Carroll, B. Sutton, J. Francis, R. Marks-Logan, J. Kingsbury.
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