By Adam McNicol

 

THERE are countless stories of heartbreak in country football. But each season provides a few notable examples. Seaford's loss to Mount Eliza in last year's Mornington Peninsula League (Peninsula division) preliminary final was certainly one of those.

 

With less than a minute to go, the Tigers led by four points. A grand final against Chelsea, which the Tigers had beaten by nine goals during the home-and-away season, beckoned.

 

Mount Eliza's Luke Curry took a mark on the wing. In the next few seconds, his Seaford opponent was penalised for not letting him play on quickly enough. Curry was awarded a 50-metre penalty. As the umpire set the mark, now just 25 metres from goal, the siren sounded.

 

The scene was reminiscent of Gary Buckenara's matchwinning goal for Hawthorn in the 1987 VFL preliminary final, when Melbourne's Jim Stynes ran over the mark. And the result was the same. Curry kicked truly and the Redlegs snatched victory by two points.

 

A week later, Chelsea easily won the grand final.

 

This year, Seaford has returned to the field with an even more talented team, as the club strives to win its first flag since 1985. The Tigers' unbeaten start to the drought-delayed season suggests they again will be a force in the finals. But only a premiership will cure the disappointment that lingers.

 

Yet, while it has failed to win a flag for more than two decades, Seaford's recent history has been overwhelmingly positive.

The Tigers' administrators, led by president Rick East and senior coach Paul Kennedy, have worked tirelessly to rid the club of what they admit was a rough reputation.

 

"Once upon a time, Seaford used to be a boys' own club," said East, who grew up at Tatong, near Benalla. "We had a lot of problems with cronyism and bad language and unsocial behaviour."

 

East credits the appointment of Kennedy as senior coach in October 2002 as a big turning point. A news reporter at Channel Nine in Melbourne, Kennedy came through the Tigers' juniors, before spending some time with Frankston in the VFL. He returned to Seaford, where he now lives, with a belief that the club one day could be the strongest on the peninsula.

It is a work making excellent progress.

 

"This year is going to be our best year," East said. "That's because all the ladies are here, despite the fact we don't have netball. The little kids are walking around the club. This club is now a family club and everyone's welcome.

"On Thursday nights, we sell 60 to 80 meals and all the dads come because they want to hear whether their son has got a game or not. It's country football. I know we're in the metro area but it's country football."

 

As the atmosphere at Seaford's matches has improved, so have the Tigers' crowds.

 

"We have the largest following by a mile," said senior selector and former coach Warren Greene. "We get a crowd because we make people welcome. What Rick and Paul are doing is building more and local people into the club. They're saying, 'The doors of the football club are open to the community and we'd love you to come'."

 

East and Kennedy also have worked hard to strengthen the links with Seaford's highly successful junior club, which has provided more than three-quarters of the Tigers' senior team.

 

While proud of the part he has played in reshaping Seaford as a model local football club, Kennedy craves the premiership which would cap his career. Last year's disappointment helps drive his ambition.

 

"We did a review two days after we lost," said Kennedy, who is still a key player himself. "Both of our under-18 teams had won the flag, so we didn't want to go out and recruit up big time. But we needed a gun midfielder and another tall backman."

Three weeks after the preliminary-final loss, Kennedy had what he wanted. He signed 26-year-old centreman Chris Fortnam (fifth in the 2006 Liston Medal) and defender Kane Taylor, 21, from Frankston's VFL team. The 2007 campaign was underway.

 

Things didn't quite go to plan once pre-season started, as the players were forced to train everywhere except on their drought-stricken home ground.

 

"We never won a practice match because we were training in the car park on asphalt, which ripped up all the footies," Kennedy said.

 

"We just weren't in great shape in pre-season. We were fit but our ball skills were terrible. Then in round one, we had Mount Eliza, which was a rematch from the preliminary final. We won by 14 goals and away we went."

 

Unbeaten after five games, which includes a win over the reigning premier, the Tigers now sit in the top half of the table, alongside fellow premiership contenders Frankston YCW and Edithvale-Aspendale.

 

The only hiccup in their season to date has been the broken jaw to talented defender Dean Kemble in round two. Kemble will miss most of the home-and-away season, although the Mornington Peninsula league tribunal has reacted strongly, suspending Hastings' Bradley Watson for 14 matches.

 

"The Kemble brothers are the heart and soul of the club," said Kennedy, who rates Dean's brother Scott so highly he made him captain at only 21.

 

"He's now the longest-serving captain and I'm the longest-serving coach in the club's history."

 

Last weekend, Seaford hosted Karingal, now coached by former St Kilda defender Justin Peckett.

 

Despite Peckett's best efforts, Seaford won easily. Onballer Ben Cadd and ruckman Donovan Epa were among a host of impressive players, as was cult-hero Michael Kraska. A tall, slightly built half-forward, Kraska last year kicked nine goals in Seaford's first semi-final win over YCW and Kennedy still believes he could have been the matchwinner if the Tigers had made the grand final.

 

Against Karingal, Kraska booted four goals and took a number of strong pack marks.

 

Yesterday, Seaford took on bottom club Pines and notched another win. "I just want to improve every year and if we're going to improve on last year, we need to make the grand final," Kennedy said. "If we play to our potential and have a bit of luck, we will.

 

"I want the club to dominate first division peninsula footy. I want to be able to retire as coach and know the club will dominate for the next decade."

Article first appeared: The Age June 3, 2007