Cranbourne Football Club jubilant as it ends Narre Warren’s unprecedented 44-game Casey Cardinia Football League winning streak
The Invincibles have been vanquished. Narre Warren’s colossal 44 game winning streak has ended at the hands of arch-nemesis Cranbourne.
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The Invincibles have been vanquished.
Narre Warren’s colossal 44 game winning streak has ended at the hands of arch-nemesis Cranbourne.
The Eagles, on Saturday, won the much-anticipated grand final rematch against the previously unbeaten Narre Warren by six points in a thrilling, hard-fought contest, forged by an intense rivalry over recent years.
Cranny held on to win in a high quality, high-scoring contest 14.17. (101) to 12.23 (95), despite the wet and slippery conditions.
It brought to an end to an unprecedented 44-straight wins for the Magpies, who were last defeated in Round 3, 2013, by a solitary point against Cranbourne.
The Magpies let a 14-point lead slip in the final term, and scores were level in the dying minutes of the game.
Coach Chris Toner said he had a sleepless night after the Magpies lost a game he felt they should have won.
“We clawed our way back and got 14 points in front with three minutes to go, and then scores were level in the last 60 seconds,” Toner said.
“Some of the guys played like millionaires in some respects.
“They played high risk footy with three or four minutes to go when they didn’t need to.
“I tossed and turned on Saturday night, and didn’t sleep very well.
“Luckily there wasn’t a dog or cat around, or they might have been in trouble on Sunday morning.”
Toner said he didn’t subscribe to the theory that it was the defeat that the Magpies had to have, nor that they lost because they had several key players out, including gun forward Kerem Baskaya and ruckman Steve Watson.
“They also had a few important outs, so we couldn’t use that as an excuse,” he said.
“People will put a spin on it and say it (the loss) was the best thing for us, but I don’t agree with that at all.
‘If we had have won 55 or 56 in a row, it doesn’t guarantee us another premiership.
“I certainly learnt a lot about where a few blokes are at.
“They were made well aware after the game what I thought of it, and why we lost.
“It’s no point sugar coating it, and they are under no illusions as to what is expected of them for the remainder of the year.
“If people just assumed that Narre had another flag in the bag based on our 44 straight wins, then they are sadly mistaken.”
Jubilant Cranbourne coach Scott Sutherland said a meeting on Thursday night, where a few “home truths” were told, produced a “massive turn around” for the club.
“We had a talk on Thursday night about our year, and about where we were at,” Sutherland said.
“Some home truths came out, and blokes stood up and said, “I’m responsible for that happening, or this not happening”.
Thursday night was a massive turn around for us in the way we approached for the game against Narre, and for the rest of the season.
“We had to fight all the way, it was tough, hard, in and under footy, which we had to play against Narre, who have been so good for so long.
“I thought if we controlled the contested footy and had a physical presence, then that might be the difference, and I believe it was”
Sutherland lauded the efforts his mid-fielders in Michael Boland, Ryan Davey, and Brad Hermans.
“Every line made a commitment to make sure we put pressure on and stay positive,” he said.
“You could see the spirit coming out of them and that they were up and about.
“We made some bad errors, but we didn’t get down on ourselves, we stayed positive, and worked hard for each other.
“I was extremely proud of their efforts, it was amazing.”
Cranbourne full-forward Marc Holt was held to two goals, but the Eagles had other scoring options in Michael Theodordis with four goals and Ryan Jones four.
Jones was best afield for the Eagles with Curtis Barker not far behind.
For the Magpies, Jackson Parker did well as stand-in full forward, booting four goals, while Lee Boyle, Justin Marriott and Hayden Stagg each kicked two goals.
Despite the loss, Narre is still on top of the ladder, a game and almost 100 percentage points clear of Berwick.
The Magpies face another danger game this week when they take on quite achiever Pakenham, which is fourth after defeating Beaconsfield by 31 points.
The Lions roared into action from the first bounce, setting up their win with a seven-goals-to-three first half.
Daniel Fry defied the conditions, and was the dominant forward on the ground with six goals.
In see-saw affair, where both teams alternated the lead at each quarter, ROC defeated Tooradin by two points.
The Seagulls led by two points at quarter time, and then it was a case of watching the bouncing scoreboard, with the Kangaroos up by 17 points at half time, the Gulls by two points at three quarter time; and the Roos by two at the final siren, 8.8 (56) to Tooradin 7.12 (54).
The Kangaroos are sixth, a game behind Beaconsfield, while the Seagulls dropped to eighth and are starting to lose contact with the five.
Cellar dweller Hampton Park broke through for its first win of the season with a 50-point victory over an injury-decimated Keysborough.
Led by new spearhead Matthew Cox with four goals, the Redbacks won 14.15 (99) to 7.7. (49) in front of a cold, but happy and excited home crowd.
This week: Beaconsfield v Berwick, Hampton Park v Tooradin, Doveton v Keysborough, Cranbourne v ROC, Pakenham v Narre Warren.