By Justin Flynn
Grovedale’s landmark Division 1 premiership has been years in the making according to co-coach Taylah Hassett.
The Tigers ended Geelong Amateur’s hope of an AFL Barwon Epworth Division 1 threepeat with an eight-point win on Sunday August 25 at Lara.
“I don’t think that this is a one-season kind of success for us,” Hassett said.
“This is what we’ve been building for a few years and I think when that final siren went, it kind of just all hit that we’d actually achieved what we’ve been working so hard for for a long time.
“It was just so exciting. I think we have a really, really special group of girls in that Division One side, but also to have all those girls that have played in our Division Three side this year and then players that aren’t playing anymore all in the rooms at the end and have everybody that’s had an impact on this group supporting us and be able to celebrate that win, it was obviously so much bigger than just the 20 girls that got to take the field.”
In windy and warm conditions, Grovedale led at every change, but with the low-scoring nature of the game, it meant Ammos were never out of it. Grovedale eventually prevailed 2.8(20) to 1.6(12).
“We spoke about that we didn’t want to let the conditions be an excuse because we’ve obviously had all sorts of conditions this season and you never know what you’re gonna get,” Hassett said.
“But the wind obviously makes it really hard. And with it going straight across the ground, there was only so much you can do and take your opportunities when they come.”
The Tigers’ players made sure they celebrated, but it won’t take long for the planning to begin for potential back-to-back flags.
“We’ll obviously be celebrating, but knowing the girls that we’ve got in our group, I have no doubt that they’ll already be thinking about what comes next season,” Hassett said.
“I know that they’ll be super keen to get straight back to work because that’s the kind of group that we’ve got at Grovey and the kind of people they are. They’ll enjoy it, but they’re also a very determined group of people, so I’m sure that they’ll be keen to get straight back to work as well.”
DIVISION 1
Grovedale 2.8(20) def Geelong Amateur 1.6(12)
Goals: Grovedale – Chloe Leonard, Aliesha McLean. Geelong Amateur – Daisy Wilson.
Best: Grovedale – Taylah Hassett, Emily Worpel, Lauren French, Madeleine Rentsch, Janessa FitzGerald. Geelong Amateur – not supplied.
