Above: The Eagles have landed and the Cranbourne players celebrate in their rooms.
by Mark Gullick
A BRAVE Narre Warren fell 21 points short of undefeated Cranbourne in the Casey Cardinia Football League grand final at Edwin Flack Reserve on Saturday.
It wasn’t until the final minutes that Cranbourne finally shook its dogged opponents after a moment of Justin Berry brilliance.
The star midfielder collected the ball and sliced it through the goals from the scoreboard pocket to finally extinguish Narre Warren’s hopes.
Minutes later, captain Marc Holt repeated the dose with a goal from a similar spot to send the Eagles’ supporters into rapture.
Earlier in the final term, an Aaron McIver goal gave Narre Warren the lead for the first time – and the darkness of last year’s straight sets finals exit loomed over Cranbourne.
But goals to Holt, Troy Datson with a sensational left-foot snap, and Matt Fletcher, settled the Eagles before Berry and Holt iced the win.
It was a nervy start to the match with eight minutes expired before the opening goal was scored by Berry with a long kick.
It took nearly as long for the next goal, again by Berry, sparking Cranbourne.
The Eagles kicked three more goals, while Narre Warren scored two with the wind to hold a 17-point lead.
Cranbourne kicked with the wind in the second term, but it was Narre Warren that landed the first blow with a goal to McIver.
Cranbourne kicked two goals, from Curtis Barker and a brilliant boundary snap by Ray George, but the Eagles didn’t fully capitalise on their advantage.
Despite having one less scoring shot, Narre Warren trailed by 21 points at half time.
To this point the Magpies had shared the honours in the midfield battle, but failed to find a winning forward.
Magpies star Nick Scanlon stepped up and tore the game open.
He kicked three goals, primarily from massive kicks beyond the 50 metre arc.
However, Cranbourne was able to kick crucial goals, with Holt goaling twice and Barker adding another major.
A late goal by Cole Harvey put the Magpies within four points at the final break. An early McIver goal gave Narre Warren the lead before Cranbourne kicked five straight goals en route to victory. It was a brilliant contest – Cranbourne’s class and determination shone through while Narre Warren refused to quit.
The Magpies were brilliant – they courageously battled away at Cranbourne all day, but couldn’t get over the line.
“I was proud of the way we went about it, just disappointed that we had more scoring shots, but still came up short,” Narre Warren coach Chris Toner said.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Cranbourne, they were obviously the best team all year. In real terms on the day, I think we controlled the game for two-and-a-half quarters.
In the first quarter we wasted opportunities. We said earlier in the year that we wanted another go at them and we were probably the only team that could have an impact, but we just fell short.”
Despite his tender years, Adam Giobbi led the Narre Warren defence with a plucky, skilful performance.
“He was magnificent, he played a fantastic game,” Toner said. “He just takes the game on and provides a lot of run. I don’t think we had a bad player. I think we all played quite well, but they were just too physically strong and probably a bit more experienced in the end.”
The Dandenong Stingrays’ player fought off a plethora of Cranbourne attacks, while also providing plenty of dash and rebound.
Nick Scanlon was superb, especially in the third term when his purple patch dragged the Magpies back into the match.
He kicked five goals before Brandon Osborne went to him and did a good job.
Josh Tonna was busy on his wing, Col McNamara worked hard in the midfield, Ben King was plucky across the half-back line and captain Michael Collins gathered many possessions.
