THIS truly was about pride.
North Ballarat pulled off a one-point win against the reigning premier and competition benchmark Port Melbourne at Eureka Stadium on Saturday.
The Selkirk Roosters fronted up knowing their finals hopes had been extinguished in a Bendigo win the night before and that this season would be the first since 2003 the Roosters would not play Victorian Football League finals.
For the past two weeks, the Roosters had marked this match – regardless of finals chances – as one to play how they want to be seen.
They wanted to do the City of Ballarat, the region’s football and their supporters proud.
They wanted to honour long-serving captain Marc Greig in his final match playing for the club.
The Roosters made this clear from the moment they emerged from the players’ race, a determined purpose in their stride.
When it came to the absolute crunch, deep in a near-35 minute final term, the Roosters showed their trademark resilience and held on.
Two late Port Melbourne goals put the Borough within a point.
Play was held up in the Roosters forward pocket until the Port broke free and found deadly tall forward Adrian Bonaddio, about 52 metres out from his goal.
The siren went, but Bonaddio was called for playing-on, and the Roosters erupted in on-field celebration.
In a bittersweet twist, had Bendigo lost a night earlier, this win would have taken the Roosters into the top eight.
Greig, who built his career as a highly-regarded tough defender, spent the match deep forward in a defensive role.
Click HERE for the full story from the Couriers Melanie Whelan
Last Modified on 27/08/2012 21:47