Sunshine Coast Daily
Paul Munnings | 13th September 2010
SOMETIMES after a grand final victory you get one or even a few players say a premiership is a great way to end their footballing careers.
It was a little different for the Noosa Tigers on Saturday, when they ended their 13-year premiership drought with a seven-point win over Sandgate in the Pineapple Hotel Cup grand final at Hickey Park in Brisbane.
Instead of players saying now they could retire, there were players saying now they would continue.
“Me and Lukey Matthews joked about retiring if we got a flag this year,” Noosa captain Adam Bovalino said.
“But I think we might go for another few years yet.”
There is no doubt both players, who were listed among the Tigers’ best in the 16.13 (109) to 15.12 (102) victory, are more than capable of continuing and they wouldn’t mind another taste of the premiership celebrations that began on Saturday.
The club’s first Pineapple Hotel Cup win was greeted with some rousing renditions of the Tigers’ club song, Up There Noosa, at Hickey Park and a night of celebrations at their Weyba Road clubhouse.
“I don’t know what was harder, the game or the celebrations at the end,” Bovalino said.
“The club has waited a long time for a premiership. It was just a fantastic effort by everyone.
“Going into any game you’re always nervous, but there was a little bit more expectation on us this year, finishing on top of the ladder.
“We did it the hard way, going through the prelim final. Everybody did not want to feel like we did last year.
“It’s a great reward to win.”
Bovalino said the performance of a player in the losing team, 39-year-old Danny Dickfos, was an inspiration.
As a youngster in Shepparton, he used to wear the colours of the Brisbane Bears, a club that Dickfos turned out for, as well as their successors the Brisbane Lions, in almost 70 AFL games.
“I used to wear number 14 because of him,” the Noosa captain said. “He’s a fantastic player and a great bloke.
“His performances are good enough for him to keep going for another five years.”
Coach Wayne Fletcher said it was sheer persistence that edged the Tigers over the top of the Hawks in what was a close battle for the four quarters on Saturday.
Sandgate’s biggest lead was 12 points early in the second quarter, while Noosa’s biggest lead was a margin of more than 20 points midway through the final term, before the Hawks surged with three goals as the final siren loomed.
““We had a plan and everyone stuck to that plan and made contributions,” Fletcher said.
Last Modified on 30/12/2010 13:11