Magnificent Caroline Springs wins WRFL Division 2 decider over Yarraville-Seddon

CAROLINE Springs won its maiden Western Region Football League senior premiership on Sunday with a 14-point win over Yarraville-Seddon.

Caroline Springs celebrates its WRFL Division 2 premiership. Picture: Kristen Alebakis.

CAROLINE Springs appeared to be limping to the finish line when it copped a hammering from North Footscray late in the home-and-away season.

But the 61-point defeat sparked a golden run which culminated in the club’s maiden Western Region Football League senior premiership on Sunday.

The Lakers toppled a plucky Yarraville-Seddon by 14 points in the Division 2 decider at Werribee’s Avalon Airport Oval, with star signing Brian Lake playing in his fourth-consecutive flag after being a member of Hawthorn’s AFL three-peat.

After the North Footscray loss, Caroline Springs went on the win five consecutive games and collect the silverware in its sixth season in the senior ranks.

“It was a real turning point in our season,” Lakers coach Scott Korczynski said of the Round 17 loss to the Devils.

“We had a few home truths at the club that week, it was a brutal review and we changed some playing personnel.

“Since then the guys have switched on and realised having Mathew Sutton and Brian Lake is not just going to win you a premiership — it’s going to be a team effort and everyone needs to be on board.

“We’ve played good footy at the right time of the year, built the momentum up.”

Korczynski said it was “surreal” to steer the club to its first WRFL senior premiership.

“You put a lot of hard work in as a coach and it’s just that reward for effort at the end of the day,” he said.

“We’ll celebrate nice and hard.”

Caroline Springs enjoyed a flying start, booting the first five goals of the decider.

It took the Eagles until the 23-minute mark of the opening term to land their first blow.

But momentum shifted in the second quarter. The Lakers, so clinical in the early exchanges, were not given the freedom to deliver their enviable forward line with some silver service as Yarraville-Seddon lifted significantly.

The Eagles, with Macauley Goring and Lachlan Longmire providing drive out of the middle, kicked four consecutive majors to snatch the lead.

Jason Degabriele gave the Lakers the advantage just before the main break against the run of play.

Then Caroline Springs nailed three of four goals in the third stanza to establish a 14-point lead at the final change of ends. It was a handy buffer, but hardly a sizeable safety net.

Six minutes into the last term, Lake outmarked tireless Eagles skipper Gareth Newton and converted.

And Yarraville-Seddon looked gone nine minutes later when James Ryan kicked a superb goal on the run.

But the never-say-die Eagles made one last-ditch bid for victory, with Kevin Upton bagging two goals and Goring one to reduce the deficit to nine points late in time-on.

There was to be no miracle fightback, however, as Sutton booted his fifth to signal the start of the party as the Lakers triumphed 12.8 (80) to 9.12 (66).

In the wash-up, Caroline Springs’ blistering start proved decisive against a worthy opponent.

“They were a really formidable opposition,” Korczynski said.

“We knew they were a quality opposition and were always going to be a quality team. That first half, they really took it up to us and it was a hard-fought game.”

Lewis Tudor was awarded the Rex Swann Medal for best afield, while Matthew Chadwick, Tristan Xerri and Jerome Caterino also shone for the premiership-winning side.

Sutton contributed five goals and Lake three.

The Lakers will be promoted to the top flight next season, with Korczynski expecting a “massive challenge”.

“The club’s always strived to get into Division 1,” he said.

“We’ll need to recruit some more players.”

Yarraville-Seddon coach Dean Callaway lamented his team’s wastefulness early in the final half-hour.

“We had our chances in probably the first 10 minutes of the last quarter and didn’t score,” he said.

“We did all our scoring in the last 10 minutes.

“If we had have put scoreboard pressure on the first 10 minutes, who knows, it could have gone either way.

“Our players really stuck thick and fought hard through the challenge.

“Full credit to (Caroline Springs), they played some good footy and got over the line.”

Goring starred for the Eagles, while Newton and Kevin Johnson performed admirably in their match-ups with Lake and Sutton.

Jesse Varsamakis worked tirelessly in the ruck, while Cameron Vincent and Jason Compton were others to impress.

“I’m just proud of the effort of the guys,” Callaway said.