PARKSIDE has a whole host of new admirers after turning the Western Region Football League division 2 grand final into the blockbuster we never saw coming.
Even the most ardent Magpies’ supporters must have questioned how long their side could hang with Yarraville-Seddon after losing the previous three battles this season by 96, 62 and 46 points.
Magpies assistant coach Geoff Kinniburgh said his team met numerous times in the week leading up to the big day and made a pact to leave nothing in reserve.
“No one gave us credit. They thought we would be blown out of the water completely.
“We all made a commitment to one another through the week, this morning and in the players’ meeting.
“That’s the thing that’s hurting the most because they really stuck together as a brotherly group all year.”
The 22 players in the Magpies black-and-white stripes played their hearts out.
They gave a team dubbed the “Untouchables” a nice old touch-up for an hour.
The Magpies’ attack on the ball was ferocious and their discipline in following instructions was impeccable.
Kinniburgh said his side dictated terms in the first half.
“I don’t think we dominated, but we certainly surprised them with our grit,” he said.
“Our pressure didn’t let them play their style of game. Our intensity was fantastic.”
There’s a reason the third quarter is called the “premiership quarter”.
The Magpies were clearly tiring and their disposal and accountability began to wane and a raft of missed shots would prove costly in the long run.
Kinniburgh said the effects of a long series of cut-throat finals had finally caught up with them.
“The last eight or nine minutes in the third quarter, their legs started to come into it and our blokes started to tire because we put so much into it and we’ve played a pretty hard finals campaign.”
The Magpies’ recent tale of woe continued when the Eagles piled on four goals to nil in the last quarter.
They’ve now swallowed the bitter pill of grand final defeat four times in eight seasons.
But it was not for a lack of effort from player-coach Nathan Juegan.
Had his side got the spoils, the 33-year-old would undoubtedly have collected best-on-ground honours.
It was not only Juegan’s contested marking, punching third-man up and constant repelling off half-back, but the leadership and direction he offered his fellow defenders that was vital.
“What he goes through all week to get himself up to play through constant injuries . . . Kinniburgh said.
“I’ve never, ever seen a more dedicated person, one who puts so much into it.”
The Magpies are a resilient lot.
They have a track record of bouncing back.
“Obviously we’re bitterly disappointed, but we’ll grind on again next year,” Kinniburgh said.
“Full credit to Yarraville-Seddon. A lot of times you see sides that go through and don’t lose a game until the big one. To go through undefeated is a huge effort.”
