By Marcus Uhe
When the final siren rung on the Outer East premier division grand final on Saturday afternoon there was only one question on everyone’s mind.
Who let the dogs out?
The iconic Baha Men tune may be 23-years-old, but it served as the perfect soundtrack as a river of Wandin fans decked out in red white and blue stormed the Officer Recreation Reserve.
They converged to revel with Wandin Football Netball Club’s senior footballers, who had just claimed the ninth senior premiership in the club’s history.
Outside of the person responsible for releasing the canines, every question thrown at Nick Adam’s side had been comprehensively answered in the 63-point thrashing, dethroning the mighty Narre Warren Magpies in the process after years of dominance.
The final score – 21.15 141 to 11.12 78 – left no doubt in the mind as to who the premier side was on the day, and who deserved to walk away with souvenirs from their visit to Starling Road.
When the Magpies charged, the Bulldogs held firm, and finally took their chances in front of goal, which had been an Achilles heel, in their first taste of success since 2018.
Momentum swung violently in the first quarter that ended with a slight Wandin lead, who threw the all-important first punch with the opening two goals in a red-hot start.
Clint Johnson and Patrick Hodgett landed the initial blows as Narre Warren started slow after its week off, but hit back quickly with the next four in 10 minutes.
It felt like Wandin had to strike early, but inaccuracy looked like it could come back to bite them once again.
A dominant first 10 minutes was eviscerated by the Magpies who hit their stride midway through the quarter, wearing the body blows, while landing some fierce jabs of their own.
Tom Miller and Corey Bader got their sides going with two in quick succession as Wandin began to waver.
An uncharacteristic turnover from Joel Garner in the middle of the park resulted in Harrison Brain gathering and goaling in traffic, before Tom Toner made up for a pair of misses to start the game by converting a set shot.
Narre Warren looked set to take a slight lead into the first break, but goals in red time to Aaron Mullett and Daniel Hirst edged the Bulldogs ahead.
The crowd drew a collective breath when the siren sounded after an absorbing half-hour that only served to whet the appetite for more action.
A rapid first quarter gave way to a much slower and controlled second, as both sides adjusted to the physicality of the occasion.
The first four goals of the quarter were traded, Brodie Atkins’ snap under pressure at ground level a highlight for the Bulldogs after absorbing pressure for long stretches.
To this point in the contest, the curly brown hair of Will Howe was yet to be sighted, but as great players do, he willed himself into the contest with the next two majors in the space of three minutes.
In a similar feat to last year’s decider on a remarkable day at Gembrook, his double in quick succession looked set to propel the Magpies to the ascendancy.
They led by a point, but with the fatigue set to influence the contest the longer the day continued, there was a sense the Magpies were about to strike.
The next 10 minutes, however, arguably secured the premiership for Wandin with an unstoppable display of class, precision and power.
The Bulldogs took the ball the length of the field after a Magpie miss for Mullett to kick his second, before Hodgett was on the receiving end of two 25-metre penalties to advance him to the goal line.
A resting Joel Garner goaled from the next centre clearance, Hodgett added another, and the over-zealous checking of Mullett at a boundary throw-in saw him kick number four.
In the blink of an eye, Wandin had snatched all the available momentum, a sucker-punch to the gut of the defending champions.
Jogging off like a military brigade at the half, flew in the face of their opponents, left shocked, stunned and in unfamiliar territory facing a half-time deficit for just the second time in 2023.
The Magpies needed to make the running early in the second half, but the speed of Connor Smith was overwhelming the Magpies in the middle.
A nine-minute stalemate was broken by a sumptuous Joel Garner goal on the run, the midfielders chaining with hands at a half-forward stoppage before the star midfielder kicked truly from the boundary line on the run to leave everyone in attendance with their jaws on the floor.
When Cody Hirst kicked the next, the margin was suddenly 44 points, thanks to seven consecutive majors from Wandin boots.
Howe responded with his third goal to snap the run, the first Narre Warren major in nearly half an hour.
He laid a big tackle on Harrison Van Duuren at half back minutes later, looking to single-handedly will his side back into the contest.
His goal sparked a promising few minutes for his side, winning the territory battle as Wandin began to tire and put numbers behind the ball to counter the charge.
Kicks from the normally laser-like boots were drifting out on the full while the run from earlier in the afternoon was evidently absent.
Goals to Peter Gentile and Riley Siwes made it three on the bounce for the Magpies and cut the lead to just 23 points, as the sense of a Narre Warren storm begun to brew overhead.
But Hodgett steadied the Wandin ship to ensure a 29-point lead at the final break.
It left a simple enough equation on both sides: half an hour to hold on for Wandin, half an hour to further enshrine the legacy of the current squad for Narre Warren.
Like he did in the third quarter, Smith exploded from the contest at the first centre bounce, but this time he kicked truly in what was the perfect start, a major in the first 13 seconds.
Mitch Tonna responded shortly after to cut the lead back to 27, as the Magpies mounted a final charge.
Howe marked on the lead but, with time ticking away, he quickly snapped, falling short of the goal-line.
It was marked by Jesse Davies, who from a tight angle, played on and hit the post.
From there, it was all Wandin, as the celebrations began early.
Jordan Jaworski, Mullett, Hodgett and Johnson all goaled as the minutes ticked away as players shared the footy between one-another, embracing the glorious Spring afternoon that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
The Wandin army of supporters, defeated A-Grade netballers, partners, families, reserves and more, estimated to make up 3000 people, quickly flooded the playing field to celebrate the club’s first premiership since 2018.
Everything the Magpies threw at them, they had answer.
Going the long way with two extra finals to play? No worries.
They embraced it, and felt better for the challenge.
Not only did the Bulldogs take them to task at home back in round two to set the scene for a mouth-watering series of clashes for the remainder of the season, but the semi-final loss by three points seemed to only strengthen their belief.
Cody Hirst was awarded best on ground, while Mullett finished with six goals and Hodgett five.
Jaworski and Mullett proved to be the perfect additions to the playing squad that fell just short in 2022, supported by a number of senior heads in the back six in John Ladner, Thomas Hinds and Chayce Black, and an exquisite midfield that oozed quality at every opportunity.
For the Magpies, an early injury to Lachlan Benson forced Jake Richardson into the middle of the ground, and with it a loss in structure ahead of the ball.
Howe and Bader were the only multiple goalkickers for the Magpies, with Cameron Miller, Brad Scalzo, Travis Callahan and Peter Gentile among their top contributors.
With just one loss for the season before the grand final, it will ultimately be viewed as a missed opportunity for those in black and white, after a season littered with success, in the form of Tom Miller’s Shane Smith Medal and Will Howe’s leading goal-kicker award.
While they were unable to finish Shane Dwyer’s coaching tenure with the win they so desperately wanted, the man they call “Grubbo” walks away from the job with a senior flag in 2022 to show for his wonderful service in the coaches box.
