VFL standalone club Werribee have claimed premiership glory after a thrilling grand final, holding off a late charge from Southport to win by six points at Ikon Park.
The Tigers, minor premiers at the conclusion of the home-and-away season, trailed by as much as 19 points early in the third quarter, but a stirring third term led by eventual Norm Goss Medallist Jack Henderson (23 disposals, two goals) saw them take control of the decider with four consecutive goals.
Henderson booted both his goals in the third term to set up what loomed as a decisive break, before they kicked the first three of the final term to extend their run to seven straight goals to lead by as much as 26 points.
A late Sharks rally featuring two goals within a minute to Matt Shannon and one-time Melbourne AFL player Jay Lockhart gave the visitors a sniff, before another goal to former Gold Coast Sun Jacob Dawson left the Tigers just six points ahead in the final minutes.
With only seconds left, one-time AFL Geelong forward Wylie Buzza nearly held onto a towering pack mark in the Sharks’ attacking 50, but the ball jarred free, with the Tigers able to lock the ball away to run down the remaining seconds.
The win is the Tigers’ first VFL premiership since 1993; one of the few remaining standalone entities in a league dominated by AFL feeder teams, they have been their own entity since ending an arrangement with North Melbourne in 2018.
Speaking to Channel 7 after the match, an emotional Tigers acting captain Dom Brew, who won the JJ Liston Trophy as the league’s best and fairest player and is seen as a chance to be drafted by an AFL club in coming months, was moved to tears by the victory, with many of his charges 23 or under – while also revealing coach James Allan had given them an ‘absolute roasting’ when 13 points down at half time.
Win a Ziggy BBQ for Grand Final day, thanks to Barbeques Galore! Enter Here.
Brew gathered 31 disposals and 15 clearances to do his draft chances no harm – though said post-match he ‘wasn’t at [his] best’.
“That’s the life’s work, isn’t it?” the tearful 27-year old said.
“We were the minor premiers, but we shouldn’t be here. There’s a lot of boys under 22, and I’m so proud of them.
“I wasn’t at my best today, but Jack Henderson – what a star, mate.
“He [Allan] absolutely gave us an absolute roasting – it was one of the best I’ve ever copped. Pretty direct, it’s what we needed. We were mucking around, we weren’t playing the way we should have, and we came out at three quarter time and just took control.
“Never count us out, mate. There’s people that get knocked down and they don’t get up, but us boys from Werribee, we get back up every time and keep going.
“It’s everything. You can win individual accolades, and that’s great, but no one to celebrate with. I get to see these boys [for] years to come, that’s all I care about.”
There were emotional scenes during the premiership cup presentation ceremony, too, when Allan invited injured Tigers captain Nick Coughlan onto the dais to lift the cup with Brew.
The SANFL grand final likewise went right down to the wire, with Glenelg mounting a famous comeback to run over the top of Norwood, before a controversial finish saw the Tigers hang on by just five points.
Having trailed at every change, Glenelg were 13 behind the Redlegs at three quarter time, before an inspired five goals to two final quarter, led by former Richmond tall Liam McBean’s remarkable seven-goal haul, earned them their seventh SANFL title and second in a row.
McBean, an obvious choice for the Jack Oatey medal as best afield, booted three of his goals in the final term, and the Tigers appeared home when Lachlan Hosie put through a nerveless set shot from the boundary to extend their lead to 10 points in the dying minutes, before a response from Redleg Declan Hamilton set up a grandstand finish.
Norwood fans made their feelings clear in the final minute when Izaak Twelvetree appeared to be tackled without the ball inside 50 by Chris Curran, only for the umpire to opt against awarding a free kick.
The Tigers became just the fourth team in SANFL history to win a premiership having played in an elimination final, and first since 2018.
In the west, Peel Thunder defeated minor premiers East Perth by 33 points for their third WAFL premiership, led by a starring performance from Fremantle young gun Neil Erasmus.
The Thunder, who have been affiliated for a decade with the Dockers, kicked five goals to three in the third quarter to take control of a hard-fought decider.
The Royals fought back to reduce the margin to 10 points deep into the final quarter, but the Thunder steadied with the final four goals of the game to run out victors.
With 26 disposals and two goals, Erasmus, who has struggled to bed down a regular spot in the Dockers’ AFL team with just 23 games since being drafted at pick 10 in the 2021 national draft, was awarded the Simpson Medal for best afield.
Retiring Docker Matt Taberner finished his career in style with a second premiership for the Thunder.