2001 Parkinson Pura-Milk Cup Grand Final @ Ted Summerton Reserve, Moe. September 15, 2001

Yinnar became the most successful Mid Gippsland Football League side on Saturday after defeating Trafalgar to win the 2001 Parkinson-Pura Milk premiership cup.

The Magpies have now won 10 flags, more than any other club in the league.

After two failed attempts to win the premiership in recent years against Newborough, Yinnar was a hungry side and never looked like losing after midway through the second quarter.

The Pies kicked seven goals in the second term to set up the win. It was the same amount Trafalgar kicked in the same quarter in the second semi final to put Yinnar away early.

They won in front of a large crowd which paid a record $17,913 at the gate.

Trafalgar’s recent semi final victory over Yinnar meant little on Saturday as the Pies came out to play, Liam Visser – who was hot in the first half – goaling within the first 30 seconds.

Robert McPherson got Traf on the board with a bouncing goal after a wayward kick by Thomas Dubelaar dropped to the ground and gave him the opportunity.

Glen Cheffers kicked Yinnar’s second but it was the Pies’ forward players who looked good early, Visser and Brendan Holt working well to give the Pies a two goal break.

The Bloods got their second goal courtesy of a Jared Slater snap from the boundary, the skilful young forward once again threatening to escape under the Yinnar guard.

Paul Roberts put a bid in for goal of the day soon after, the returning rover showing no signs of the injury which kept him out last week against YYN, as he injected some extra pace into the Magpies side.

Traf needed to stay in touch however, and good roving by Slater resulted in a major to Brent Claridge late in the first quarter, the Bloods trailing by five points.

Yinnar started the second quarter as it did the first, two early goals giving the Pies a 20 point lead.

Visser roved a spilt mark to goal again for the Pies, while Yinnar’s taller players took full advantage of Trafalgar’s lack of height after ruckman Chris Dehaas was forced from the ground with an injury.

Rick Galea also seized an opportunity, a big bomb from 50 metres out sailing through for a goal which put Yinnar up by 31 points.

The two McPherson boys tried to swing the game Traf’s way. A goal to Alfie from a free kick and then another one for Robert seemed to lift the Bloods, as they drew the margin back to three goals.

But Yinnar would have none of that.

Goals to Galea and Holt steadied the Pies, while a major to Visser from the goalsquare on the siren hurt the Bloods, and extended Yinnar’s lead out to 35 points at half time.

It took some time after the main break for either side to score.

A free kick and goal to Clay Rogers was met with little excitement though, as the Bloods seemed to have almost conceded defeat early.

They were sparked back into action when Rogers kicked his second, the margin back to 27 points.

But Holt stopped the Traf momentum with a goal that somehow dribbled over some Trafalgar defenders in the goalsquare.

Holt was too strong overhead, another major from a mark giving Yinnar all the ascendancy it needed after a number of misses.

Rogers tried to lift the Bloods with a goal, but Holt’s third of the quarter gave Yinnar a 41 point buffer at three quarter time and effectively ended the contest.

All Yinnar had to do in the final quarter was to hold the lead and stop Trafalgar from kicking goals.

Robbie Farrell and Christian Burgess both kicked quick goals early in the term, Traf trying desperately to stop its season from disappearing.

But Yinnar was just as desperate to hold on to its lead, peppering the goals in the final term to be rewarded only with six behinds.

Yinnar could have won by 10 goals if not for the misses, the Pies failing to put a major through the sticks in the entire last quarter.

It mattered little though, as the Pies won by a comfortable 32 points, 14-18 (102) to Trafalgar’s 10-10 (70).

Yinnar’s Brendan Holt was awarded the Bill McConville medal for best on ground in the grand final, his overhead strength proving one of the keys to the Pies’ premiership success.

Holt was rarely outmarked, and in the contests he seemed unbeatable. Like a number of Yinnar players, Holt missed some shots at goal in the second half, but his return of five goals was good enough to influence the result.

However, in what was widely regarded as a strong team effort, Yinnar players were on top everywhere.

Rick Galea provided the Pies with great drive out of the centre, Trafalgar seemingly unable to stop his long attacking kicks all day. His two goals were both memorable also.

Coach Brett Sherriff put a halt to most of Traf’s attempts to get the ball into their forward line. The coach led by example and his marking abilities constantly troubled Trafalgar’s forward line.

Liam Visser was on fire early, and looked as if he would win the Bill McConville medal. He was a little quieter in the second half, but his three goals in the first half helped set up the win.

The 20 year old has had a great season, which bodes well for Yinnar’s future.

Brendan McCulloch took on most of the rucking duties, and with Dehaas on and off the ground with an injury, was a very effective player.

Veteran Jason Irvine was given the tagging job on Trafalgar coach Brian Leys, and came away with the honours, especially in the first half. Leys came into the game later on, but the damage had already been done.

Elder-Berwick medal winners Guy Cheffers and Paul Roberts didn’t have a great influence on the game, but at times the two were dangerous, Roberts at one stage so loose that he was able to take five bounces down the wing.

Trafalgar had very few winners, amongst them the experienced Ray Dyke, who kept plugging along all day in an effort to get some momentum going for the Bloods.

Jared Slater continued his excellent finals series, the highly-skilled underrated forward threatening some magic all day.

Gary Blandford never stopped running, and had a number of possessions around the ground, while Brent Claridge tried his hardest all day.

