SFNL: How Skye broke through for first senior win in 637 days

After Skye won its first match in 637 days in Division 3 of the Southern league, find out why coach Paddy Cooke was keen to keep a lid on the celebrations.

Skye hadn’t won a senior game since round 13, 2023.

“It was special and it was needed.”

Skye coach Paddy Cooke summed the situation up perfectly after the Bombers broke through for their first win in 637 days in the Southern league’s Division 3.

The five-point victory over South Mornington marked the club’s first win since round 13, 2023, when the Bombers prevailed over East Malvern by nine points.

Skye was relegated to Division 3 after a winless 2024, and only six players who figured on Saturday had played in a senior win for the club before.

“A really good feeling — even last year the group we’ve got worked really hard, so to see them get some reward for it was exciting,” Cooke added of the victory.

The Bombers survived a nervy finish after South Mornington got on a roll in the final five minutes to cut the margin back to just five points.

“It was pretty stressful,” Cooke said.

“We weren’t quite smart enough in the contest and understanding what the scenario of the game was, we probably tried to get a bit too attacking across the ground late in the game and they were able to take advantage and scored pretty easy in those last couple of minutes.

“It was a really weird game, we felt like we controlled the ball for the majority of it, we probably just weren’t clean enough in the key moments and we gave them plenty of opportunity which was a little bit frustrating at times.

“We seemed to really control things, we’d get to four goals up and we’d think that we’re in control and then they’d kick the next two to three and be right back in it.

“To South Mornington’s credit they fought it out right until the final siren. We were hoping to break them but just couldn’t quite get there.

“It was important to get the result so we’ll take it anyway we can.”

Michael Boland performed well on Saturday in his second outing for Skye. Picture: Valeriu Campan

New recruit Michael Boland, who crossed to Skye from Cranbourne in the off-season, was instrumental in the ruck.

“(He) just gave us first use all day and was able to get around the ground and take some really key marks,” Cooke said.

“He came in a bit under done and we tried to get him through round one, he was much better for the run and he was amazing this week.

“His ability to get first hands on the ball in the ruck and just put it wherever we needed it was super important.”

Aaron Philp also stood out, with Cooke describing him as an “absolute bull” in the midfield, while Stephen Hawkins chipped in with three goals.

“Stephen Hawkins up forward was really important to us, kicked three goals, just with his leadership up forward was able to direct the boys and get everyone into really good spots,” Cooke said of the medium-sized forwards’ impact.

Despite the occasion, Cooke said he tried to keep a lid on the celebrations.

“The excitement after the game was huge, everyone was really up and about … although it had been a while, in the scheme of things it’s only round two,” Cooke said.

“To get that one off the back after waiting so long, we’ll probably start to nail our games a little bit more without stressing about the pressure of when that win’s going to come.

“We’ve got bigger things and bigger aims, a lot of work still to do.”