South Morang have won their first ever MC Labour Division 2 premiership in club history, outlasting Diamond Creek in a dramatic six-point triumph at Preston City Oval.
Despite a contest filled with everchanging conditions, the final game of the 2024 Division 2 campaign lived up to the hype, and saw great moments of individualism from players of both sides.
A four-goal burst in time on during the third term saw the Lions lead by 31 points at three quarter time, and after booting the opening major of the last quarter, South Morang looked well on their way to securing a comfortable premiership triumph.
But the Creekers slowly reduced the deficit throughout the final term, kicking the final five goals of the match to suddenly reduce the margin to under a goal, before the Lions held their nerve in the closing moments to prevail 10.5 (65) to 8.11 (59).
With the final siren sparking pandemonium for fans at Preston City Oval, South Morang confirmed their place in the top flight for the first time since 1980.
They did so by creating their status as ‘Kings of the close finish’, having won all three of their finals matches in 2024 by single digits.
Nathan Stefanile put in a brilliant performance on the big stage, with his dominance in the ruck and even at ground level, proving pivotal to his side’s premiership success. He earnt a second Division 2 premiership medallion, his first in Lions colours, as well as the best on ground medallion for his efforts on Saturday.
Joshua D’Intinosante was just as impressive, and kicked four goals, three of them in the first half, to set the tone for South Morang. He ends his finals series with 12 majors in just three games.
Lions captain Tye Hall had some inspirational moments and kicked two crucial goals in the third term, while brother Kain was a consistent contributor across all four quarters. The pair are two of nine members of the senior squad who are now dual senior premiership players at the club.
Ben Major finished as the Creekers best, with his two last quarter goals seeing him be one of three multiple goalkickers for his side in the defeat.
Northern Knights listed player Jett McLaughlan was lively and always involved in the action, while Robby Noble played multiple roles around the ground and was serviceable.
Diamond Creek have now gone down in their last three Division 2 Grand Finals and have fell short in back-to-back deciders.
Despite a heavy wind favouring the Market End of the ground in the lead up to the start of the game, the Creekers won the toss and opted to kick to the City End.
Liam Jolly would kick off a hard-fought first term at the five-minute mark, creating something out of nothing in the ruck to slot the opening goal in just his sixth senior game of the season.
With the Lions having all the early running, they would soon find a second through D’Intinosante and build a 13-point lead, however the Creekers were the better of the two sides later in the term, and were rewarded through a Tom Baird goal to help create a seven-point gap at quarter time.
With the wind to their advantage, Andrew Tranquilli’s men were eager to capitalise in the second term and looked to do so early with Ryan Pingree marking and goaling just three minutes into the quarter.
But the term would be another hard-fought slog in wet conditions, with neither side able to gain any great ascendancy.
Bailey Brown and Jett McLaughlan would exchange goals courtesy of free kicks to see the scores level at the eight-minute mark, before Diamond Creek made another attempt to get on top of the contest, however they could only manage behinds from their flurry of inside 50 entries and would finish the term with 2.7.
D’Intinosante would make the Creekers pay, first against the run of play at the 12-minute mark, before he would boot his third of the game just moments before half time, when he pounced on a loose ball and snapped truly from congestion to set up a six-point half time lead for his side.
After some more rain in the initial stages of the third term, skies would break open with sunshine, lining up with game also opening up.
With neither side having registered a goal inside the first 20 minutes of the third quarter, South Morang would turn the game on its head with a scintillating five-minute burst.
Kain Hall would be the first to fire, scoring from long range to stretch the margin out to double digits for the first time since the opening stages of the first quarter, before Adam De Propertis then snapped through a brilliant goal barely two minutes later.
Tye Hall would then join in on the action, with a move to the forward line after a quiet opening half paying dividends as he kicked back-to-back majors. The skipper’s moments of excellence helped establish what looked to be a game-winning 31-point lead at three quarter time for Gary Hall’s side.
The result looked all but certain when D’Intinosante ran into the open goal and nailed his fourth major of the Grand Final just minutes into the last term, cueing some big celebrations from the Lions faithful.
But South Morang would have to encounter a surge from Diamond Creek thereafter, as Andrew Tranquilli’s men were careful with possession and lethal on transition to kick three goals in 12 minutes and trim the margin to just 19 points, instilling some belief into the side.
Having played a big role in wrestling momentum for his team late into the quarter, Barnes would get the Creekers to within two kicks following a clever snap from the pocket.
Then at the 29-minute mark, Major would mark just inside 50, and from outside the arc, would sail home the long-range set shot in between the big sticks to suddenly make it a five-point ball game.
Just moments remained at the next restart, but it was the Lions who won an important clearance and held their nerve to keep the ball in their forward half in the last minute of the contest to finish the decider as six-point winners, capping off one of the most memorable Grand Finals in recent NFNL history.