Leys was well held for most of the day, but you can never keep a great player down all day. It was no coincidence that when Leys lifted, the whole side stepped up a notch and he provided the Bloods with physical strength throughout the day.

Clay Rogers was Trafalgar’s only shining light up forward, his three goals a handy addition to the Bloods’ scoreline.

Unfortunately for the Bloods though, it was often a case of the walking wounded, with Chris Dehaas and Alfie McPherson acquiring injuries which saw them on and off the ground all day.

There were rumours flying around in the past month that Yinnar was too soft, that they were out of form, and that they would choke in the grand final.

But after losing the past two grand finals despite entering as red-hot favourites, Saturday’s premiership win silenced Yinnar’s critics and showed why the Magpies finished on top with just one loss.

The Magpies used the criticism to their advantage, and in doing so created history by being the first side to win 10 flags in the MGFL.

"In the last month or so, we’ve had a lot said about us," said club president Peter Quigley.

"I think the players probably used what everyone said about us as motivation to win."

Quigley agreed that the monkey is now finally off Yinnar’s back after the two consecutive grand final losses.

"The last two years were a big disappointment to the club, but at least today we had a real dip and won.

"When you know the team is good enough, you’ve just got to stick to the job, and that’s what Munga (coach Brett Sherriff) and the boys did."

The team is made up mostly of players who came through the Yinnar junior sides, a fact Quigley believes will bolster the club’s future.

"We can’t afford to just go for short term success, because in order to survive you’ve got to be strong for a long time.

"Our focus is on long term success, and to do that you’ve got to look at the juniors."

Although Yinnar did suffer losses in the reserves football and B grade netball grand finals, the club still took four flags home from Ted Summerton Reserve on Saturday.

The A grade, C grade and D grade netballers all won premierships, continuing the club’s huge success in both sports in recent years.

Yinnar had all four grades of football in the finals, which all finished in third position or higher.

It was the seniors which brought home the flag though.

"I’m very, very pleased for Brett and the coaching crew," said Quigley.

"It was tough for the last couple of years, but they’ve got a good team and good leaders, and it was just great that they were able to turn it around this year."

Not every coach whose side has just lost the grand final would be willing to walk into the change rooms of the side who won the premiership.

But Trafalgar coach Brian Leys did just that.

He stood on a bench and congratulated Yinnar on its season and premiership win, acknowledging the Magpies were the best side this year.

Another half an hour later, Leys remained convinced that Trafalgar just wasn’t good enough to match Yinnar’s overall strength in many areas.

"We made a lot of mistakes, and I guess we paid for them," Leys lamented.

"We went into the game with the same preparation as usual.

"We tried to do what we did without changing anything, and kept it the same as our preparation for every other game, but Yinnar was just too good for us."

Leys said the game would be a great learning experience for some of the younger players (eight of which are 21 years old or under).

"It will give the kids a lot of experience, playing in front of a big crowd, with all the pressure of finals footy. Hopefully they will also be able to come out learning from their mistakes.

"We have achieved quite a lot this year, especially coming from where we were earlier on, but unfortunately the end result was not what we really wanted. It was a good effort, but still disappointing."

Underdogs Hill End won back-to-back flags in the reserves, with an eight point win over Yinnar.

It was the first back-to-back flag ever for the club’s reserves side.

Hill End dominated the first half and it looked as if it would run away with a comfortable victory.

Yinnar came out after half time determined to win though, as the Pies kicked three goals to eventually hit the front.

The game was assured to go down to the wire, the Hillmen regaining the lead with a goal early in the final quarter.

Backed by a massive band of supporters around the ground, Hill End seemed to be the crowd favourites, especially considering they won three sudden death games to advance to the grand final.

They were able to hold on to win, ending Yinnar’s hopes of winning the seniors-reserves double.

David Platschinda was named as best on ground for the green and gold, who celebrated for most of the day.

Last year’s fourths league best and fairest winner Lennie Chilla won two more awards on Saturday.

He played in Mirboo North’s back-to-back premiership win over Newborough in the thirds, as well as winning the best on ground medallion.

Newborough started the game off in fine fashion, booting three of the first four goals of the match.

However it was all Mirboo North from there, as the Tigers then piled on 10 goals to the Bulldogs’ three for the rest of the match to double Newborough’s score and run out 37 point winners.

Mirboo North defeated Yinnar last season in the thirds competition, the Tigers losing just once this season.

In the second semi final two weeks ago, Mirboo North thrashed Newborough by 15 goals. The Dogs made more of a contest in the grand final, but it was to no avail as the Tigers’ juniors continued their recent dominance.

Mirboo North turned last year’s grand final loss against Newborough in the fourths into a premiership victory against the same side on Saturday, the Tigers’ Matt Scerri named best on ground.

Newborough found it hard to score, the Dogs’ first goal coming in the third quarter.

The Tigers led all the way, and were able to take home the flag with a comfortable 22 point win.

This season’s league best and fairest winner Michael Nash was also excellent for Mirboo North, the Tigers sweeping the junior football flags with both the thirds and fourths taking out the premierships.

The future of the Mirboo North seniors side looks good, as the club will attempt in the next few years to win its first seniors flag since 1957 - the longest current streak without a premiership.

Everything seems set for the Tigers' future, the only problem now being the ability to keep the players playing football with the club.