WOODSIDE produced the result of the season, becoming North Gippsland senior football premier after defeating the league leading Traralgon-Tyers United on Saturday.
Rain persisted for most of the morning in Churchill, with even hail making an appearance before the reserves grand final. Thankfully, the sun beamed through the clouds ahead of the senior game, however wind remained a factor.
The wind gusted across Gaskin Park, heading diagonally in the direction of the Switchback Rd end and the scoreboard wing. And yes, it played its part.
TTU spent the entire second half of the season on top of the ladder, and it began the game with that title on its back. No one had beaten the Bombers since Woodside did in the first round of the season.
TTU was undefeated for the entire 2023 season, meaning the Bombers came into the grand final with only one loss to their name since the start of 2023. They certainly set the tone in this encounter.
The league leaders got the first goal of the game in the first five minutes, scoring at the Switchback Rd end.
Still wet under foot from the previous games, it was evident that Gaskin Park proved the game would be a wet and windy slog. Minor scores were accepted by the Bombers at the time, but at the game’s end, they might’ve preferred them to be worth six.
They added their second major of the game when wingman Kade Duncan crept forward inside 50 and snapped truly around his body, gifting the Bombers with a comfortable 14-point buffer.
The wind did its job and kept the ball locked in TTU’s half for the majority of the quarter, but a quick counterattack from Woodside had them outnumbered going forward.
With the ball trickling around Woodside’s forward line, TTU had a shortage of numbers ready to bring the ball forward. Dan Farmer seized upon that opportunity to get the Wildcats on the board, winning a free kick in the goal square, catching his opponent holding the ball, going back, and slotting his first midway through the term.
Anything they could do, the Bombers did better at that stage.
Caleb Michie found himself at the bottom of a pack soon after the centre bounce, earning himself a free kick within range for a push in the back. He went back to rub out Woodside’s reply, kicking his first goal after missing out in last year’s grand final.
The umpires were not afraid to ping either side for rolling the ball deliberately out of bounds. Not even the wet weather was an excuse, as the whistle was blown on multiple occasions, sometimes as a saving grace, sometimes as bonus depending on where it happened.
With TTU’s constant inbounds into the forward 50, Woodside did well to weather the storm, either rushing the ball over the line to reset, or using composure to ease the ball back out, even if it was sent back within seconds.
Cam Whiteoak snagged a late goal in the term to get Woodside’s second. Some crafty work from Farmer, kicking the ball while laying on his back, gave Whiteoak the opportunity to score on the goal line.
TTU went forward from the next centre bounce, but the siren saved the Wildcats from conceding another, as the Bombers went into the first break with a 10-point advantage.
Now Woodside had the wind.
Moving back to his preferred position in defence, Michie proved to be a problem for Woodside, ending multiple chance of theirs as the second quarter siege was underway.
But then came an onslaught. Considering the conditions, it was an onslaught.
A floating ball headed for the boundary was strangled together by Liam Leeson, who confidently went back to his mark on the boundary line. Strutting forward, he opted for the drop punt, which paid dividends, bringing Woodside to within a kick.
Despite Woodside bringing the ball forward on repeat occasions, the Bombers were holding up defensively sound to hang onto their lead.
Minutes later, the lead changed.
A downfield free kick was paid to Michael O’Sullivan, who made no mistake from 25 metres out to give Woodside a two-point advantage midway through the second term.
The repeated entries suddenly took their toll on TTU, as Whiteoak was once again found loose in the forward 50, snapping around his body to give Woodside its own buffer.
Tempers began to ease their way out of TTU, as another free kick was gifted to the Wildcats inside 50, which proved costly, as Jai Williams put Woodside up by 15 points. All of a sudden, the Bombers had a task on their hands.
A switch must have been flicked in the Bombers’ camp, as the wind was so much of a factor in the final 10 minutes of the half, they owned possession and scoring opportunities.
The minor scores kept flowing for TTU, as it continued to waste chance upon chance in front of goal, despite its dominance all over the field during that portion.
The script had been flipped once the half-time siren sounded. Woodside now had the lead, as TTU trailed by 14 points at the main break.
With no rain during play, it was due during the break, as clouds began to cover Gaskin Park again to give the grass another rinse, making sure that we didn’t see a clean game of football. It remained heavy under foot, the ball would be wet, and the wind stayed around.
Desperation came quicker than expected for TTU, throwing bodies on the line for smothers that didn’t really have much impact, but nonetheless, the Bombers were showing some fight.
Woodside weathered the rain to perfection, but weren’t able to capitalise at the booth end, as TTU soon went the other way. The minutes were ticking off the clock.
The Bombers got the first and only goal of the third term 12 minutes in, thanks to Beau White who dribbled the ball through to give the Bombers some life, bringing the margin back to five points.
The gust heading across the ground then had its turn in the spotlight, with the ball continuously stuck on the scoreboard wing for minutes upon end.
Countless times the ball would go end to end, boundary throw in after boundary throw in. No one was gaining more from this than Woodside, as it prevented TTU from getting forward as much.
But push the Bombers did, and inaccuracies might’ve killed them in the end, but that pressure sure was mounting.
TTU continued to creep closer as the third quarter came to a close, but again, it would have wished for a goal at some point. Even for some sort of mental edge.
Minor scores flowed through, but Woodside maintained its lead against the wind, without scoring a goal.
The two teams headed into their huddles for one final instruction, as Woodside led by three points going into the final quarter of the season.
Like never before seen in this game, it opened up in the last. And it was one-way traffic to Woodside.
Williams kicked another to set the tone, and once again gave the Wildcats an all-important buffer. Youngster Ashton Janssen, who still has another season of thirds to play, found himself forward too and joined in on the party that was about to rain down on Gaskin Park, snapping around the body to give the Wildcats a 15-point lead.
Kicking against the wind, which was almost absent in the last, was still going to be a hard task for TTU to outscore Woodside by three goals from here. Mission impossible.
Minutes later, the equation became even harder for TTU, as Josh Kennedy kicked an impressive set shot to send the Woodside fans into raptures. The midfield-forward hybrid was beyond the arc as he walked in, peeled out to his right, slotting it for another major.
Twenty-one points the difference, 15 minutes to go. The margin was beyond them. TTU was deflated – it had no answers.
The game soon found a period of realisation. Woodside was going to be premier – claiming its first flag since forming in 2008.
TTU found a consolation goal late, but just minutes remained.
Time was against them, and they were doing everything to push for three late winners, but it was no use. In doing so, the Bombers gave away two 50-metre penalties, setting Woodside up for another set shot, that eventually went wayward.
And that was all she wrote on season 2024. Woodside was premier, defeating TTU by 15 points, and the joy burst from the fence as players embraced and fans rejoiced. Then they came together, as a huddle of about 100 people gathered in the middle of Gaskin Park.
Whiteoak was named best-on-ground for his enormous performance. He kicked two goals in a sloppy game of football, but they proved to be crucial.
Ben Johnson, Josh Hicks, Adam Janssen, Mark Collison, and Kennedy joined him in the Wildcats’ best.
For the runner-up, Stuart Goddard, Guy Sinclair, Michael Jacobsen, Trent Hourigan, White, and Jake Albanese were admirable in defeat.
THE reserves game saw a similar revenge-fuelled match play out, as Yallourn-Yallourn North knocked off the side that put it on the verge of elimination two weeks prior.
The Jets defeated Woodside, 5.14 (44) to 3.11 (29), righting their wrongs from last year’s grand final loss.
TTU did taste success in the thirds, defeating Churchill 18.18 (126) to 7.1 (43), completing an undefeated season for the Bombers.
