THE Ulladulla Dockers have returned home with the South Coast AFL reserve grade premiership flag following a thriller 54-50 win over the Wollongong Bulldogs at North Dalton Park on Saturday.
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A better ending could not have been scripted for the Dockers, who were down two points with just seconds left on the clock.
A free kick to Matt Thompson set the scene for a nail biting end, and he made no mistake.
As Thompson stepped in to kick for goal the siren blew, but he recomposed himself to make the 55 metre kick, giving his team the four-point victory.
The Dockers were the team to beat all year and finished minor premiers.
They had beaten the Dogs by five goals two weeks previously in Nowra to give them clear passage to the grand final.
The Dockers were down with some key players being unavailable, but the coaching staff was confident in the positional changes they had made for the day.
The cross ground wind played a vital role in this game and the Dockers won the toss, and in a controversial decision, decided to kick against the wind.
From the start the Dockers were on a roll but after the first major the Bulldogs were up 25-12.
But the Dockers were with the wind in the second term and fought back to regain the lead 33-26.
Better known as the premiership quarter, the Dockers went to ground in the third and set about to bring down the Dogs, even though they were against the wind.
The Dockers went about their business and proceeded to end any plans of the Dogs from scoring, which would have been perfect except for a late Wollongong goal which had the score 40-35 in Ulladulla’s favour.
The Dockers went into the last huddle confident they would have it covered due to kicking with the wind.
But Wollongong wanted the ball more than Ulladulla, consistently driving the ball forward.
Under enormous pressure, the Dockers’ lines started to lose composure.
Because of the Dockers back pressure Wollongong’s accuracy was a problem for them, missing the first two set shots.
Settle and composure was the message going out from the Dockers’ coaching box.
WITH three minutes on the clock the Dockers were down to the Dogs by eight points.
The ball came into the Dockers’ 50, Isaac Anderson got the ball, settled, and passed it to Jamie Clough, who takes three steps back and slots it without a thought.
The Dockers were then down by two points with nothing on the clock.
The ball was driven out of the centre, again came to a contest on the Dockers’ 50 metre arch, when the umpire awarded a free kick to Matt “Hollywood” Thompson.
As he stepped in to kick for goal the siren blows, he recomposed himself, took a few more steps back, and ran in to kick from 55 metres, allowing for the wind.
A massive push forward by Jamie Clough and Blake Farrelly cleared the Dogs defenders from the ball drop and it is game over, Dockers up by four points and a premiership cup for the taking.
Matt “Hollywood” Thompson - Solid up forward, kicked the winning goal after the siren.
Jamie N “Big Jim” Clough - Kicked vital goals and set up others, created the push to win the game.
Paul Beer - Played back and forward, was solid all day.
Jonathon Blackburn - Wollongong had trouble with his style of play.
Daniel “Bush” Bower - Was strong all day, came in with big ball punches to save several goals.
Jamie “Little Jim” Clough - Created play from the centre bounce, solid around ground, opposition tagger had his hands full.
Craig “Chop” Thompson - Started to run and kicked the first goal was good in general play.
Daniel Peat - hampered by ankle injury but created breathing space for backs when needed. Was very influential in the game when on.
Marcus “Stretch” Ledger – Unavailable after booking a holiday to Bali and not realising it fell on the same day as the grand final.
Shane Haub - Used his experience and game sense to create off half back all day.
Mitchell “Big Mitch” Hancock - won 90 per cent of the ruck duels, was solid in basic play.
Kayleb Gatt - Was very much missed and was unavailable due to work circumstances.
Brad Bucholtz - Played the game of his life, very solid and underrated player, but was one of the best on the day.
Craig Chambers - Really solid in defence and played up forward with impact.
Jordan Clough - Created huge problems for the Dogs as they drove forward. Had to be one of the best backs on the day.
Blake Farrelly - Ran all day, opened opportunities at every possible moment and was the second man in the big push to win the game.
Luke Evans - The club’s own lunatic, ran wild and repelled all Dogs’ play all day.
Adam Clough - Presented well when on, really put his best on the day.
Peter Ryan – Liam’s father was great up forward. His knowledge of the game usually outsmarted the opposition. He created opportunities for the Dockers up forward.
James “Jimmy H” Hancock - Played the game of his life up against the best forward in the league and pulled his pants down on many occasions.
Lachlan Campbell - Solid when he went on, but had little opportunity to shine.
Mitch “Donny” Donohue - Impressive at 35 kilos and two foot tall. Played on the Dogs’ spearhead and wiped him out of the game.
Brett “Shuffles” Chambers - Had little opportunity in such a tight game, but was in the teams to get us there on the day.
Tony “Ricko” Rixon - Inspirational running on the day. Player received the messages and water without fault.
Liam Ryan - Played out of his skin and excelled for a good game.He had lots of possession and played well above his young age. It was great result for him after he took out the u16 grand final the week before.
Isaac Anderson - Improved all season. Was solid and strong and created lots of opportunities for the spearhead forwards.
BIG thank you to Kellams Bus Lines that got us to all the away games and the grand final this year.
Zauners are the Ulladulla Dockers’ major sponsor.
Thank you to Ulladulla ExServos, Ulladulla Bowling Club, Tigers Take Away, Mollymook Bowling Club, Driftwood Burgers, Mollymook Fine Wines, Australian Vintage Liquor and Bayside lawyers.
THANK you for the year and especially those who made it up to North Dalton Park on Saturday.