It seemed somewhat fitting that Diggers Rest’s premiership drought came to an end in dramatic circumstances.
The Burras had lost the past three Riddell District Football League grand finals and been a perennial runner-up for a decade.
The club’s only senior premiership was 1993 when the league still had two divisions and the Burras won division 2.
Going into Sunday’s grand final, the Burras had as good a chance as any of their predecessors to make history.
They were clearly the best side all year, but it counted for little as Riddell pushed them all the way. At the final siren, scores were level, meaning the game was going to extra time.
The Bombers’ Cameron Casson scored the only goal in the first five minutes of extra time to lead by seven points at the change of ends. Burras’ Brent Tuckey responded soon into the second period.
The Burras needed a hero and they found him in Jason Williams. Williams got free in the forward 50 and kicked truly to put them five points in front. A final point sealed the 12.14 (86)-12.8 (80) result.
Burras’ coach Shaun Sims, who earlier on Sunday had played in the Burras’ reserves premiership, was in shock after the game.
“To win two premierships in the one day is very unlikely … it’s a really good thing for the club.
“We played some good footy and some poor footy, but we hung in, fought back and ended up winning.
“If you want to win a grand final … that’s one way to do it.”
There were moments when the Burras thought they might fall short again.
Early on, they couldn’t convert in front of goal, allowing the more accurate Bombers to stay in touch.
“Riddell were fantastic,” Sims said.
“We probably hurt ourselves with kicking at the start. It was seven shots to their six at quarter-time when we’d had the wind. We just couldn’t kick goals and put pressure on them.
“That was the key, to put scoreboard pressure on, and we just never got it.”
The Bombers looked the better team at three-quarter time. The Burras started a man down in the last quarter after Mick Kilty was sent from the field following a scuffle but despite having 17 players for the 15-minute send-off, they held on, each team scoring a goal before Kilty returned to become the game saver.
“Any sort of game when you go 15 minutes a player down, it’s extremely hard. Clubs are so good at using the spare,” Sims said. “He came back on, kicked two goals and the rest will be history. He stood up when it counted. He did the wrong thing, but you forget that when you win.”
Taylor Hine was awarded the Doug McIntyre Medal as best on ground, while Cameron McCabe won the AFL Victoria Medal.
Sims said while the recruitment of former AFL players Hine and Cale Morton had got a lot of publicity, it was the younger players’ development that had taken them to the next level.
“People say we’ve gone on a recruiting spree, but we lost five players and brought in two.
“Josh Wallace, BJ Kilty, Andrew Tyquin and Mark Freeth have all been in our system for three or four years now. Andrew was among the best players in the first two finals. That’s where our improvement has come.
“Cale and Taylor came on top of that and played to their strengths.”
Sims said the win wasn’t just for the players but the club itself. “We’re a club for netballers and footballers, and everyone I’ve spoken to feels like they’re part of it. This was a great way to go out. You could hear our crowd and the supporters.
“Some of our guys have played in five losing grand finals. Now they get this, and most of that other stuff is forgotten. To our guys’ credit, they stuck with it. Everyone wants us to lose, but now we can enjoy being the best team in the RDFL for six months.”
