Watsonia defeats Laurimar in relegation battle to stay in NFNL Division 2

It was billed as a grand final, a winner-stays relegation battle between Laurimar and Watsonia, and it was the Saints who claimed a famous win.

Jye Murphy gets a kick for Watsonia. Picture: Field of View Photography

It’s Watsonia’s biggest win since its 2016 premiership.

Saturday’s relegation-deciding clash with Laurimar was billed as a grand final, the winner keeping its place in NFNL Division 2 and the loser sent back down to the bottom tier.

And the Saints’ 22-point victory at Laurimar Reserve was celebrated as such.

A difficult year, that saw coach George Lattouf relieved of his duties with two games remaining, ended on a high, 12.10 (82) to 9.6 (60).

Twin towers Rayden Garrard and Ethan Lowe each kicked three goals to overpower the Power backline.

Daniel Annetta sticks the tackle for Watsonia. Picture: Field of View Photography

In his comeback from eight weeks out, Garrard sparked Watsonia with three first-quarter goals, before league-leading goalkicker Ethan Lowe finished it, including a most miraculous goal from the boundary in the third term.

Daniel Annetta and Jye Murphy were prolific in midfield, while Harry Sinclair and Corey Potter starred in defence and Luke Pantalone impressed in attack.

Interim coach Gary Cutler said his players turned up when the club needed them most.

“It’s the biggest day for the footy club for a while,” Cutler said.

“I spoke to the boys at the start of the day, it was their grand final and the boys came to play.

“I felt we were the better side all day, we missed a couple of opportunities, but I felt we controlled the tempo and the last quarter was about reward for effort.

“I didn’t put pressure on them, we knew what the result meant and the boys came to play.”

Inspired by Garrard, Watsonia burst out of the blocks with a five-goal first quarter to take a 15-point lead into quarter-time.

Jye Murphy sticks the tackle for Watsonia. Picture: Field of View Photography

However, Laurimar launched back into the game in the second, booting three goals to nil to hold a four-point advantage at half-time.

Momentum swung late in the third as first Annetta snapped truly from the boundary before Lowe’s stunning Goal of the Year contender.

The key forward sliced between two Laurimar defenders before dribbling the ball through from the most acute of angles.

It saw the Saints boot six of the next seven goals to take a stranglehold on the game.

Cutler said wins like that were true team efforts.

“The midfield was amazing, Luke Pantalone played his best game for the club, his forward pressure was amazing, the backline was super,” he said.

“You don’t get wins like that unless the whole team participates and is involved.”

For Laurimar, Jacob Lawson was best afield, while Rylan Herrick, Aiden Clarke and Nathan Andrews stood tall.

It’s a heart-breaking finish to the season for the Power after winning the Division 3 premiership last year to climb to Division 2.

A late-season surge saw it win three on the trot over Thomastown, Northcote Park and Panton Hill and push St Mary’s to the wire last week to come agonisingly close to survival.

Instead, Watsonia will look to build on its close escape.

President Rod Haber said it mean everything to the club.

“It means a lot, everything we’ve put in place is about climbing higher in Division 2 so going back to Division 3 would have been a real backwards step and a tough one for us,” Haber said.

“The players and coaches have been unbelievable this week, brought it today and they just weren’t going to be denied.

“It was great to see a lot of past players and friends of the club get around the boys and that gave them a lift.

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“I’m really grateful to all those people who hung in there for us, all the people that help out behind the scenes.

“It’s been a difficult year, at times gut-wrenching, but surviving in Division 2 means everything to us and tonight we’ll be satisfied with that.”

Elsewhere in Division 2, Thomastown leapt over St Mary’s and into the top-five with a 31-point win and Whittlesea wrapped up the minor premiership with a 41-point win over Northcote Park.

Diamond Creek thumped South Morang by 43 points with the two to meet again on Saturday in a qualifying final, while Lower Plenty warmed up for finals with a 103-point thrashing of Panton Hill.