Deer Park defeat Spotswood by one point in WRFL Divsion 1 Grand Final

DEER Park defender Jackson Barling made a statement at the start of the final quarter in Saturday's grand final.

Deer Park celebrates its premiership win. Picture: Glenn Daniels.

BURLY Deer Park defender Jackson Barling made a statement at the start of the final quarter in Saturday's grand final when he delivered a fierce bump to Spotswood skipper Tom Langlands.

That Langlands bounced straight back up was an indication of what was at stake.

But this Lions outfit is made of stern stuff, retrieving a 41-point deficit to ­record a 15.10 (100) to 14.15 (99) win in an epic Western Region Football League ­Division 1 decider.

Spotswood has been the envy of its opposition. To make seven grand finals in a row is a remarkable achievement, but Lions coach Marc Bullen said his club was ready to force a changing of the guard.

"I don't want to say it's the end of an era for (Spotswood), but we're coming hard," Bullen said.

"We're going to recruit and promote. This is not a one-year wonder thing. We're going to do everything we can do to get sustained success at this footy club.

"We've copped a lot of stuff off the field, people say a lot of things, but the blokes don't see what I see."

Opposition clubs won't stop questioning how Deer Park assembled its star-studded list, but only a close-knit team can erase a large deficit in the biggest game of the year.

The Lions had no shortage of star performers, with Shannon Broadbent, Kwame McHarg, Joshua Jones, Heath Ayres, Chris Stewart leading the way.

But Bullen reserved the plaudits for his full-back, who won a couple of decisive battles with Spotswood's Jason Cloke late in the match. It proved crucial in the wash-up.

"Jackson Barling is the best defender in suburban football. I don't care what anyone says," Bullen said.

"We had a motto today to do it harder for longer; do the simple things better for longer.

"I think it's just the inner belief in our guys that drove us there. It could have gone either way. I don't think we played our best footy; I don't think they played their best footy. It was just a war of attrition.

"To bring so many good, quality players to the footy club, hopefully we attract juniors to come. Our under 18s played finals for the first time in a long time, we've got three girls sides, our juniors have gone from two or three teams to five or six.

"Yes, we're going to go out next year and bring a couple of key position players, a ruckman and maybe a bit more leg-speed, but we also need to give opportunities to these guys who have done the hard work in the under-18s."

Former coach James Condos was in the crowd on Saturday and will return to the Lions next season.