Holbrook are celebrating their first premiership for nearly 20 years after defeating Osborne on a famous afternoon at Walbundrie.
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The Brookers came into the grand final having not beaten Osborne in 16 attempts, a barren run stretching all the way back to 2013.
But in the Hume League's first decider for three years, they delivered when it mattered most, producing a stunning final-quarter display to hand coach Matt Sharp the flag he craved so badly.
Sharp had lost all six of his previous grand finals but he ended Saturday with the cup in his hands after an 11.13 (79) to 7.8 (50) victory for the men in green and gold.
Much of the game was played in appalling conditions, with Walbundrie battered by heavy rain and strong winds, and it was no surprise to see the sides separated by just seven points at three-quarter-time after what had been, to that point, a war of attrition.
But after John Mitchell had kicked a goal just 15 seconds into the final term, Holbrook simply blew the Tigers away.
They kicked 7.4 to Osborne's 2.0, sparking wild celebrations from the large Brookers contingent when the final siren signalled the end of their drought.
![Holbrook celebrate with the premiership cup. Picture by James Wiltshire Holbrook celebrate with the premiership cup. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/24f681ac-d360-4dae-8780-f399bf15d6e8.jpg/r268_280_5339_3369_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I assume this is what it feels like to be a premiership player," Sharp smiled.
"I haven't had that feeling before but it's not about me.
"The troops were unbelievable, they just kept willing each other and we fell on the right side of the line for once.
"It was just a spirited effort at the end. we had some momentum but our work-rate picked up and they couldn't go with us.
"You know what momentum's like, the ball bounces into your arms.
"Our guys got to work, they were first to stoppages and they were leaving the stoppage first, which allowed them to get to the next stoppage.
"That was the area they were beating us in for three quarters, just a quick kick out out the pack and they were getting to the next stoppage first.
![Coach Matt Sharp and captain Jacob Way lift the premiership cup. Picture by James Wiltshire Coach Matt Sharp and captain Jacob Way lift the premiership cup. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/8514be55-f61b-4d30-a5b5-66fa24f79874.jpg/r0_0_4450_2967_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Even though we had two big hitouts (against Osborne and Jindera in finals), we came in fresh and I think that was probably the difference in the end."
The scenes in Holbrook's rooms after the game will live long in the memory.
It would not have been possible to jam another body through the door as the seniors and reserves celebrated an historic double premiership - the Brookers twos having also beaten Osborne earlier in the day - shoulder to shoulder with life members, netballers, supporters and family members.
Chants of 'Sharpy, Sharpy' rolled around the room as the hugely popular coach drank in the moment.
"It was huge," Sharp said. "I just feel like we're one club heading in the same direction.
![Party time for the Brookers. Picture by James Wiltshire Party time for the Brookers. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/9e8ede4f-3f2e-4391-9e50-95ec39b1c042.jpg/r0_0_5001_3334_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I never say 'ones team' or twos team', it's always a squad. It's never about our best player, it's never about our trying player, it's just about turning up and getting the best out of yourself every session.
"I don't know, we just seem to be all on the same level."
A grand final two years in the making looked, for much of the afternoon, like producing the same sort of arm wrestle these two evenly-matched rivals have delivered in recent times.
Connor Galvin, deemed fit enough to play but operating at full-forward, kicked the opening goal while Michael Rampal battled the giant figure of Nick Madden in the ruck.
Rampal got a clear run inside 50 but turned down the shot, and the Brookers were guilty of kicking away several other promising positions with the breeze at their backs.
![Matt Sharp punches the air after kicking Holbrook's first goal. Picture by James Wiltshire Matt Sharp punches the air after kicking Holbrook's first goal. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/b38b9e53-3f0f-41e6-b8b3-371a219e987c.jpg/r0_0_4594_3063_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
But they went into the break level after a Sharp goal from the pocket which prompted a huge celebration from the No.25.
The going was already heavy underfoot when the heavens opened in the second quarter, torrential rain sending the crowd scuttling for cover and reaching for umbrellas.
