Football
16 September, 2024
Southern Roos hop to back-to-back premierships
Harrow Balmoral are back-to-back Horsham District Football Netball League premiers after defeating Noradjuha Quantong by 13 points at North Park in Stawell on Saturday.
After winning the toss and kicking with the wind, disaster struck early, with Will Plush leaving the ground on a stretcher.
It took Harrow Balmoral a little time to adjust, and both teams were playing tough, contested football. When the Southern Roos found their gauge, Peter Staude kicked the opening goal. Nick Pekin then kicked two in five minutes, and the Southern Roos led by 22 points at quarter-time.
In the second quarter, the Bombers kicked the first goal through Jason Kerr, but the Southern Roos responded three minutes later through Cody Deutscher and then Rhys Daffey to extend the margin to a game-high 25 points.
Nick Pekin snapped his third out of a pack to bring the margin to 31 points. Alex Ross then kicked the next for the Bombers, and they trailed by 27 points during the main break.
The Bombers brought the heat after halftime, playing tough, contested football. The Southern Roos didn't kick a goal in a quarter for the first time in over three years, and both teams had their chances.
Declan Bushby kicked the quarter's only goal to the Bombers late in the piece, and the Bombers trailed by 22 points at the final break.
In the last quarter, Jai Thompson kicked the Southern Roos final goal early in the quarter. The Bombers stormed home in the final five minutes, with Damian Cameron and Connor O'Beirne kicking majors, but the Southern Roos lead was enough, as they ran out 7.10.52 to 5.9.39 winners.
Nick Pekin kicked three goals for the Southern Roos, earning him the best on the ground medal. Peter Staude, Matt Jones, Jai Thompson, Clinton Robinson and Josh Dawson were among the best for the Southern Roos.
Dylan Shelley was the Bombers' best, with Jayden Besford, James Hallett, Jack Vague, Dyson Parish, and Connor O'Beirne also among their best.
Southern Roos Coach Jai Thompson was ecstatic following the win.
"It's an unbelievable feeling, and I couldn't be more prouder of the boys," Thompson said.
"Noradjuha Quantong came to play, and the grand finals you want to win are tough ones over four quarters, but that's what it was.
"With your back against the wall, you see who stands up, and every one of the players today can give themselves a pat on the back. It's an unbelievable team to coach."
"Even the guys that missed out showed character to be able to play roles, such as running water or being part of the bench."
"We are a team within a team, and we are so proud to be part of the footy club, and I hope we show that on the field when we play."
"It's a family club. Whoever comes in seems to have so much love for each other, and we all have a good connection in how we play as we spend a lot of time together.
"It showed during the game how much we wanted it, and when the game was on the line, the boys were hunting tackles and doing the right things and winning games of footy."
When Will Plush went down, Thompson had to shuffle things around and made the move to put Matt Jones through the midfield. He said Jones stepped up and reminded the boys all game to do it for 'Plushy'.
"Plushy is within our top five players. He is a superstar, and you can't replace a Will Plush," Thompson said.
"To see him go down early made us make some changes, and Matt Jones did an unbelievable job.
"He did a good job to replicate it the best he could, and to his credit, he did well."
"The whole group had to stand up, and when you see a stalwart of the club go down, you put him on your back and say you are going to do it for him, and that's what we did."
"At quarter-time and during the game, I just reminded everyone that we weren't going to let him down as he would feel bad about not playing out the game and making sure we did it for him."
Thompson praised Nick Pekin for his work, not only on the day but ever since Jai moved to the club at the end of the 2022 season.
"Peko is a superstar, and I respect him very much. He has been invaluable to me as a coach coming into the club," Thompson said.
"Moving from midfield to forward is not an easy task this year, but he has done so well and is still one of the best in the league.
"He is so crafty, and defenders hate to play on him, and he stood up when he had to, and he did the right things and did a good job for us."
George Austin, Rhys Daffey, and Josh Grant, fresh out of the under-17s, all played well, and Jai is proud of them.
"They are a great bunch of kids, and I couldn't be prouder of them," Thompson said.
"I don't want to sound like a dad, but they just fit in so well, and they have done a good job to fit in and grow and learn.
"They are like sponges: They absorb everything you say to them, learn from it, and play how we want to, and you can't ask more from 18-year-old kids.
"They are the heart and soul of the club, and credit to them for fitting into an experienced team and playing their roles."
This is Harrow Balmoral's eighth premiership since their merger in 1996. They won in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024.