Hoppers Crossing has created a dynasty in the Western Region Football League’s under-18 division 1.
The Warriors claimed their fourth premiership in a row with a
runaway 87-point grand final win over St Albans at Chirnside Park on
Saturday.
PICTURE GALLERY: Hoppers Crossing v St Albans U18 grand final
It’s a scary thought for opposition clubs, but it may not be the
end of a streak for the boys from Hogans Road, with 17 of the extended
squad of 25 bottom-age players still eligible to play in the age group
next season.
“The club’s in a good position,” U18 coach Brad Murphy told the Weekly.
“The junior program at Hoppers Crossing is as good as I’ve heard about
or seen. To win four in a row is almost unheard of and it’s a good
endorsement of the footy club and how it’s run.”
Hoppers Crossing was in a threatening mood from the outset.
The Warriors did all the attacking but let the Saints off the hook
by turning just three from 13 scoring shots into goals in the first
half.
“We weren’t making the most of our opportunities; we were kicking a
lot of long points from 50 metres that were getting touched on the
line,” Murphy said.
“I said to the boys at half time, they need to lower their eyes
and start hitting up the lead-up targets, which they did in the second
half.”
A bit of fine-tuning and it turned into a second half blitz for
the Warriors. They piled on 14 goals to three after the main break.
Captain Blake Jago fittingly got his chance to stand with Murphy atop
the podium to collect the premiership cup.
Jago’s tackling pressure and intensity off the halfback line was
outstanding in the key moments. He proved a perfect leader for the
Warriors when awarded the job for the finals.
“I had a six-man leadership group at the start of the year with rotating captains,” Murphy said.
“I couldn’t pick a captain before the season; I thought there were
five or six guys who deserved it so I put them under a test, if you
like. They each had two games to captain during the year and I picked
the finals captain based on what happened during the season.
“Blake was a clear standout. He doesn’t say a whole lot; he just leads from the front and demands his teammates get on board.”
Mitchell Appleby, a utility who has played with the Western Jets
in the TAC Cup this season, was straight-shooting away from tearing the
grand final to shreds.
The spring-heeled key position player finished with three goals,
but missed another six. He showed his versatility to play a key role in
the ruck when the Saints ruck duo were starting to get on top.
Daniel Strnak, a crumbing forward dubbed the “last-quarter
specialist” by his coach for his ability to pop up with crucial goals in
the dying moments of games, booted four goals, three of them in the
last term.
Steven Scolaro, Jayke Ewar and Nicholas Jones were solid
contributors, while half forward/onballer Luke Henderson took out the
best-afield medal.
Murphy, coach of three of the four flags, paid tribute to those working behind the scenes.
“We started training in November last year, so it’s been 10 months in the making,” he said.
“Thousands of emails have been sent between the assistant coaches.
The meetings, the training sessions and all the hard work that has gone
in … it’s a great reward, not just for the club but also individually
for us as coaches and the kids.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better year. It was a nice way to finish off.”
Final score: Hoppers Crossing 17.17 (119) d St Albans 5.2 (32)
The premiership team: Brad Murphy (coach), Blake Jago (captain), Luke Henderson (medallist), Lachlan Furniss, Nicholas Jones, Mitchell Appleby, Jayke Ewar, Steven Scolaro, Daniel Strnak, James Grubb, Jesse Shell, Hayden Bray, Joshua Furniss, Michael Maglogiannis, Marco Lunedei, Lochlan McDonald, Angus Holmes, Nathan Williams, Jordan Hamilton, John Robinson, Joshua Doyle, Brenden Wilson, Alexander Chrysostomou, Jaxon Barnes, Lachlan Rule, Kane Galley.
