By Richard Jones

 

HARCOURT won its second consecutive senior flag, and its fourth in six years, with a comprehensive 65-point victory over Avoca in Saturday’s Maryborough Castlemaine District League grand final at Maryborough’s Princes Park.

 

An eight-goal opening quarter from the Lions blew the 2007 MCDFL decider wide open and the Bulldogs never recovered.

 

Full-forward Chris Stone booted his seventh goal for the match, and 100th of the season, for Harcourt deep into the last quarter.

 

Finishing the home-and-away rounds with 91 goals to his name, Stone had added just two in the nail-biting three-point win over Carisbrook in the second semi-final.

 

But he was well on the way to 100 for the year with four six-pointers in the first three terms on Saturday. Another three in the last term took Stone to the magical ton not long from siren time and he celebrated appropriately with his teammates.

 

He got great delivery from pacy on-baller Jeff McMurtrie who snared the VCFL medal as best afield, Josh Hutchinson and coach Daniel Smith right through the grand final.

 

Avoca mounted a mini-challenge in the second term with Nick Coghlan booting three of his five goals for the day, but the Dogs still trailed by 29 points at the main break and had to play catch-up football for the rest of the grand final.

 

Far too often, Avoca forward forays were chopped off by Shaun Makepeace and Scott Berry with Makepeace’s fine field kicking into his front half a real asset for Harcourt.

 

Final scores: Harcourt 21.7 (133) def. Avoca 9.14 (68).

 

Kicking to the scoreboard end in warm spring weather the speedy Lions mounted wave after wave of attacks. Key forwards Michael Blake and Craig Brown-Kerr capitalised on the work of McMurtrie, Joel Evans and Aaron Bell. Anything they missed Stone swooped on.

 

Avoca’s only answer came from Jason Fletcher early on while the Lions booted another brace of goals to go to the first break 45 points ahead.

 

Coghlan was the Bulldogs’ focal point in the second term. Even though Chris Walter chipped in with a timely goal following a mark at centre half-forward Avoca’s forward line was really the Coghlan show.

 

Stone and McMurtrie capitalised on lead-up work from Brown-Kerr to boot Harcourt majors to steady the premiership favourites.

 

Despite a spirited half-time address from coach Tony Bellenger the Bulldogs could add only three goals compared with Harcourt’s four in the vital third quarter.

 

Again it came down to Coghlan to hold the Avoca attack together. He booted another two goals before being injured as skipper Justin Tapner, Bellenger and big Travis Ross tried to inspire their teammates.

 

But Harcourt’s stranglehold could not be broken. Stone, 2001 Bendigo league Michelsen Medal winner Paul Eyles, Matthew Balshaw and Brown-Kerr kicked important goals at the rotunda end as the Lions consolidated their lead.

 

The last quarter was really a formality. The Lions rammed home seven goals to one to emphasise their MCDFL superiority and it was a proud coach Daniel Smith who read out the names of his players as they came up to receive their premiership medallions.

 

Meanwhile, Avoca coach Tony Bellenger confirmed straight after the match that he would remain as coach of the Bulldogs in 2008.

 

“We’ll be busy recruiting talls and key position players over the summer. We’re a young-ish team and we could do with some bigger players down the spine,” he said.

 

The 2007 MCDFL medal winner praised the efforts of Avoca’s players, committee and supporters to get the side into the grand final and added there was unfinished business for the Bulldogs to complete.

 

Harcourt coach Smith was delighted his little on-baller McMurtrie had been voted best afield. “He’s been around the club for three or four years and it’s his toughness and his ability to work so hard that I love.”

 

Commenting on the great start Harcourt was able to put together Smith said it came down to analysis of the opposition.

 

“We just thought a lot of their players were contesting their first finals series. We’ve been there before and we believed if we got a good start it would put pressure on them and set us up for the whole game – and it did,” he said.

 

HARCOURT     8.3            10.5            14.6                21.7 (133)

AVOCA            1.0              5.6             8.11                9.14 ( 68)

 

GOALS – Harcourt: Chris Stone 7, Craig Brown-Kerr 2, Matt Balshaw 2, Michael Blake 2, Josh Hutchinson 2, Jeff McMurtrie 2, Paul Eyles, Joel Evans, Aaron Bell, Daniel Smith. Avoca: Nick Coghlan 5, Adrian Pilgrim, Jason Fletcher, Mick Wardlaw, Chris Walter.

BEST – Harcourt: Jeff McMurtrie (VCFL Medal), Shaun Makepeace, Chris Stone, Josh Hutchinson, Scott Berry, Daniel Smith. Avoca: Tony Bellenger, Travis Ross, Tom Barker, Justin Tapner, Brad Wardlaw.