Galvin booted his second goal just as the storm hit and the Tigers began to gain control.
Despite a Luke Gestier effort at the other end which trickled through, the force was with the Tigers, who struck twice more in the gathering gloom through Madden and Will Ryan.
Conditions were truly awful and the half-time siren came as a relief to many around the ground with Osborne leading by 4.5 (29) to 2.2 (14).
The general consensus was that Holbrook needed to build up a buffer, with the elements in their favour, by three-quarter-time to have chance of toppling a Tigers side on a 35-match unbeaten streak.
But while Kolby Heiner-Hennessy hit the target with a superb set shot from 55 metres out, Osborne hit back when coach Joel Mackie came flying in to grab Matt Rava's pass and nailed the kick from directly in front.
![Royce Hunter on the run for Holbrook. Picture by James Wiltshire Royce Hunter on the run for Holbrook. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/de8eeeeb-b931-4f1b-904e-b9261b52148a.jpg/r0_23_5073_3382_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Galvin and Mackie both spurned golden opportunities in the moments that followed, however, and you wondered whether those misses would come back to haunt them.
A goal for Mitchell, who was taken late, gave the Brookers hope late in the quarter but no-one could have envisaged what happened when the players emerged from the final huddle.
Mitchell burst straight out of the centre clearance to kick another and it was a moment which seemed to inspire every Holbrook player.
Logan Hamilton put them in front for the first time in the match after laying a ferocious tackle and it was to prove typical of the intensity with which the Brookers played for the final 20 minutes of the season.
On any other day, Mackie's second goal of the game would have sparked a grandstand finish from the reigning premiers but this was Holbrook's day.
Jayden Beaumont hit the scoreboard after taking a big pack mark and Mitchell picked up two goals for the price of one after being clattered in the process of knocking the first one through.
Osborne were on the ropes and the Brookers applied the knockout punch.
Fittingly, Sharp finished with two goals after his tackle pressure forced another free-kick, with Heiner-Hennessy also striking late as the green tidal wave rolled relentlessly towards Osborne's army of supporters at the northern end of the ground.
![Joel Mackie finds himself surrounded by Holbrook jumpers. Picture by James Wiltshire Joel Mackie finds himself surrounded by Holbrook jumpers. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/1a56c818-0420-4f30-8976-dcdd9107d55b.jpg/r0_0_4826_3217_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
This was a brutal defeat for Osborne, who were denied the chance to prove their superiority when finals were cancelled a year ago and who came into the decider having beaten Holbrook in all three of their previous meetings this year.
But the script had been written for Sharp and the Brookers, the siren rubber-stamping only their second flag since crossing from the Tallangatta & District League at the end of the last century.
"I've got a really good network around me," Sharp said.
"They're all committed, we start our conversations on Monday and we challenge each other. Then we come up with a plan and we stick to it.
"Everyone knows I'm a massive thinker, so I get out there and I think about coaching but they just say 'hey, you're a footballer now and we'll do the coaching' so they put me back in my place.
"It's good to have that trust. They just turn up every week and it's such a good feeling."
![The long wait is over for Holbrook coach Matt Sharp. Picture by James Wiltshire The long wait is over for Holbrook coach Matt Sharp. Picture by James Wiltshire](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131362666/5e6b6868-14dc-43e6-b99e-90166efb4371.jpg/r0_0_3233_2155_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Say what you like about Osborne but the league powerhouse showed its true colours in the wake of what was a devastating defeat.
Several players were in tears as the result hit home but Holbrook's party paused momentarily when Tigers president Jason Webster made his way through the sea of green and gold in the rooms next door.
Webster praised the Brookers for their achievement and made a special point of congratulating Sharp in the centre of the throng.
"That was class," Sharp said.
"Everyone strives to beat Osborne, they just seem to get it right year after year and they're always in the top bracket.
"They're always there to challenge the opposition.
"That was class from him and I really appreciate it.
"You can do it when you win, which they do, but to come in after they'd lost, it really shows class."
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