LONG WAY TO THE TOP
GOING the hard way through the finals only strengthened East Geelong’s belief as the Eagles upset Thomson on the way to a flag yesterday.
In an arm-wrestle, East outlasted its fancied opponent by five points in a thrilling GDFL reserves decider.
With a two-point lead at three-quarter time, East Geelong coach Craig Carey backed his side to finish strongly after playing each week through the finals.
“We always believed if we were close after half-time and at three-quarter time, we would be able to run over them because our fitness was going to be a little bit better,” Carey said after the win.
“Even though we lost our
J. Smith, A. Dimitropoulos, J. Vandenberg, N. Hanneysee, S. Trevaskis, R. Marino, H. Marshall. C. Normington 2, J. Camm, R. Munn, L. McDonell.
A. McCann, J. Vandenberg, M. Hoare, D. Brice, B. Bolton, R. Marino
Z. Plant, N. Allison, A. Hutchinson, D. Kelly, W. Finlayson. first final, it was an advantage to play all four weeks (of finals).
“I said at three-quarter time that I know I’ve asked a lot of them during the year but I wanted one more effort.
“If they couldn’t walk off the ground at the end I would carry every single one of them off.”
Goals to hard-running midfielders Noah Hanneysee and Ryan Marino in the final term were enough for East to build a lead as rain fell in a frantic last quarter, with Thomson left to rue missed opportunities.
Defender Alex McCann was rewarded with best-onground honours after a masterclass in intercept marking and rebounding.
In his first season at the club after moving to Geelong from Echuca, McCann played with freedom across half-back.
“I actually ran into a mate at the pub who said I should come down here and I’m loving it,” he said.
“We felt like we had the run in our legs and if it was close at three-quarter time we would have them, so it’s a nice reward.”
A reliable defender throughout the year, McCann played a handful of senior games before returning to lead the reserves’ premiership run.
“(McCann) across halfback, his marking ability and the way he runs off his player is great, how teams don’t pay him any respect I’m not sure,” Carey said.
A premiership player with East as a 16-year-old in 1989, Carey said he would relish the celebration to come.
“It’s a little bit special for myself to not only be a player and win a flag but to coach one as well,” he said.