BRENT LANDS A FLAG

Goal into wind sparks team to victory

KICKING into the wind from 40m with a grand final on the line, Brent Jacques took a breath at the top of his run up.

The Bannockburn livewire had booted three goals as his side challenged Thomson in yesterday’s decider.

After a juggled contested mark, Jacques stepped up and his straight kick just carried over hands on the line to kickstart a final-quarter flurry that would lead his side to the premiership.

“I had a couple of shots before the game from that distance out and had kicked one or two, but a few came up short and it was kind of in my head going into (the kick),” he said.

“It came off my boot good and went through, a bit higher than I expected, but just got over (the line).”

The mercurial forward finished with four goals and beston-ground honours, shaking off Thomson defender Jack Spokes.

Bannockburn coach Peter Riccardi said that while the speedster could give him headaches, he always puts in.

Jacques was a key part of the Tigers’ attack this year, adding dynamic zip at ground level to a forward line that boasted key talls Jason Tom and Tom Gillies.

“I love him and hate him all in the same breath. He does some silly things but he gives you his all,” Riccardi said.

Jacques said he was looking forward to enjoying a quiet drink with his now-premiership teammates, which he said would ease the pain of the 2016 grand final defeat.

“Most of us have stuck around since 2016 and we all thought we could do it and we had the team,” he said.

“We had (the belief) all year, we had the group to do something special.”