Roo’s secure thirty-seventh premiership

By Rob Popplestone

SO MUCH was expected of the 2023 Grand Final between Newborough and Fish Creek, both sides with impressive performances leading into the Big Dance.

The Bulldogs had been unbeaten, but the Kangaroos had got within a kick just a fortnight prior.

The weather was near perfect, the ground excellent, but for Newborough that’s unfortunately where it stopped, the premiership favourites not able to get themselves in the game at any time.

Craig Skinner, Newborough coach noting, “beaten, I know it was only four goals in the end, but we were beaten from the start, almost through to the end. It didn’t really seem like we were in it at any stage.”

The Kangaroos jumped out of the blocks courtesy of a two maybe three goal breeze, inaccuracy in some ways keeping the Bulldogs in the game.

Newborough stopped the bleeding by half time but didn’t bridge the seventeen-point gap.

There was reason for concern, but it was not yet a crisis.

“Newborough have been the benchmark, and it was probably not a bad place for us to be coming into the game as underdogs,” Fish Creek coach, Jarrod Walker said.

“With Newborough coming into the game undefeated, there was a bit of pressure on them, and they are going to be a strong team for a long time to come, but it wasn’t to be their game today.”

The third quarter was when the Kangaroos put some space between themselves and the Bulldogs, a thirty-six point margin was always going to be a bridge too far with just twenty-five minutes of football remaining.

“Look I’ll be honest, I’m starting to get sick of this feeling,” Coach Skinner added.

“It’s not what we play footy for, but I’ve got a very good group of footballers and outside of footy they are really good people. The whole thing is that you gotta keep turning up and doing your best and that’s what we have done.”

Newborough’s best was not good enough on the weekend. Every door they opened was quickly closed, but that didn’t stop them trying to break the door down, their last quarter, their best as they cut the margin but still fell short by just over four goals.

“When we play our best footy, we have the full twenty-one. Definitely today we had a few stand out as well – McGannon, Jack Hayes down back, a few dangerous forwards, Blaine Coates through the midfield as well, but the whole team did very well,” Coach Walker stated.

Fish Creek maintain their title as the most successful team in regional Victoria, their 2023 premiership, their thirty seventh, keeping them at the top of all clubs in country Victoria.

“I think just our physical game that we started to play through the season, through pre-season we worked on being fit and being competitive, you know we’ve got some skilful players, but we base our game on that pressure, and it really pays dividends in the end,” Walker concluded.

Season 2023 has been quite possibly one of the more competitive years in the MGFNL’s long and respected history, and Fish Creek have proved themselves worthy premiers rising above the pack of talented teams.