WE NEVER GAVE UP
GFL Exhilaration as Lara smashes two-year losing streak
LARA coach Tony Armstrong has spoken of a club that never lost hope or belief after breaking a painful losing streak in stunning fashion on Saturday.
Nearly two years to the day since their last victory, the Cats ended their 33-game losing run with an emotional 16-point win over St Albans.
Last tasting victory on May 14, 2016, against North Shore — when a 28-game losing streak was snapped — the Cats found strength in an inspired display, with two-time Geelong premiership hero Mathew Stokes indebting himself to the Lara faithful, booting six goals to lead the home side to a famous victory.
The 21.7 (133) to 18.9 (117) victory left Armstrong a relieved man post-match, knowing the importance of the performance to all the Lara supporters.
“I’m really proud of the boys,” he said.
“We’ve put them through a bit with our on-field performance, but it’s testament to the type of club we are. Everyone still rocks up, everyone is courteous and kind and really supportive of each other.
“We spoke about everyone else — not just the players who are involved in the footy club — and it was really nice to get a win for the community.
“The vindication for me comes with the smile we put on everyone’s face.”
Recognising the importance of a victory over a fellow relegation fighter, Armstrong said he tried not to burden his young group with too much pressure in the leadup.
By season’s end, the bottom two GFL sides will be squeezed down to the BFL when the GFL is cut from 12 teams to 10.
“Obviously you look at the fixture and go, ‘St Albans, they’re going to be around us and it’s going to be a big game’, but we tried to take that out of any communication this week,” he said. “We really just spoke about us.”
In a tense second half, both sides went goal for goal, with Stokes and Supersaint Billy Ritchie (five goals) trading majors at either end in the third term as a vocal home crowd rode every bump.
The atmosphere descended into near pandemonium as the Cats kicked the opening four goals of the final quarter to set up the breakthrough win.
“I was nervous that they’d kick a couple of quick ones and make it a real arm-wrestle, but I’m just really proud of the boys,” Armstrong said.
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