IT was a case of atonement for the Western Border Football League on Saturday as it set out to claim the honours in the Limestone Coast Regional Carnival.
The WBFL struggled last year without a win after attempting to defend its title.
This year saw the same scenario unfold with the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara league, which failed to defend its 2018 title, again without a win.
Instead it was the WBFL which claimed three wins for the day, first accounting for the KNTFL, then the Mid South East league in the minor round, before a comfortable win over MSE in the grand final.
The games had been close all day, but that did not deter the WBFL, even when trailing at the half time break in the grand final.
A big push saw them claim the lead back and push ahead to record the highest score of the day and the title.
For coach Steve Duldig it was a relief, after he coached the side to its poor 2018 performance.
The day could not have panned out any better for Duldig and his team.
He said it was an important win for the league after last year’s effort.
“There were only eight or 10 players who were there last year, so a lot of them were fresh in and it didn’t make much difference, but we did touch on it a few times,” he said.
“I know the league was disappointed last year and any players who played were really keen to atone for that.”
Duldig said the major focus going into this year’s competition was a fast start in each game to provide the best chance of a win in the short-format carnival.
With only 18 minutes plus time on in each half of football there was little time to come from behind, but the side faced that exact scenario in the first game.
“In the first game against KNT we didn’t get off to a good start,” he said.
“We were chasing tail there, but the rest of the first half was fantastic.
“It was probably our best for the day.
“To be able to hold on against them was great.”
The WBFL won that one by just two points.
Duldig described the round clash with the MSE as an arm wrestle and a “funny game”.
The grand final spots had already been decided by that stage, with both sides to line up for the last game of the day.
However, he said his players were keen to give it everything and did not treat it as a dead rubber, which was reflected in the tightness of the contest.
“That was a real arm wrestle – we did kick away a little bit, but they came back,” he said.
“It was a funny one, but we just rotated more through the midfield.
“We rested Jonah (Grimes) and gave Kurt (Rodis) a bit more of a run in the ruck.
“We threw it around a little bit more, but we still wanted to win it, we didn’t take it easy.
“To win three for the day was the aim.”
The WBFL won that one by just three points, which set up the perfect scenario for a grand final.
Duldig said after watching the MSE claim the win over the Knights earlier in the day, then playing out such a tight contest in the round game, he expected a tough clash.
That was exactly how it panned out, with the WBFL winning 6. 4-40 to 4.2-26.
The MSE showed plenty of pace through the midfield and a strong focus on physicality right around the ground.
“If they won the ball they were quick to spread and went forward really quick,” Duldig said.
“That was one area we wanted to stop if they were winning the contest.
“We wanted to spread quickly to stop them getting it forward too easily.
“I think we did that most of the game.
“I think as the game went on we seemed to be getting on top.
“They seemed to make a few mistakes and our polish was probably a little bit better towards the end.”
While Duldig said it was hard to single players out from the performance on the day, he did make note of a few specific performers.
“Dylan Bromley played down back, which is a different role to what he is used to,” he said.
“He was brilliant, he read the ball well and took important intercept marks.
“Jayden Eldridge was his usual self – every year at this level he steps up and you know what you are going to get from him.
“Our on-ballers, Nick McInerney, Tom Sullivan, Matt Willson, they gave us so much drive out of there.
“Up forward, Brayden Kain gave us a good target the first couple of games, but our young, smaller guys, Todd Reid, Sam Willis, Giancarlo Cooper gave us some real spark around the forward line.”
At the end of the day the WBFL prevailed and Duldig said he was pleased with the result and the way the players worked towards their goal.
“Even before the game, at all the trainings they gelled really quickly and got along well,” he said.
“Before we ran out they wanted to win, it wasn’t just another game, they wanted to get that shield.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
For the record, while it is early days, Duldig said he would be keen to continue on in the coaching role, should the opportunity arise again.
“I will probably have a bit more time to commit next year, but we will see what happens,” he said.
“I do enjoy it.
“It is a good month and they are an easy group to coach.”
