By Jonty Ralphsmith
There was a sense all week that Cranbourne was underdogs against ladder-leaders Cheltenham.
It steeled the club and instilled a feeling that there was no other option, but to win.
With momentum starting to trend the Eagles’ way in the third quarter, coach Steve O’Brien delivered a rousing address which perpetuated and conveyed their authority on the contest.
He asked his side to believe and trust.
Believe in their skillsets, believe in the game plan, believe that they can emerge victorious.
That belief, that trust in each other, proved crucial in the tense final quarter.
Brandon Osborne has proven to the league, teammates, and himself, so many times before, that he is so trustworthy in defence and he had several crucial efforts in the final quarter.
A smother beyond the 20-minute mark denied the ball going into a relatively open Rosellas’ forward 50.
An Adrian Russo intercept mark late in the game was another desperate act to deny supply and territory to the Rosellas in a final quarter that did not tick over the 24-minute mark.
The confidence stemmed from the soul of the club, was voiced by the coach, enacted by the captain and olive-branched throughout the team in the final quarter.
Cheltenham’s defence might have been too good to pierce but the Eagles were good enough to keep the ball in their forward half.
O’Brien added: “38 weeks of footy has come down to 30 minutes.
“In 30 minutes our dream is becoming a reality.”
It may not have had the metaphoric undertone of other speeches on grand final day, but it was equally as effective.
The simplicity made it memorable.
He said it in such a rhythmic bellow it stuck in your head like a song, and was surely on some players’ minds as they executed defensive efforts.
Dozens, if not more, swarmed around to hear the final address of the year.
A neutral observer expected Cheltenham to keep coming in the final quarter, but a 17-game winning streak under their belts and a percentage of 198 is indicative of their dominance: they had little experience in tight tussles.
Even if the rain had subsided, it was a game built on territory.
Fatigue and a soggy footy lowered the skill level and scores were going to come from opportunism or a spillage and fortunate bounce of the footy.
Cheltenham had just one inside 50 in the last few minutes and it was rebounded immediately as the Eagles’ took heed to the coach’s message to back themselves, look for territory and be brave with their ball movement.
Although Marc Holt missed a set shot from 50 at the 18-minute mark, he got the ball thanks to a long, territory-seeking kick.
Minutes earlier, Holt ended up with it thanks to a courageous inside kick from Bailey Buntine and passed it off to Luke Bee-Hugo.
That was the sort of play, coupled with premiership-on-the-line pressure, which gave them decisive territory late in the game.
“They kept surging and defence has been a key for us all year and geez our boys held up well today, led by our captain (Osborne) who is just an incredible player,” O’Brien said.
When accepting the premiership cup, O’Brien said the squad mentality had helped drive the success.
In pre-season, seven important players – including reigning best and fairest Jarrod Barker – were grounded with long-term injuries, leading to discussion about seeking new recruits, but they stuck with their list.
“The leadership group said ‘nup, this is the squad we’ve got, this is the squad we will go with,” O’Brien recalled.
“They said, ‘Obie’, you and your coaches get to work to get the next wave up to speed and we’ve got plenty of time to do it.
“Even the reserves, their players came down once they were knocked out to give us the numbers to do the drills we needed to do to prepare for finals and do what we needed to do – that is a squad mentality.”
THE PREMIERSHIP QUARTER
Going into the grand final, Cheltenham had beaten Cranbourne in each of their three previous meetings throughout the season.
The heaviest of those defeats was by 70 points when the conditions were at their worst.
When reflecting on their home and away meetings throughout the season, in the lead in to second semi-final, O’Brien wrote that round 15 loss off as one that shouldn’t be over-analysed given it came in horrendous conditions during the form slump.
As it turns out, it was the form slump that was the most pertinent component of that loss.
With a downpour welcoming the teams onto RSEA Park at the start of the game, surely some people and players from either side had that meeting cross their mind.
Those conditions sustained throughout a cold Saturday afternoon, but Cranbourne stood up to it, separating itself from Cheltenham in the third quarter when the rain was most torrential.
Four goals to one in the third was where the game was ultimately won.
Kirk Dickson took a low sliding mark inside 50 and converted early in the second half just before the rain begun falling.
Soon after, Jake Carosella took a mark inside 50 and hit up Zak Roscoe in a better position to close the halftime 14-point margin to just two.
While Cheltenham immediately responded out of the centre to maintain a buffer, the Eagles were lifting the intensity, working harder and starting to get on top.
Nicholas Darbyshire and Holt kicked the other two goals as Cranbourne found the lead for the first time at three-quarter time.
Roscoe was competitive and stood up to the physicality and pressure that the Rosellas threw at him, winning the best-on-ground medal.
It came just two weeks after a hamstring injury against the same opponents in the second semi-final threatened to rule him out of the remainder of the finals series, and he particularly struggled after the preliminary final.
“He was under an injury cloud all week – last Saturday he was in the rooms in tears giving himself no chance to play and he found a way to get through and release the hamstring,” O’Brien revealed.
“To get the medal was a reward for all the hard work he has put in.”
Ryan Davey was unphased by the conditions, using his experience to help turn the tide in the second half, putting his head over the ball, giving Cranbourne first use and applying pressure.
Ruckman Michael Boland also had his moments in an intriguing contest with Cheltenham’s Daniel Rendell.
“They adapted better early and they’re a quality side,” O’Brien said as Cheltenham coach Des Ryan congratulated Cranbourne on the victory.
“Even in the wet conditions, they were still really clean and we were just pressure, pressure, pressure and late in the second quarter, I thought we started getting a couple of good looks.
“It was in the third quarter that it started to look more like our game – then we held on for dear life.”
The premiership quarter lived up to its billing.
SOUTHERN PREMIER DIVISION
DIVISION 1 GRAND FINAL
CHELTENHAM 1.0 5.5 6.6 6.8(44)
CRANBOURNE EAGLES 0.3 3.3 7.5 7.8(50)
Cheltenham Goals: J. Worrell 3, A. McComb, F. Ryan, W. McTaggart. Best: J. Worrell, D. Rendell, C. Blitsas, F. Ryan, D. Harrison, O. Moran.
Cranbourne Goals: M. Holt 3, K. Dickson, J. Carosella, Z. Roscoe, N. Darbyshire. Best: Z. Roscoe, B. Osborne, M. Holt, G. Osborne, R. Davey, M. Boland.
