By Justin Flynn
Torquay dug deep when it mattered most to win the Bellarine Football League grand final against a gallant Drysdale at Grinter Reserve, Newcomb today.
The Tigers were red hot favourites going into the clash, but Drysdale wasn’t having any of it.
The Hawks started the better of the two sides and would keep that momentum going right up until the final 10 minutes of the match.
Torquay led by just 12 points halfway through the last term and finished strongly to win 16.14(110) to 12.6(78).
The final scores didn’t really reflect the competitiveness of the game.
Drysdale was up for the challenge, but you have to play four full quarters to wear down this champion Torquay side.
Nathan Mifsud was arguably the difference. He booted six goals in a superb display of both opportunism and sheer class.
Star spearhead Lucas Anderson also kicked six for the Tigers while midfielder Baxter Mensch started brilliantly and finished just as strongly to be the most influential onballer on the ground.
For Drysdale, Jake Hargreaves proved he is a finals star with four goals after booting four in the prelim while ruckman Matthew Piggott, Tom Ruggles (two goals and several strong marks) and star midfielder Ben Fennell (three goals) always looked likely to guide their side over the line.
But it was Torquay which proved to be the dominant side throughout the season and in its two finals games to be deserved 2023 premiers.
