THE Koroit collective of 2014-18 has made history, the first Hampden league team to win five premierships in a row.
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Today, in the first in a four-part series on the great Hampden league teams, we tell some of the stories from the coal face of this record-breaking run.
2014
Koroit 15. 9. (99) defeated Warrnambool 12. 11. (83)
GOALS: Koroit: S. Dobson 6, L. Nagorcka 2, J. White 2, B. Goodall, J. Brennan, C. McLaren, J. McLaren, E. Zimmer. Warrnambool: T. Graham 4, J. Rowan 4, J. Turland 2, J. Walters , S. Cowling.
BEST: Koroit: B. Goodall, S. Dobson, J. Hausler, D. Mooney, I. Templeton. Warrnambool: R. Bright, D. McCorkell, J. Walters, J. Rowan, T. Graham, J. Turland.
Warrnambool enjoyed a dominant 2014, winning 17 home-and-away games and the second semi-final, against Koroit, by 72 points. The Blues went into the grand final the hottest of favourites. Koroit needed plenty to change if it was to cause an upset. Koroit needed a flying start in the grand final, which it got, kicking with the wind in the first quarter to lead by 23 points. From there, the Blues came chasing, but as close as they got, they were never able to claw back the lead, with the Saints producing a famous win.
One of the stars for Koroit was Dallas Mooney, who tells how he was handed a new role on the day.
“I had played full-back all year and Wiggsy (Adam Dowie) moved me to a wing. Against the wind I played as a spare across half-back so it wasn’t totally different to what I was used to, it was still a defensive role. We did go in as underdogs, but we had a good win in the preliminary final so we were in good form.”
2015
Koroit 13. 14. (92) defeated Warrnambool 7. 9. (51)
GOALS: Koroit: S. Dobson 5, S. O'Keefe 3, I. Templeton 2, J. Gow, L. Nagorcka, J. Hausler. Warrnambool: J. O'Donnell 2, J. Fary, A. McCarthy, T. Ludeman, S. Cowling, N. Chirnside.
BEST: Koroit: E. Zimmer, I. Templeton, S. Dobson, W. Drew, J. McLaren, B. Goodall. Warrnambool: L. Hoy, A. McCarthy, B. Moore, N. Chirnside, W. Jacobs, J. Walters.
Ruckman Ethyn Zimmer teamed with Jeremy Hausler for the first three flags, creating a formidable ruck duo. Zimmer tells of challenges both and off and ground he conquered ahead of a best-on-ground performance.
“Jez Hausler wasn’t fully fit going into that game so I knew I had to carry a bit more of the load. To be honest, that day and that finals series was a bit of a blur. Two weeks before the grand final my dad had a heart attack and had to have a quadruple by-pass. He was able to recover enough to get out and watch the grand final. It was very, very emotional going to him after the game.”
2016
Koroit 14. 16. (100) defeated North Warrnambool Eagles 10. 7. (67)
GOALS: Koroit: W. Couch 5, W. Drew 3, J. Korewha 2, L. Nagorcka, B. Goodall, T. Mulraney, M. Darmody. North Warrnambool Eagles: J. Lewis 3, D. Parish 2, A. Wines, J. Dillon, R. Taggert, J. Corbett, B. Mugavin.
BEST: Koroit: W. Drew, T. Mulraney, L. Nagorcka, J. Watson, W. Couch, J. Korewha. North Warrnambool Eagles: D. Parish, M. Brophy , B. Mugavin, L. Van Heugten, S. Doukas, D. Johnstone.
The Eagles were shooting for their first premiership and carried a 20-point lead into half-time.
But as mercurial Koroit forward Will Couch explains, Koroit knew its place in history.
“It was one of the most coached games I have played in. Adam Dowie took us into the bathroom at half-time and asked us what the paper would look like on Monday. It was Adam doing what he does best, it razzed everyone up and it brought home to us the consequences of winning or losing.”
2017
Koroit 9. 8. (62) defeated Port Fairy 6. 5. (41)
GOALS: Koroit: T. McIntyre 5, B. Harrington, I. Templeton, M. Darmody. Port Fairy: D. Nicholson 2, X. McCartney 2, S. McCartney, J. Hollmer 1.
BEST: Koroit: T. McIntyre, J. Hausler, L. Hoy, D. O'Connor, B. Goodall, B. Harrington. Port Fairy: M. Sully, X. McCartney, K. Mercovich, S. Rudolph, J. Hetherington, D. Gunning.
The masses gathered at Reid Oval with many believing they were about to witness Port Fairy breaking a premiership drought that dated back to 1958. But Koroit, and in particular Damian O’Connor, had other ideas. In his debut season with the Saints, O’Connor was a towering figure, helping control the flow of play. O’Connor said the old saying, you train as you play, served the Saints well.
“The way I train is the way I play, I try and show the same level of determination and intent. I think that shows your teammates no matter when and what the situation is, you are fully committed. That’s the great thing about our team, we all know everyone will put their head over the ball when their turn comes. It starts in pre-season, it might be a run at the beach, but everyone wants to put in and be the best they can. That comes out in games like the 2017 grand final, when a big prize is on the line.”
2018
Koroit 8. 9, (57) defeated Camperdown 6. 10. (46)
GOALS: Koroit: T. McIntyre 3, J. Korewha 2, W. Couch, D. O'Connor, J. Hausler 1. Camperdown: E. Lucas 2, J. Gallichan, N. Bateman, S. Cunnington, C. Spence.
BEST: Koroit: J. Hausler, L. Hoy, D. O'Connor, T. McLean, T. McIntyre, B. Harrington. Camperdown: J. Williams, P. Carse, J. Gallichan, M. Field, S. Cunnington, F. Lucas.
To win a premiership, most things need to go your way. When you are aiming for five in a row, the possibility of chasing the big scalp reaches huge portions.
If Camperdown was to challenge Koroit, it had one big thing in its favour. The Magpies had gathered a band of hard-nosed onballers, an area where Koroit had been dominant in for many years.
One of the leaders of the Saints’ inside midfielders pack was Taylor Mulraney. Leading into the grand final, Mulraney was in doubt with a shoulder injury. He was proclaimed fit and took his place in history, but Mulraney explains it was touch and go.
“Chris (McLaren) had said the week before I could have played in the preliminary final but there was no way. To be honest, in the week leading up to the grand final, I was more in doubt than I was that I would play. After I did the shoulder in the last home-and-away game I was shattered, I thought that might have been it. My first half of the grand final wasn’t great. I was a bit worried in the third quarter, I thought if they slapped on a couple of quick ones we were in trouble. But the boys dug deep, it is a team that always plays for each other.”