Vic Country football 2019: Team battles VAFA for Brian Molony Cup

Victoria Country has taken on VAFA at Ikon Park, with the winner taking home the Brian Molony Cup.

Unforgettable memory: The victorious Vic Country side after defeating the Amateurs at Ikon Park in Carlton. Picture: Hannah Driscoll

VICTORIA Country coach Danny Frawley told his team after their clash with the Victorian Amateur Football Association today that football is a game of memories — and that now, they have a great one.

Vic Country defeated the Amateurs by 17 points in a thrilling clash at Ikon Park in windy, and towards the end wet, conditions to reclaim the Brian Molony Cup, 11.15 (81) to 9.10 (64).

For Frawley, it will go some way to erasing the horror recollections of Vic Country’s 82-point loss to the VAFA two years ago, his first game in charge of the Vic Country side, labelling this a 100-point turnaround from that day.

And for the players, led by captain Adam Baird from Golden Square, there was no mistaking their joy at finally getting their hands on the cup after the final quarter dragged on for more than 36 minutes — despite no major injuries and only six goals being scored for the term.

“I was pretty confident going into the game, we had a lot of guys really put their hand up. Even though Geelong normally have the bye I was a bit worried the Geelong boys didn’t play, but to a man they all played,” Frawley said, referring to the fact the Geelong league (as well as the Hampden and Bendigo leagues) had a home-and-away round this weekend.

Brian Molony Cup 2019

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The teams were tied at quarter time on three points apiece, a small win for the country team as VAFA had been kicking with the breeze.

But the Amateurs kicked three of the first four goals of in the first 15 minutes of the second term, before Vic Country stemmed the flow and kicked another three goals to take an 11-point lead into the main break.

Once again VAFA got the jump at the start of the third with five unanswered goals in 14 minutes, and it led by seven points at three-quarter time.

But Vic Country rallied once again, kicking five of the last six goals to take out the match.

St Albans’ Sam Michael was a star in the ruck and also kicked one of the two crucial goals in the third quarter against the wind, Kyabram’s Kayne Pettifer kicked two goals, and Frawley identified several country players — including Newtown and Chilwell’s Alex Cincotta, who played against former Essendon player Josh Green — as having “league aspirations and talent”.

“The Amateurs didn’t take it lying down, they came at us three times,” Frawley said.

“The first quarter, I thought, against the wind was good for us but that second quarter they kicked three goals against it and I thought this is going to be a tough game.

“The third quarter they came at us and the start of the last, but we seemed to finish the quarters full of run. Our midfield depth was probably the difference in the end.”