Tara Murray
The will to win was great enough for Gisborne to sneak home and seal a Bendigo Football League grand final spot.
The minor premiers season looked all but over early through the last quarter of their preliminary final against Golden Square on Saturday.
While they were only 15 points down, scoring had been hard to come by all day and the Bulldogs would have to pull out a miracle.
The miracle on the back of hard work and doing the basics well was exactly what happened.
The Bulldogs would kick the next three goals to take the lead. They would hold on to win, 8.9 (57)-7.13 (55).
The heart rate was still up for Bulldogs coach Rob Waters more than an hour after the game.
“It is pretty good,” he said of making the grand final.
“We kept digging deep. I said to them that it would come down to the last minute and it did. It looked grim for a while.”
Having lost the previous week, Waters said the fact it was a do or die was enough to get the playing group up and going again.
He admits nerves had gotten the better of them.
Waters said on Saturday conditions weren’t easy with the wind going across the ground making it hard to score.
He said they had dominated the second quarter, but Golden Square kicked two goals into the wind to take the lead at half time.
Golden Square still led at three quarter time, by nine points. It was out to 15 points early in the last quarter.
Waters said the group just did what they needed to.
“We worked hard,” he said. “We got back to basics and it was just how hard we worked.
“Repeat stoppages. The likes of Flynn Lakey, Brad Bernacki and Braidon Blake were big in the midfield.”
The Bulldogs hit the front in the 12th minute of the last quarter. There would be another 20 minutes with neither side kicking a goal.
Waters said the backline worked tirelessly, which resulted in two Golden Square shots late in the game going out of bounds on the full.
Josh Kemp was the only multiple goal kicker for the Bulldogs with three goals. Waters said Bernacki, Lake, Liam Spear and Jack Reaper were their best.
The Bulldogs will face Strathfieldsaye in the grand final.
The win also made sure that all three of the Bulldogs’ men’s football teams made the grand final.
The under-18s won their preliminary final against Golden Square, 10.9 (69)-6.2 (38).
“We had plenty to play for and we didn’t want to be the odd one out,” Waters said.
“To have under-18s, reserves and seniors in the grand final is a huge effort from the club. It’s very exciting for the club.”
Waters said recovery had already began on Saturday night, before the whole playing list would hit the track together.
He said with a few players to return, some players would miss out despite all three teams in the grand final.
