Above: The inner sanctum … Sean Millane gives the Parkmore Pirates some final words of advice before taking the field in the Division Three grand final against North Kew.
By Glen Atwell
‘YOU little beauty.’
That was the victory cry of Parkmore Pirate veteran Danny Casset after his seven-goal haul inspired a 76-point thumping of North Kew in the Southern Football League (SFL) Division-three grand final.
Ben Kavanagh Reserve, in Mordialloc, was awash with Pirate supporters on Saturday, all keen to witness the most unlikely football fairytale.
From winless to premiers in just 12 months, the Pirates are the first team in SFL history to achieve such a remarkable feat.
But it was not all smooth sailing.
The Bears’ relentless run and attack on the ball was faultless for most of the first half and seemed to catch the Pirates by surprise.
And when Parkmore star Andrew McArthur was shown the red card for making deliberate contact with Bear Bradley Wood, holes in the once unsinkable Pirate ship were beginning to show.
After leading by 13 points at quarter-time, Parkmore’s lead had been whittled to just four by the main break.
With high hopes and expectations weighing down on the playing group, assistant coach Gary Connolly said the mood was uneasy.
“It was definitely tense at half-time,” he said.
“But the coaching staff didn’t want to convey that to the players, so we focused on the positives.”
That approach worked, as Parkmore returned to the field with precision and poise.
Casset kicked the first two goals and spurred on the Pirates to victory as they booted eight goals to the Bears’ one in the third term.
Damien Armansin starred on the half-back flank, creating run and attack as he cut-through the North Kew midfield.
Sean Millane, who was sent off for 15-minutes during the third quarter, returned to the field and dominated the game before succumbing to a hamstring injury.
Pocket-rocket Pirate Jayde Handfield was also prominent.
A Kevin McLean goal from the boundary line late in the third quarter sealed the game and the Parkmore bench let out a collective sigh of relief.
With the sting zapped from the game, the Pirates extended the 48-point three-quarter-time lead and ran out convincing winners.
Wild scenes of celebration followed; the dare-to-dream Pirates had finally conquered the turbulent seas of division three, while North Kew was left to accept back-to-back runners-up condolences.
Armansin received the medal for best on ground.
