Geelong Advertiser |
SOUTH Barwon's decade-long domination of the GFL continued on Saturday as the competition powerhouse fought off a gallant Grovedale by 20 points at Simonds Stadium to be crowned premiers.
It was back-to-back flags and the sixth in eight years for the Swans, who pulled off the awe-inspiring feat in front of a potential GFL Grand Final record crowd.
Grovedale scored the all-important first goal through talented forward Adam Donohue and the yellow and black army was up and about early.
As all good sides do, South Barwon responded within minutes as young gun Jordan Duncan kicked the Swans' first. Before long they had three and started taking control of the quarter.
For the remainder of the term it was goal for goal, but when the first siren sounded South Barwon led by eight points.
After the quarter-time break it took South Barwon just minutes to register the first goal, but Grovedale replied just as quickly.
In one of the best passages of play for the grand final, Jordan Erskine out-bodied his opponent on the wing before gathering the ball and taking several bounces as he ran in and kicked a goal for the Tigers.
Following the first two goals it was a disappointing quarter, especially for South Barwon, which failed to put the Tigers away, kicking a woeful 1.6 to Grovedale's 1.1 - meaning the half-time lead was 13 points.
When the premiership quarter came around it saw the key forwards awake, with Clinton Wells kicking his first for the game and the Swans' first for the term.
Erskine continued to look threatening for the Tigers, and soon put through a set shot from 55 metres to spark his side.
That spark didn't start what Erskine had hoped, as South Barwon kicked back-to-back goals through Darcy Hansen and Duncan.
The floodgates looked set to open.
Grovedale prevented the run on, but then received a massive blow when Linton Hogan was stretchered off after a head clash.
The final term was even with four goals apiece, which was fine for the Swans but the Tigers needed to win the quarter if they were to pull off a comeback win in consecutive weeks.
To finish off the game and win the premiership in style, South Barwon's Mitch McKee unleashed a torpedo, from close to 70 metres out, which sailed through for a goal and kick-started celebrations.
So after wasting opportunities and failing to put away the Tigers early, South Barwon again showed it knew how to win premierships, getting the job done for the second year in a row.
