IT was a result 26 years in the making for the Whittlesea Football Netball Club as its long wait for a reserves premiership was put to the test on Saturday at Lalor Reserve.
After an electric home-and-away season which saw the Eagles and Diamond Creek separated by just percentage, and both teams scoring 17 wins out of 18, a second semi-final win to the Creekers seemed to give them a little edge.
However, Whittlesea was intent on ripping up the script.
It did so by scoring the first two goals in the opening 10 minutes of the game to give itself a handy buffer, with Luke Deards and Brent Toll using all their years of experience to get the Eagles into the game.
While Diamond Creek would find two majors to level things up, it was a positive start for Whittlesea, with scores tied 14-all at the first change.
Kane Johnson was intent on making his mark.
A dynamic midfield performance included the opening goal of the second quarter, with the Eagles increasing their lead, and despite falling behind in the latter stages of the term, a late goal to Max Dyson in response provided a major psychological boost as the Eagles took a 26-23 lead into the main break.
The first half of the third term was again goal-for-goal, but Whittlesea was still maintaining its lead. Harry Beattie was responsible for the Eagles’ first goal, but it wasn’t until the second half of the term that the game started to break open.
Again, it was Johnson at the forefront, scoring another goal to help give the Eagles a 19-point cushion at the final change.
Diamond Creek was always going to have a response, and it provided a great challenge for the Eagles with the opening two goals of the term.
However, Corey Avola, crucially, had a big response, and despite Diamond Creek again asking questions, the ball fell into the hands of Mitch Taplin, who kicked an enormous goal to seal the premiership for the Eagles – their first at reserves level since 1999, 9.8 (62) to 7.8 (50).
Johnson had an enormous performance and was a well-deserved recipient of the best-on-ground medal, but he also had plenty of mates. Cody Bunworth, Jordan Ormerod, Curtis Taplin, Dyson and Toll were also named in the best.
The reserves’ success eased the disappointment of Whittlesea’s two losses in grand finals throughout the weekend, with the under 19s unable to stop a strong North Heidelberg.
The Eagles did get off to a terrific start in the first 10 minutes, jumping to a 20-0 lead before one could blink. Caden Allen, Oscar Parkinson and Nick Whewell provided the goals.
However, North Heidelberg soon settled and kicked the last two goals of the term to get back into the contest, with Whittlesea leading 20-13 at the first change.
Harvey Hempenstall seemed to give the Eagles a buffer once again when he scored at the eight-minute mark to give them a 13-point lead.
But North Heidelberg had a knack of performing strongly as the quarter went on, and they kicked the final three goals of the term to move into the lead at the main break, 34-28.
The third quarter was a repeat of the previous two, with Whittlesea kicking the first two goals through Parkinson and Allen to level the scores.
North Heidelberg continued to push on, though, and it was a game-breaking 15-minute period which just about handed it the premiership, scoring the final four goals of the term to lead 66-40 at the final change.
Whittlesea desperately needed a response, but it just wasn’t forthcoming as reality started to sink in.
Instead, North Heidelberg finished full of running, kicking six goals to two to finish 16.9 (105) to 8.6 (54) winners.
Parkinson, Tullough Bland, Aaron Abbondio, Whewell, Chevy Gottwalt and Allen performed well in defeat for the Eagles.
There was also heartbreak for Whittlesea 2 in the division three netball competition on Friday night, going down to Kinglake in extra time.
The Eagles looked strong in the first and third terms in particular, and were well in the frame for a premiership, but a last-second miss from the Eagles meant the game would require more minutes to decide a winner.
It was here that Kinglake shot away, putting too much pressure on the Whittlesea midcourt, and eventually scoring a 44-40 victory.
