By DANIEL MOSCA - Division 2 Seniors
The Caroline Springs Lakers have won their first ever WRFL premiership after taking down the Yarraville Seddon Eagles by 14-points in the Division 2 Grand Final on Sunday.
The Lakers rode a best-on-ground performance from Lewis Tudor and a hot start from forward Mathew Sutton, who kicked three goals in the opening term, to outclass the Eagles and eventually claim the title.
After being humbled by the North Footscray Red Devils back in Round 17 to the tune of 61-points, the Lakers saved their best footy of the season for when it mattered most, winning their last five games of the year, dating back to Round 18.
On top of that, their last five games included wins all against top-4 opponents, besting Yarraville Seddon and Glen Orden twice each, and rival North Footscray by an average margin of 70-points. Suffice to say they peaked at the right time.
Meanwhile, Yarraville Seddon will be kicking themselves after their poor start to the game in which they conceded the first five goals of the contest and were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way.
Despite earning themselves a week off after their six-point win over favourite North Footscray in the first Semi-Final, the Eagles looked sluggish to start off things and were overwhelmed by Caroline Springs in the early minutes, especially in the centre as the Lakers midfield dominated the clearances and dictated the tempo.
Led by Tudor and Rodney Rich, the Lakers had their way with the Eagles through most of the first term and created havoc when they went forward, with Sutton and Brian Lake causing all kinds of problems for the Eagles backline.
Yarraville Seddon were almost held goalless for the entire first quarter until Scott Krakouer earned himself a free kick and booted their first major of the contest to stop the bleeding and cut the margin to 23-points as the first quarter came to a close.
The Eagles would hit back in the second quarter, kicking four goals while limiting the Lakers to just one for the term.
Kicking with the wind, it was almost the complete opposite from the opening quarter as the Eagles asserted themselves and began winning the hard ball gets. They had four different goal kickers in the term and after Krakouer booted his second goal in the 27th minute, Yarraville Seddon took their first lead of the game.
However, like Krakouer late in the first, Jason Degabriele snapped a late goal to stop the Eagles run and put the Lakers back up by 3-points heading into half-time.
After Yarraville Seddon kicked an early goal to start the third quarter, they took the lead back and looked primed to run away it, having kicked five of the last six goals.
However, Caroline Springs' backline held strong and they responded with the next three goals of the quarter, capped off by Sutton's fourth goal.
They led by 14-points as the fourth quarter began and extended their lead to 26 half way through the term after consecutive goals from Brian Lake and James Ryan. Just as it looked like they were about to bow the game open, the Eagles fought back once again.
When Chris Topalidis found Kevin Upton in the 26th minute for his second straight goal, the Eagles had rattled off three straight goals of their own and cut the lead down to nine with only minutes remaining.
However, it wasn't meant to be. Sutton's mark and goal only a minute later put the Eagles away for good and sent the Lakers' supporters into a frenzy.
With the win, Caroline Springs have been promoted and will move up to Division 1 next season.
Last Modified on 05/09/2016 14:51