Old Paradians are the 2024 Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 premiers, after holding off the Fitzroy Stars in a high scoring Grand Final to win by 15 points at Lalor Reserve.
After a seesawing first half with multiple lead changes, the Raiders hit the front at the 12-minute mark of the third term and were never again headed in the entertaining 17.8 (110) to 13.17 (95) result, which produced the highest combined scores in a Division 3 final since 2015.
“Extremely proud of what we achieved this year. We’ve all been on a journey together and we’re excited for what the future looks like,” Old Paradians coach Ben Turner said, who has now won his second NFNL premiership as a head coach.
Turner made mention of several players after the game. Jack Nicolo was praised for his great defensive work which included some vital intercept marks, while Will Gilmore also got a tick for his work in defence.
Forward Lachie Kerr, who won the best on ground medal for his four goals, was noted as their best forward, while the engine room players in Kyle O’Sullivan, Joel Tolli and captain Marcus Nolan also pleased the coach.
It was a disappointing end to the season for Stars whose previous loss prior to Saturday was way back in Round 9.
Star forward Patrick Farrant can certainly hold his head up high however, after booting eight of his team’s 13 goals and nearly winning the game off his own boot. He was enormous both in the air and on the ground and only inaccuracy prevented the Collingwood VFL listed forward from producing a double-digit goal tally.
By replicating his second semi-final effort a fortnight ago, Farrant kicked the most goals by a player in an NFNL Grand Final from a losing side since Shane Harvey in 2012 Division 2 decider.
League best and fairest contenders in Jai Burns and Kain Proctor had solid contributions throughout the game, while Allan Norris would finish as his side’s best, producing some great work around the ground.
Alex Williamson was their best small forward, while Neville Jetta’s class stood out across half-back. James Trajkovski and Rivva Karpany both impressed.
While the wind was a factor, both teams played well when going against it. The Stars were productive early and had the first two majors into the breeze, before the Raiders responded with the next two, but then the Stars booted three of the next four goals to lead by 11 points late in the quarter.
By that time, Patrick Farrant had already slotted four goals and was proving to be a handful for the opposition.
However, late majors to Tom Cooper, Lachie Kerr and Michael Boundy gave Old Paradians a slim four-point lead at the first break. Given the use of the breeze, it didn’t seem like enough, as the Stars had done a good job into the wind of getting the ball from heavy traffic to a free player on the outside, which created space inside forward 50 when attacking.
When Lionel Proctor’s men had the breeze, Farrant was again in the action and added another two goals to have six for the half, but he also kicked several behinds, while his fellow forwards too failing to find the big sticks.
It led to a wasteful 3.5 with the breeze leading up to half time, although Farrant did produce the ‘point of the year’ when he grabbed the ball near fifty on the boundary, dodged a couple of players, sold some candy and fired at goal from wide out. Sadly, for the Stars fans, his shot missed.
Adding to the problems for the Stars was poor discipline, which helped Old Paradians kick two goals into the breeze to stay in touch at the main break with a deficit of just four points.
The Raiders were looking to make full use of their last chance with the wind after half time, and were not helped when star ruckman Sam Gilmore was unable to take the field in the action-packed third term, which produced ten goals.
The industrious Tom Cooper put Old Paradians in front early when marking an errant kick-out.
After a lull period, Farrant kicked his seventh to restore the lead for the Stars. But the Raiders dominated the next 15-minutes and surged to a 26-point lead.
Raman Winmar then stepped up for the Stars late in the term to kick the goal of the day from the boundary, which led to his side trailing by 20 points at the last break.
Fitzroy Stars coach Lionel Proctor urged his players to trust the process, trust the plan and trust each other. He also mentioned that the Raiders were likely to put a few behind the ball and the players needed to lower their eyes when going forward.
Old Paradians fans were glad to see Sam Gilmore back on the ground for the final stanza. He managed the first goal came when receiving a free in the goal square for the easiest of conversions to blow the lead out to a dangerous 25 points.
Classy midfielder Jai Burns, who had been terrific in the third term, kicked a goal on the run to kick-start the term for the Stars, and when Farrant slotted his eighth soon after, the deficit had been reduced to 12 points with plenty of time remaining on the clock.
Michael Boundy then stepped up for the Raiders to take a strong grab and boot his third for the day at the 16-minute mark to put his team 19 points to the good. Remarkably, it was to be the final major for the day, as despite the Stars attacking relentlessly late in the contest, they could only manage four behinds.
It was a similar story to the second term, with a return of 2.7 this time with the wind. As well as that score line, the Stars players coming through the midfield also kicked poorly into forward 50 late in the game with Blair Healy taking several easy intercept marks.
The Stars’ nine game winning streak would come to an end, but more importantly, the final siren would signal joyous scenes for Old Paradians fans, who completed the perfect inaugural season in the NFNL and win the club’s first senior men’s premiership in any competition for nine years.
