James Murphy
IT could not have been any sweeter for Millicent Saints footballers on Saturday, as they claimed back-to-back Western Border A Grade premierships with a comprehensive win over South Gambier.
The 40-point triumph – which was set up by a huge seven-goal third quarter – handed the Saints their third premiership in four seasons.
The run of success started in 2018 under playing coach Clint Gallio when they broke a 34-year drought, before a couple of years in the wilderness with a winless 2019 campaign and a cancelled season in 2020 due to the pandemic.
However, with Gallio at the helm once more Millicent reclaimed the ultimate prize last year and found itself in a grand final rematch with the Demons at Vansittart Park on Saturday.
An intense battle unfolded in the opening half, before the Saints put the game to bed in the “premiership” quarter.
As they say, the rest is history and there has been plenty of celebrations since.
Speaking to The South Eastern Times this week, Gallio reflected on the final moments of the game.
“The scenes when the siren went and after the game were just unreal,” he said.
“Everyone ran onto the oval and you hug about 50-60 people – everyone was so excited.
“Some people say one (premiership) is a fluke, but then back-to-back is pretty special.”
Millicent has never won consecutive flags since it joined the Western Border Football League at its inception in 1964.
Gallio believed you would have to search the history books back to the 1930’s or 40’s to find the last time the club had achieved the feat.
It adds some extra sweetness to an already impressive achievement, with the Demons a daunting opponent for all this season.
However, it was Millicent’s day and Gallio could not have been prouder of his team.
“It is a pretty good feeling,” he said.
“The third quarter really set it up for us and that fourth quarter was good and enjoyable.
“Every time we kicked a goal there was a bit of carry on – we could just really enjoy it and soak it up.”
Gallio said while there were 22 players who received a medal on the day, the efforts of the whole club are to thank for the success.
“It is a lot of people doing a lot of hard work for so many years,” he said.
“There are 22 people who are lucky enough to get a medal, but over the four or five years there are a lot of other people who deserve one.
“It is very nice to be a part of something like that.”
Reflecting on his own journey as a coach, Gallio said it is easy to look past those accolades being a player as well.
However, you can not deny the influence he has had on the club during his time in the top job.
“It is a lot of people doing a lot of hard work, but to sit back at the end of the day and know you have coached three premierships is pretty special,” Gallio said.
“I am just really proud.
“It has sunk in, but I haven’t sort of thought about those things too much as a coach.
“You don’t forget, but sometimes you just brush over it because you are playing as well.”
Now he will go down in history as one of the coaching greats at the Millicent Football Club.
With the fate of Limestone Coast football currently under review by SANFL, the future of the WBFL is unclear.
Should drastic changes be made to the format of the sport in the region, the 2022 flag could be an historic one.
“We don’t know what is going to happen, but if something does happen we could potentially be the last club and team to win a flag in the Western Border competition,” Gallio said.
“If that happens, then that is something pretty special as well.”
See page 72 for match report
