THOMSON TAMES PANTHERS
ONE of the most imposing streaks in local footy history is over.
Bell Post Hill’s astonishing run of 10 straight grand finals came to an end on Saturday — a decade of dominance unlikely to be seen again for a long time.
An undisciplined start and a mounting injury list could have explained why the GDFL powerhouse trailed Thomson 2.3 (15) to 10.10 (70) at halftime.
After his side’s season ended with a 43-point loss in Saturday’s preliminary final, second-year coach Brad Martin revealed the depths of the club’s injury woes.
“We were winning the hitouts but weren’t winning the clearances so that was disappointing, but this year we were hit heavily with injuries,” Martin said.
“Adrian Fantella was injured this week with his knee strapped and he just did enough to get through the game.
“Matthew James has had fractured ribs since we played Anakie in Round 18 and Daniel Walve we also risked when we usually wouldn’t have in other years.
“James is our key ball-winner who breaks the line, so he already received attention and then come finals he was targeted even more.
“He couldn’t touch his toes by this week, so those three didn’t train on Thursday and Joel Page
was in bed crook, so it felt like a nightmare run of injuries.”
The Panthers still collected a few consolation prizes during the year, with James’s Whitley Medal victory accompanied by Jayden Ettridge’s honour as the league’s leading goal-kicker.
A total of seven Panthers were also selected in the GDFL’s interleague win in May, yet by the end of the year the injury-plagued outfit was limping to the finish line.
“Last year we had two teams in grand finals and everyone was 100 per cent, but this year we had Matt Lentini and Rhys Burke go down with season-ending injuries,” Martin said.
“It was the first time we’ve been in the position where our guys were pushing through the
pain and taking pain killers.
“But it’s the first year of our entire era where we were forced to play these guys because we didn’t have a great deal of options.
“We look back now and think that that’s the position that Inverleigh were in last year’s grand final.
“It was tough in the rooms and everyone has something to say but now’s the time for us to sit back and reflect on our 11 years of grand finals and premierships.
“Tony Dosen said it best where not many people will see such a dominant run in their lifetime. We didn’t get a chance to stop and celebrate the first one in 2010 so now’s our chance to look back at all of them.”