AN EXPERIENCED coaching duo has led Nirranda out of the horrors of a 17-year premiership and finals drought to triumphantly lift the Warrnambool and District football league crown.
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The Blues became the first side in 26 years to take out the senior grand final from fifth place, overcoming all odds to run out premiers over Old Collegians in a low-scoring but thrilling encounter.
They booted 6.9 (45) to 5.8 (38) to secure their first premiership since 1999, sending the vocal travelling supporters into raptures as they spilled onto Reid Oval at the final siren.
Shane Threlfall and Shane Quick, the seasoned co-coaches at the helm of the premiership team, dedicated the triumph to the club’s loyal following of volunteers and supporters.
“It’s for all the people that have been supporting the place for the past 17 years. They battle really hard to get a football side on the park and this is a really good reward for a lot of people that have put a lot of effort in for a long time,” Threlfall said.
“I reckon the Panmure game (round 17) was when all the work we put into structures and plans paid off and we really hit our straps. That was the form we were able to bring into finals even though we had the hiccup in the last game against Merrivale.”
Quick, who has taken on a role as a motivator in the Nirranda setup, was proud of the Blues’ mettle in the make-or-break moments of the match and finals series.
“There are clubs with a good culture that are used to playing finals, and they handle the occasion really well. But for a green, inexperienced side that has just come in, it was really the unknown how they were going to handle the occasion,” he said.
“I was just so amazed at how mature and settled they were. They were never overawed at any moment. They came in and rolled the dice to see how far they could go and it’s amazing at what happened.”
Nirranda capitalised on a strong wind in the opening term to boot three unanswered goals, before Old Collegians bounced back to trail by just seven points at the main break.
Two goals to the Warriors in the third meant the both teams went in to the final break deadlocked at 31 points, before Nirranda shot back with two quickfire majors to seal the game in the last quarter.