Overcast conditions, howling winds and the spot of light rain greeted the Goulburn Valley League’s squad of gladiators at Elsternwick Park in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon, as the purple and gold lined up against the might of the Victorian Amateur Football Association in a highly anticipated interleague clash.
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Heading into the contest full of optimism, standing shoulder to shoulder with the best players from across the region and full of pride in the jumper, the men from the country perhaps should have taken the stormy weather as an omen, as the GVL was handed a mammoth 5.8 (38) to 20.9 (129) defeat, sent back up the Goulburn Valley Hwy with their tails between their legs.
While the final margin of 91 points paints a damning picture, it was at least initially a tight, tough contest, which looked to suit the GVL side, featuring Seymour stars Jack Murphy, who was bestowed the honour of captaining the team, Nic Quigg and Dylan Cook, as well as emergency Huw Jones, to a tee.
With a significant breeze behind them, kicking towards the southern end of the ground, the GVL seized the first chance of afternoon to open the scoring through Mansfield’s Harry Mahoney, who sneaked forward and found acres of space inside 50 to coolly convert and hand the visitors a six-point lead.
The blustery conditions favoured the GVL for the remainder of the term, and with Benalla’s Mark Marriott in the ruck, the likes of Kyabram’s Jack Russell, Murphy and Shepp Swans’ Ollie Warburton running through the middle, the visitors won plenty of ball at the source.
But for all the territory the visitors dominated early, they were unable to find an avenue to goal, and going the other way, the VAFA looked potent when given the chance to run, scoring two goals from six inside 50s to take a 2.0 (12) to 1.0 (6) lead into the first break.
The GVL had won both the clearance and inside-50 count in the first term, and the scoreboard suggested a low-scoring slog for the rest of the afternoon, but with the wind at their back in the second quarter, the VAFA tore the game to shreds.
Despite once again winning the clearance count 14-11 for the quarter, and using a slow and precise build up, the GVL was unable to match the VAFA on the outside, and with the wind aiding the speed at which the Big V could move the ball, it began to show on the scoreboard.
Despite the efforts of GVL vice-captain Nick Warnock (Benalla), who looked composed in defence and intercepted wherever possible, a run of six unanswered goals in the second term, making it eight straight for the game, saw the VAFA out to a 43-point advantage by the half, with the GVL mustering only two points for the quarter to leave them with a mountain to climb.
The GVL would need to make full use of the wind, which somehow got stronger during the interval, in the third term if they were to stand any chance of a miraculous comeback victory, and while they did manage to win the term, it wasn’t by much.
The game was played on level terms for much of the third quarter, with the VAFA’s opening goal cancelled out by a stunning Cook major, with the Seymour on-baller – who received a late call-up to follow in the footsteps of his father, Darren, who wore the purple and gold in 1992 – slotting a brilliant set shot from 50 metres out, tight on the boundary, ending a run of nine straight VAFA goals.
Shepparton star Jacob Watts would get some reward for effort after a strong opening half, too, as he got on the end of a bullet from Echuca’s Malik Gordon and sent it straight through the middle of the big sticks, again answering a VAFA goal to get it back to level pegging for the quarter.
An extra behind gave the GVL the edge in the third term as they stared down a 42-point deficit at the final change, and while they continued to scrap hard, the VAFA proved too classy in the last.
10 goals to two told the story as the Big V pulled away to a mammoth 91-point win in the final term, with late consolation goals to Shepparton’s Lewis McShane and Euroa’s Cohen Paul saving the GVL from a 100-point defeat.
Benalla mentor Nick Pearson, who was head coach of the GVL, said the difference between the two sides was pretty clear.
“They just had a bit more link up run and carry, that’s what it was,” he said.
“They looked like they had a brand of footy that they played better than us, and at the end of the day, if you can't get the ball off them, you can't score.
“We just couldn’t get the ball off them enough today.”
Regardless of the result, though, Pearson was still enamoured with the interleague experience.
Given the opportunity to lead the league in his first season as a GVL coach, Pearson said being involved in the clash was a special honour, and one that he was already hopeful of reprising in the return leg of the contest next season.
“It’s not lost on me, that's for sure,” he said of being selected for the top job in his first season at Benalla.
“I think to lead any league, in particular one as proud as the Goulburn Valley League, this is a day I’ll cherish forever.
“I know the result didn’t go our way today, but our boys, they committed really hard, and we played against a really good outfit, they (the VAFA) were fantastic.
“You’ve got to put things a little bit in perspective, they’ve got five divisions to choose from and 44 clubs, we’ve got one division and 12 clubs, so their selection pool is a hell of a lot bigger than our selection pool, and we get that, but we still rocked up today thinking we were going to win the game of footy.
“It’s a great day, a great showcase, I’m really hopeful and I'd love to get the opportunity again if the league see fit.
“I think that we're only just starting with this group, and I feel bad for the boys, because they did crack in.”
Kyabram gun Russell was named the GVL’s best in the loss by the coaching panel, while the likes of Warnock, Watts, Warburton and Marriott were also influential.
VAFA utility Hugh Johnson was named best on ground in his side’s victory, standing strong in defence and also pinch hitting in the ruck.
Seymour’s Harry Kelly was named emergency in the under-19s clash, which saw the GVL beaten 8.10 (58) to the VAFA’s 14.14 (98).