NFL 2018: Macleod coach Garry Ramsay departs Division 1 club after third straight grand final loss

MACLEOD has joined an unwanted group of clubs in the Northern Football League after the Division 1 grand final defeat against West Preston-Lakeside.

MACLEOD has become one of suburban football’s powers under the watch of Garry Ramsay.

But it’s off the field at De Winton Park where he would rather be remembered.

The Roos joined an unwanted group of teams after Saturday’s Northern Football League Division 1 grand final defeat against West Preston-Lakeside.

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The loss was Macleod’s third consecutive grand final loss, joining Heidelberg (1930-1932 and 2010-2012) and Greensborough (1939-1941) as the only clubs to finish runners up in three straight years.

West Preston-Lakeside show off the silverware. Picture: Mark Dadswell/AAP

The three grand final defeats have been by a combined total of 28 points.

Macleod kicked 3.7 in the second quarter with the advantage of the wind at Preston City Oval, before West Preston kicked four unanswered goals in the third term to turn the game in its favour.

“Over the course of the game there was probably some different times where a couple of shots on goal to go in front in the last quarter probably would have given us a bit of that momentum,” Ramsay said.

“I wouldn’t say there was any one moment, it was a hard fought contest, there was plenty of hard football in there and the better side won on the day.”

Ramsay took Macleod to its first top-flight premiership in 44 years in 2015 and has lifted the Roos to five consecutive finals appearances in his six years at the helm.

Garry Ramsay and Kane Shaw celebrate the 2015 premiership. Picture: Hamish Blair

He announced last month that 2018 would be his last season in the top job.

The popular NFL figure said watching his players mature would be his lasting memory from his time at the club.

“The success stories off the field at Macleod with the players just keep piling up, which will be amazing going forward,” he said.

“Sure, there will be disappointment that we haven’t got four premierships under our belt but some of the life stories, we’ll take them with the rest of our lives.

“Plenty of them have got married, probably five of them have started families, the way they interact with their parents down there … there’s a couple of them doing some really good things with charity.

“It’s a real vibrant place for good, there’s a real circle of good and all those things I’m extremely proud of.”

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