Saints march in

By Paul Pickering
‘OH when the Saints, go marching in’…
The words echoed across Shepley Oval on Sunday morning as the embattled Dandenong Saints Junior Football Club broke a seven-year premiership drought.
The celebrations were prompted by the Saints’ resounding 49-point win over Hampton Park in the Dandenong District Junior Football League’s Under-15 Division 2 grand final.
Club president and under-15 coach Sean Cornell said it was a banner day for the club, which has battled to stay afloat as participation levels dwindle in the Dandenong region.
Cornell, who started coaching the nucleus of this season’s group five years ago at under-11 level, could barely contain his pride after Sunday’s result.
“The first two or three years they struggled to win a game,” he recalled.
“And last year they lost two games for the season and went out of the finals in straight sets, so the kids were devastated.
“This year they finished on top again and ended up winning it, so they were absolutely over the moon.”
Dandenong’s Tony Abakumoff was the star again on Saturday, adding a best-on-ground medal to the league best and fairest he won in a tied vote the previous weekend.
But individual achievements took a back seat on Sunday, and Cornell was keen to praise his multi-cultural group for their ability to gel together during the season.
The club fielded four teams in the DDJFL this season, which was a far cry from the Saints’ halcyon days of the 80s and 90s, but there seems to be better times ahead.
Cornell said the club was optimistic about the outcomes of recent crisis talks with the council and AFL Victoria.
“The whole vibe around the club has done a big 360 and everyone has started to look in the same direction now,” he said.
Meanwhile, cross-town rival Noble Park rallied around its Under-13 Blue side, which squared off against Narre Warren at Reid Oval in Doveton on Sunday.
It was a four-quarter arm wrestle in blustery conditions, with neither side able to impact the scoreboard when kicking against the wind.
Noble went into the last quarter two goals down, but could only manage five behinds with the breeze in the final term.
Despite the 10-point loss, coach Mark Evans was full of praise for his team, which won the last nine games of the regular season to finish on top of the ladder.
Like the Saints, Noble’s under-13 team resembled the United Nations.
“That was the really pleasing thing,” Evans said.
“We had such a broad range of backgrounds, so it was fantastic to see.”
Both Noble Park and Dandenong are already putting the call out for prospective 2010 players.
Inquiries can be made with Barbara Carlsson (Noble Park) on 0409 179 234 or Sharon Hobby (Dandenong Saints) on 0402 049 146.