WRFL: Altona claims first Division 1 premiership since 2012

From the loss of loved club personnel to concerns with player numbers, Altona overcame it all on route to its first WRFL premiership since 2012.

Some might not see it this way but Altona has well and truly defied the odds.

The Vikings are Western Region Football League Division 1 premiers for the first time since 2012 after pushing through one of the toughest years in club’s history.

They reached the top of the mountain on Saturday with a dominant 10.21 (81) to 9.4 (58) win over Werribee Districts and while they were favourites there is so much more to this success.

In February, the club lost assistant coach Dan Lunardi after he suddenly died while stats man Gavan Taylor lost his battle with illness through at the midway point of the season.

While in pre-season they struggled for player numbers.

Serious long-term injuries also looked set to hamper premiership dreams.

But the drive to put Altona back on top is what got the playing group through according to coach Corey McCall.

That’s despite the Vikings being on top of the ladder when the season was cancelled in 2021.

“To be honest it was probably the reverse,” McCall said when asked if last season’s cancelled season had created a stronger motivation.

Altona celebrates its 2022 WRFL premiership. Photo: Facebook/WRFL.

“Having that ripped from you, you would of thought you’d be really driven to come back in 2022 but it was quite the opposite. A lot of guys didn’t handle it too well, that’s two years gone. Your 27-year-olds are now 29 so they’re thinking do they want to play.

“I know there’s a lot of coaches out there that have been through the same thing trying to motivate their players to come back for the 2022 season.

“At the end of the we had our struggles. In pre-season on the phone, ringing, we were being told ‘I might go travelling’. Their whole mindset changed but we slowly reconnected and a football club is great like that.

“It’s about relationships, about getting connecting with your mates and getting away. A lot of people were engrossed in work. People came back to footy and were like ‘I need us.

“We started to build from there. At the start of the year we thought if we were 3-3 we would be happy.

“It’s not exactly the way people would have thought it happened.”

There were emotional scenes for many Altona players and supporters.

After a tight opening term, Altona was able to gain control of the contest heading into halftime before eventually flexing its muscle in the second half.

Despite Werribee threatening to mount a comeback, the Vikings kept managing to do just enough.

Kelly Pickard and Mitch Turnbull were brilliant in defence, intercepting at will throughout the afternoon.

Connor Menadue was awarded the best on ground medal while Elliot Cavallaro booted four in a strong showing.

“Kelly Pickard’s last quarter, that was amazing,” McCall said.

“He took five intercept marks in a row it seemed like. He’s been a brick wall for us all year.

“He’s a wonderful human being as well who will do anything for the club. For me and the players it is very emotional, this is what you dream and coach for,” he said.

Joel Menadue and Luke Whatman embrace.

“For all of the hours we put in. Coaching is a hard gig. You’ve got to be really passionate, you’ve got to be really driven and you’ve got to put in the hours.

“And you know what, in about four weeks it turns into phone calls about recruiting and keeping players.

“Premierships are so hard to win, the club had only won one in their history, this is the second now. I’m ecstatic.”

McCall also paid tribute to Werribee Districts and their run to the finals having finished fourth on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season.

“Their finals series has been amazing, Werribee Districts,” he said.

“To come from where they were and the results that they had. We did a lot of homework on how they play and I’m sure they did a lot on us as well.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for them. Chris (Gilham) is one of the best coaches in the competition.”

Andrew Panayi was best afield for Districts while Matt Dean and Ben McMahon battled hard all day.