The Northern Football League will play off for the number one spot in the WorkSafe AFL Victoria Community Championships rankings next year.
A solid championship win against the Mornington Peninsula Football League on Saturday has set up a clash next year with the Eastern Football League.
The EFL knocked off Geelong to claim the title of the number one ranked team for the first time.
NFL coach Garry Ramsay said the opportunity to play off for the top spot was something addressed before the game.
MPFL started the better of the two sides and led by 14 points at half-time, but the NFL had wasted opportunities in front of goal.
“We were playing some really good footy, but we weren’t putting it on the scoreboard,” Ramsay said. “We weren’t getting reward for effort.”
The NFL hit the front in the second term with a four-goal-to-one quarter and led by 13 points at the last change.
With fresh legs, the NFL was able to run over the top as they converted on the scoreboard to notch up a 12.17 (89)-7.7 (49) win.
While Anton Woods was awarded the NFL best-on-ground medal, Ramsay said it was a real team effort.
“Nearly everyone got even game time and it meant we had some pretty fresh players by the end,” he said.
“It was a really good team effort. The backline defended well as a team, the forward line put on a lot of pressure and the middle got on top after quarter-time.”
Patrick Fitzgerald kicked four goals.
Ramsay said it was good to get some younger guys into the side that could represent the league for a number of years.
He said Jaron Murphy, Tom Simpson and Lachlan East were three of the younger players who didn’t look out of place.
Ramsay said one of the keys to the success of the side was the buy-in from players keen to be involved.
He said addressing that issue a couple of years ago had paid off, with players who might have been knocked back in the past getting chances.
