Jeff Hanson, Narrandera Argus
Saturday’s Riverina Football League (RFL) grand final at Narrandera Sportsground lived up to expectation, with the Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong (GGGM) Lions and Collingullie-Glenfield Park (CGP) Demons engaging in a low-scoring and finals-like slugfest.
In a game dictated by momentum swings, both sides had their chances, but the Lions kicked away to score three majors in the final quarter, setting up a 6.12 (48) to 4.7 (31) victory, giving the club their first premiership in 11 years.
The conditions were tough, and GGGM just held out CGP 1.3 (9) to 1.2 (8) after one quarter, while the Demons were in front at half time, leading 3.4 (22) to 2.5 (17).
After a close third term, where the Lions again led 3.7 (25) to 3.5 (23), it was anyone’s game for the taking but Ganmain proved too strong to the line, winning by 17 points.
Tom Sase kicked two majors for the Lions, and Daniel Foley, Kirk Mahon, Jacob Olsson, and Ben Walsh all kicked a goal apiece.
Matt Hamblin won the Hutchins Medal as best on ground in the decider, while the likes of Walsh, Sase, Mahon, Olsson, and Mitch Taylor all made valuable contributions.
Hamblin, who was a man of few words after the match, deflected any praise back onto his teammates, and was just happy to win a premiership with the Lions.
“I’m over the moon, but not so much about the accolade, but more so about the team thing. We’ve got the premiership, which is really good,” Hamblin said.
While CGP entered the match as the RFL Minor Premiers, GGGM were rated by many pundits as the team to beat, with pressure on the group to break an 11-year premiership drought.
Coach Sam Martyn was pleased to deliver Ganmain and the surrounding towns another title, but he stressed that the outside noise had little to do with their motivation to win.
“To be honest, you sort of block out the external noise,” Martyn said,
“It means a lot to the community, and I knew they would be riding every bump with us, but inside the four walls of the footy club, we just concentrated on the job we had at hand.”
Martyn understands the victory means a lot to the proud footballing communities that make the Lions who they are, and he was just happy to do his part on the day.
“It is just wonderful,” Martyn said.
“Everyone was streaming onto the field; I saw grown men crying, and it is just amazing how much joy you can bring to someone and I’m just so elated for the community that we could do that today (Saturday).
“I think it is testament to the board we have, the group of selectors and all those on the committee of the club. They just allow us to focus on footy and they do the rest for us.”
While not the biggest crowd in RFL history, Martyn said there was a good atmosphere in Narrandera on Saturday, with both sides well supported in the grand final.
“Today was absolutely outstanding,” Martyn said.
“It’s great to have finals footy back. (AFL Riverina) put on a fantastic day and they came out in their droves too. We really enjoy playing for both sets of spectators and the Ganmain faithful never let us down and they were phenomenal.”
There were three grand finals played at Narrandera on Saturday, and in reserves, Turvey Park enjoyed a strong 10.11 (71) to 7.13 (55) over Collingullie-Glenfield Park and in the under 17.5s, the Griffith Swans defeated the Turvey Park Bulldogs 11.7 (73) to 4.12 (36).
Readers can turn over to page 14 of Narrandera Argus, 22 September 2022, to read more about the Riverina League netball grand finals, including the Lions win in the under 17s decider.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 22 September 2022.
