One-point win secures Foster Grand Final ticket

By Rob Popplestone

THEY say a week is a long time in football, and the perception is no different in the MGFNL.

Just a week ago, Foster were the league’s minor premiers and favourites to go all the way, Yinnar, in contrast, had wobbled their way into a finals campaign.

Seven days on and the game started with the pressure on the Tigers to perform, a loss a week earlier to the famous Fish Creek, coupled with injuries to key players, had many wondering whether they could bounce back against a Magpies side that had sliced through a powerful MDU team like they weren’t even there. 

The start was crucial for both sides to set the tone. Foster outstanding early, a thirteen-point lead at quarter time, extended to a seemingly match-winning half-time margin of better than five goals.

The Tigers playing some of the best football of the season.

Yinnar couldn’t eat into that difference through the thirty minutes and all and sundry expected a Tiger cruise through to the final siren.

But… the Magpies dug deep, fought hard and against the odds almost snatched the impossible victory.

“Bloody hell – we fell over the line in the end,” Sam Davies, Foster coach stated.

“No bench for one and a half quarters meant it was proper backs to the wall, and momentum is so hard to stop when they got it. 

“We were really good I thought for three quarters and probably could’ve been up by more if we took our chances. 

“We just didn’t execute well in the last quarter – fatigue, pressure and a good team up and about is a recipe for disaster if you ask me. Anyway, we move on, and we are still alive with one to play.

Finals footy, hey!”

A slow start was a killer for Yinnar, the Magpies with the 

Tigers on the ropes late after being beaten convincingly for much of the game, the hurt of a one-point preliminary final loss intense.

“Shattered group. Very disappointing way to finish,” Sam McCulloch, Yinnar coach said.

“Foster came in with good plans; they got the jump on us, and we struggled to go with them early. Some indiscretions didn’t help our cause.

“The belief and heart the group showed to almost come from six goals down at three-quarter time and snatch victory was a credit to them. 

“But obviously very rare to win big games by only playing a half of footy and another learning curve for our group that will have to drive them in the off-season.”

The heartbreak for Yinnar provides an opportunity for Foster, who now moves forward to take on Fish Creek in the 2025 MGFNL Grand Final.

Their opponents, Fish Creek, are looking to rise to some rare air, the Kangaroos’ premiers of 2023 and 2024. Can they make it three premierships in a row, a feat only achieved on three prior occasions in the history of the competition: Newborough in 88,89 and 90; Yinnar in 69, 70 and 71; and Hazelwood in 51, 52 and 53.