Bacchus Marsh, unable to repeat the heroics of last season, fell short in the Ballarat Football League grand final.
Looking for a second straight premiership, the Cobras were clearly outplayed by arch rival Darley, going down 14.13 (97)-6.11 (47).
Cobras coach Travis Hodgson said it was a case of being beaten by the better team on the day.
“Credit to Darley,” he said. “Over the course of the day, they were the better side and the scoreboard reflects that.”
Hodgson said the Darley defence had stood up at the right time of year.
“We kicked three goals against them at Darley Park two weeks ago and today we’ve got six,” he said. “Nine goals in two games doesn’t cut it.”
The Cobras kicked one goal in the first half of the grand final – in the dying minutes of the second quarter. Despite that, they were just 22 points down as both sides struggled in extremely windy conditions.
The Cobras threw everything at the Devils in the third quarter, but weren’t able to convert on the scoreboard.
When Dean Heta was sent from the field after getting a yellow card for going on with a scuffle with Abraham Kur, the Cobras’ task was made a lot harder.
Hodgson said they were left to rue that period of time.
“I thought we threw everything we had at them in the third quarter,” he said.
“I’m proud of our efforts there and I think we created a lot of opportunities. We didn’t take them and, obviously, being a man down when Dean got sent off it didn’t help our cause.”
The Cobras lost the fourth quarter by a single point, but that effort was too little too late.
The Cobras had only single goal kickers, with no forward able to exert influence.
Jackson Bolton, Matt Denham and Logan Blundell were name the Cobras’ best.
Despite the obvious disappointment, Hodgson said backing up and making a second straight grand final reflected where the club was at.
“It takes a fairly strong effort to get back here again,” he said. “A lot of sides, like the Bulldogs, for example, have hand-overs and don’t back it up. The effort was there, but we came up short in a few areas.”
The Cobras had a tough day all round, with their reserves also suffering grand final heartache at the hands of the Devils.
After leading well into the fourth quarter, the Cobras were over-run to lose 8.13 (61)-7.5 (47).
“It sets strong foundations and a solid platform to launch 2018,” Hodgson said of the Cobras’ overall season.
