A rampant Wangaratta Rovers produced one of the league's greatest final quarter comebacks of the modern era in pipping a devastated Yarrawonga on Saturday in the Ovens and Murray Football League.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The home team trailed by 38 points at three-quarter time, but rammed in six goals and five behinds to nil to snatch an enthralling 10.11 (71) to 10.8 (68) triumph in front of around 1000 stunned spectators.
"I just said to the boys at three-quarter time, they'll stop and we just have to keep going," amazed Rovers' coach Daryn Cresswell declared.
"We thought if we got the first couple, they'd sit back and they did. They threw a spare (player) back there and I wasn't tempted to even the numbers up, if we could look after the part of the ground, we'd get enough opportunities."
Ironically, Cresswell was involved in the other standout comeback of the last decade in home and away matches.
His Wodonga Raiders outfit trailed Yarrawonga by 41 points at the seven-minute mark of the final term in 2015, before Northern Territory star Ross Tungatalum produced one of the great bursts as the home team racked up seven unanswered goals for another three-point win.
The final term came out of nowhere after the visitors kicked six goals to one in the third stanza, albeit with a breeze, as the match looked unlikely to be the thriller many predicted before the game.
But Cresswell made a raft of changes and the match will never be forgotten in O and M history.
"We put Sam Murray on-ball from half-back, Brodie (Filo) had a big last quarter, we put (Raven) Jolliffe to full forward along with (Tom) Boyd and (Alex) Marklew, so we tried to load up that last line," he revealed.
The final term had enough highlights for the entire round, but three stood out.
Marklew produced a piece of wizardry to confuse his opponents and kick one of his four goals, Jake McQueen blasted a 52m major, while Sam Murray had a 'Leo Barry' moment with a tremendous pack mark.
"Mate, I didn't start that great, a few turnovers, I had to go, I was playing spare, I went and it stuck," he explained.
McQueen (three goals) had just missed a free kick from 45m.
"There was no one in the goal square, so I thought I'd have a ping," he suggested.
Pigeon Tim Lawrence kicked three goals, there's not enough superlatives for Leigh Masters (28 disposals), while ruck Lach Howe and Ryan Bruce (22 apiece) featured.
ALSO IN SPORT:
"They got going and we were too reactive, momentum is really powerful," coach Mark Whiley offered.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.bordermail.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News.