By Nick Creely
Make no mistake about it, the Doveton Eagles entered the 2017 Division 3 finals series as the underdogs.
And when they faced a hefty 28-point deficit on Saturday, early in the last quarter against a red-hot Endeavour Hills, the premiership looked like it was making its way down to Barry Simon Reserve for the very first time.
But as Doveton Eagles coach Simon Caldwell explained, the belief that saw them win four out of four finals kicked in, with a desperate scramble resulting in a match-winning goal by the sharpshooting former Melbourne forward Russell Robertson.
“I was nervous – I genuinely thought we were done, and being 28-points down, I thought it was all over,” Caldwell said post-match about the last quarter revival.
“I’m just shell-shocked we won it, unbelievable but very nerve-racking – I’m just so proud of the boys’ efforts to keep going with it.
“We had the finals experience, a few blokes are still here from the 2013 flag, and we have a few older heads playing at a higher level – we still had the belief the whole way through that if we get on a roll, there’s no reason we can’t take it out.”
Rather than panic when faced with a deficit after a dominant third quarter by the Falcons, Caldwell kept things simple.
“At three quarter time, we sort of just put what I thought was our best midfield in there, and we put some fresh blokes in there to give them a run, and we just stuck fat,” he said.
“Our midfield is our strength, we have some bigger bodies in there, and sometimes it can hurt us on the outside and we know that.
“The coaches were throwing things around, saying let’s do this and that, but we ended up leaving it and got on a roll.”
Caldwell was full of praise for his players, in particular Robertson, who shook off a tough day to kick the goal that got them in front with just minutes to play.
“Robbo’s had a few down games this year – in one match he kicked 6.13, but when he got the opportunity he just took it – that’s why he played at the highest level,” Caldwell explained.
“When the game needed to be won, he just slotted it from 50 out, and it got us over the line I guess.
“I’m super proud – it was nothing us coaches did, it was all on the boys on the field, they fought it out and kept rolling.“
With the Eagles finishing in fourth spot at the end of the home-and-away season – only one game from sixth and missing out all together – they had to do it the hard way.
After defeating Black Rock in an elimination final, the Eagles defeated Ashwood in a semi final, before overcoming Hallam in a preliminary final performance.
“The biggest thing for me is that no one expected us to win – internally, we spoke about being the best team for the four weeks because we hadn’t been all year – and we did that,” Caldwell said.
