Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we may have just witnessed one of the greatest grand finals in the history of the Essendon District Football League.
And depending on what side of the fence you were sitting on Saturday afternoon, you witnessed either absolute jubilation or absolute heartbreak.
Strathmore have brought honour and glory back to Lebanon Reserve via the grand final for the first time since 2014, after defeating Aberfeldie in extra time of the Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division Grand Final, 11.11.77, 8.13.61 in front of an unbelievably strong crowd at Windy Hill.
It was a day filled with drama and heroics - from the Under 18.5s to Seniors - and both Aberfeldie and Strathmore made sure they saved the best grand final for last in season 2022.
The Mores went into the game as the underdogs, but big omissions from the Aberfeldie camp on the Friday morning made for some interesting talking points come Saturday. It almost levelled things up immediately in the context of the game.
Daniel Mammoliti slotted the first goal of the afternoon to send the Mores supporters into hysterics but the Two Blues jumped out of the blocks after that, and made the most of the advantageous wind towards the primary school end of the ground.
It was a long and entertaining first term which saw seven goals kicked collectively, with Abers leading the contest by nine points.
Strathmore would return fire in the second term and score identically to that of what Abers mustered, adding four goals and three behinds to their second term score to take a 16-point lead into the main break.
They would also restrict Adam Marcon’s men to just two behinds in the second stanza, with the Mores defence tightening up. Luke Jarrad and Dan Mighell started to dominate in the air, and with the absence of Kyle Reimers and Jayden Foster up forward, cracks were beginning to appear for Aberfeldie.
Adversely, the third term was quite the opposite. Aberfeldie would then restrict Strathmore to just one behind for the quarter, but weren’t able to capitalise up forward.
Their three goals and four behinds for the quarter gave them just a five point lead going into the final break, setting up a grandstand finish to what was already a hotly contested grand final.
Given the trajectory of the game, it wouldn’t have been wrong to assume that Strathmore could potentially run away with the premiership as they were kicking towards the primary school end in the final quarter. Abers though had other ideas.
The first ten minutes of the quarter were dominated by Adam Marcon’s men. They were able to restrict Strathmore of any possession with the footy and this was capped off by a brilliant goal from a stoppage by Michael Ktona, who extended the lead to 13 points.
Aberfeldie’s defence understood the assignment, and the back six defended with their lives. Daniel Thompson, Tim Currie, Nic Cattapan, and Aaron Stone were especially impressive throughout the final quarter, proving to be absolutely menacing in the air right in front of the packed Aberfeldie dominated hill in the left forward pocket.
The game was hot, and it was physical but little did we know that it was just about to heat up to yet another level.
Strathmore just wouldn’t go away and started piling on the pressure in their forward half. They were able to muster repeated stoppages inside 50, and set up extremely well behind the footy to repel any sign of an Aberfeldie attack.
Andrew Gallucci would be the first player to breathe life back into the game for the Mores, slotting a huge goal from 45 metres out directly in front, bringing the margin back to just one straight kick in the process. An individual act of brilliance from Will Jury set the goal up, as he took the footy under his wing from defence and into the forward line spotting up his open teammates.
He was then followed by the clutch master in Mitch Purcell, who steadied to level the scores from almost the same position with 26 minutes gone on the clock, sending the Strathmore crowd into absolute hysterics.
With the scores level at 60 apiece it set up a mammoth final couple of minutes. Strathmore went forward again a couple of times and tried to salvage a score to put them in front.
A huge grab from Tom Denning saw him take a set shot right on the paint of 50, with the kick coming off the side of the boot and going out of bounds in the right forward pocket for Strathmore.
Adam Iacobucci would again send them into attack from a free kick, but Daniel Thompson stood up strong yet again to take a massive intercept mark in defence.
With the ball in neutral territory for the last minute, Strathmore would attempt one last attack inside 50, with the ball ending up in front of the hill as the siren sensationally sounded with the scores still level.
It meant we were going to extra time.
Chaos ensued as both sides attempted to understand how the next period of play would operate. Five minute halves either way, with Abers kicking towards the school end first.
The pressure mounted, the intensity lifted. All structures were thrown out the window as both sides tried to salvage a lead.
It would be the Griff who would manage the first score of extra time, with a rushed behind giving them the lead by a solitary point. They would take that lead into the break between halves, keeping Abers scoreless down towards the scoring end of the ground.
As the game wore on, the Strathmore forwards became more dangerous around the footy. Matt Horne’s men started the second period of extra time with heaps of ascendancy, as Mitch Purcell and Will Jury threatened the goal face but were unable to capitalise straight away.
The Mores were almost punished for their missed opportunities, when Lucas Rocci set his sights on the big sticks down the Napier Street end. However, he would also squander the opportunity to put the Two Blues ahead.
There was a reason Purcell was dubbed the clutch master above, because not only did he slot a huge goal in the final term, he also made up for his miss a couple of minutes earlier with a mammoth mark and goal to put the Griff ahead by eight points with just over a minute and a half to go.
That major almost all but sealed the deal, with Aberfeldie needing two goals in quick succession to snatch the game away.
Daniel Mammoliti had other ideas, and he iced the cake with one brilliant final goal to sink the Two Blues. And It was then that the “Strathmore” chant was born with the faithful of the navy blue and gold coming together in one voice as the siren sounded. Ecstasy for Strathmore, agony for Aberfeldie.
Mammoliti, Purcell, Kyle Weightman and Brock Egglestone would all manage two goals on the afternoon for Strathmore, and were followed by Athan Tsialtas, Tom Denning and Andrew Gallucci who added singles.
For the Two Blues Joey Dimasi, Michael Ktona and Rocci all added two goals each, with Zach Hislop and Tye Browning adding singles also.
And it was none other than Adam Iacobucci who picked up the Reg Rose medal with best on ground honours for a stellar performance throughout the contest for his consistency around the footy. A well deserved feat for one of the league's most experienced men.
It’s a match that will be talked about for years on end, and rightfully so. What a game, what a contest, what unbelievable atmosphere. That’s EDFL footy.
