---- 2005 ----
MAGNIFICENT MURRABIT
Murrabit claimed the 2005 Golden Rivers Football League premiership with a disciplined, tactical 18 point win over Wandella at Kerang's Riverside Park.
Ahead all game, the Blues laid the foundation of the win with a first quarter charge, scoring five goals before Wandella could score their first. It would prove an insurmountable deficit as the match wore on.
In the lead up to the Grand Final, Blues' coach Tim Triplett said his team had to learn from their second semi-final defeat to the Bombers; they had to study the match-ups and make sure they stuck to their game plan.
Coaches say that kind of thing all the time, tossing home truths into the basket of football cliches. But this is what got the Blues over the line on Saturday - learning from their mistakes and doing it better.
It was an outstanding coaching effort from the Murrabit team, who made a major contribution to this victory before the players even hit the field. To their credit, the players stuck to the game plan without flinching.
"We planned hard coming into this game, not only about their players, but about our own players as well. We knew we had to get the match-ups right," Triplett said after the game.
"We knew Wandella couldn't change (their game plan) much so we thought we knew how to play them well. Full credit to our team - well done to our bench and our interchange coaches. We used our rotations at the right time."
But Wandella contributed to their demise on Saturday, over-using the ball and regularly turning it over at a crucial stage of an attacking move - often only a kick out from their goal.
The usually slick Bombers just did not look like themselves at times during the game. They struggled to maintain their focus and intensity, letting their position get loose and find space, which invariably proved costly.
Their attack lacked structure; they regularly sent long kicks to contested situations, and their disposal by hand and foot was not as sharp as we had come to expect.
Wandella repeatedly blunted their forward momentum through skill errors or misplaced kicks that landed uncontested - in the arms of a Murrabit defender.
Their cause was not helped by the fact that the Blues' defence was outstanding on Saturday, playing committed, accountable football and making their opposite numbers work hard for every touch.
Murrabit also dropped an extra man into defence for most of the game, often a mobile tall like Colin Magnussen or Triplett, a very effective tactic that Wandella needed to counteract, particularly after half-time when they had chances to stage a comeback.
The first quarter blitz set up the win for Murrabit, and the goals came from many boots - Darren Hawkins, Nathan Henry, Dean Anderson, and Triplett - a good sign for a team with such a dominant forward.
Although it shouldn't have, the pace and intensity took Wandella by surprise, but they lifted towards the end of the term, and scored a crucial goal late in the first quarter through coach Tony Bellenger.
Murrabit 5.3
Wandella 1.0
Trailing by 27 points as the second term got underway, the Bombers needed to reverse the flow of the game.
To their credit, Wandella found another gear and began to work harder, increasing the pressure on their opposition and clawing their way back into contention.
Goals to Nathan Johns and Matt Chamberlain, who was beginning to find more of the ball, kept the momentum the balance for most of the term.
But Murrabit managed to kick two goals themselves through Hope and VCFL Medallion winner Simon Morton - from a costly free kick - to maintain their lead at just over three goals at half-time.
Murrabit 7.5
Wandella 4.4
Wandella needed to come out of the half-time break at a sprint and that is exactly what they did.
A snap goal from Greg Dickson - who was hardly sighted in the first half - after a minute and another from Jason Greenwood a few minutes later ignited the Wandella faithful and brought their team to within seven points of their rivals.
But this was as close as they would get.
Murrabit responded by increasing the pressure on the ball and the game became an arm-wrestle for several minutes, neither team able to score.
Hawkins broke the deadlock at the 15-minute mark with a crucial contested mark and goal that put the brakes on the Wandella charge.
Errors and indecision crept back into the Bombers' game, a problem which would plague them for the remainder of the game.
Despite desperate defensive clearances by Wandella's Ryan Lancaster and Ben Doyle, and close checking from Stuart Keating on Henry, Murrabit continued to drive the ball into attack and were rewarded with three goals in the final five minutes of the term.
At the three-quarter time siren, the margin had blown out to 30 points and the Bombers suddenly had a lot more work to do to find a way back into the match.
Murrabit 11.6
Wandella 6.6
Wandella gave it everything in the final term, and despite narrowing the margin, they could not close the gap.
Darren Hawkins hit the ground hard after a clash of bodies and left the field with a suspected broken collarbone.
Another goal to Bellenger after 12 minutes gave the bombers some hope but their next major did not come until their 19 minute mark, leaving them for goals behind with ten minutes to play.
Murrabit again tightened the screws and forced the game into lockdown. Their defenders - Josh Bray, Daniel Nethercote, David Millard, Cameron Coulter and Shane Hutchins who was outstanding all day - once again rose to the challenge.
Time ticked away and the result became inevitable, the final siren sending the Murrabit players into rapture as the Wandella coterie slumped in defeat. Speaking after the game, coach Bellenger said the on-ball battle was decisive, and the early stages of the game were crucial.
"Our first quarter let us down big time," he said. "We had our chances I suppose but it just got away. They were just too good on the day."
Triplett also agreed that his players' effort in the first term had been vital.
"We knew if we got off to a good start, we could hold out. We had a few muscular injuries coming into the game but we were quietly confident," he said.
"The players had the will to finish the job. We all had a go. We didn't have any weak links today."
Murrabit 5-3 7-5 11-6 12-7 (79)
Wandella 1-0 4-4 6-6 9-7 (61)
BEST
MURRABIT: Simon Morton (VCFL Medallion), Shane Hutchins, Brad Hein, Chris Murray, Tim Triplett, Colin Magnussen
WANDELLA: Peter Morris, Nathan Johns, Paul Meehan, Tony Bellenger Matt Chamberlain, Tim Robinson, Ryan Lancaster
GOALS
MURRABIT: Dean Anderson 3, Nathan Henry, Darren Hawkins, Brad Hein 2, Anthony Hope, Tim Triplett, Simon Morton
WANDELLA: Nathan Johns 3, Tony Bellenger 2, Matt Chamberlain, Greg Dickson, Jason Greenwood, Shaun McKenzie
