Tara Murray
It was a bittersweet ending to the Northern Football League division 3 season for Mernda on Saturday.
The big improvers in the competition this season, the Demons went from third bottom to playing off in their first grand final since 2012.
At three quarter time of Saturday’s grand final, the Demons looked the better team against Laurimar, which was aiming for its first premiership.
The Power was able to find another gear in the final quarter to walk away with the win and the premiership, 13.5 (83)-11.11 (77).
Demons coach Rob Fletcher said while the grand final loss hurts now, in a few weeks they’ll be able to look back at the season as one that was a success.
“When we sit back and reflect, we had an unbelievable season,” he said. “Last year we finished just above Lalor and Reservoir.
“We lost six players off our list and a few injuries to key players like Ryan Bongetti.
“We only brought in three players, there was no massive recruiting for the club.
“We talked about ticking boxes this year and we ticked every box but one, winning a premiership.”
In the grand final, the Demons took control of the match in the middle two quarters after a slow start.
Winning the ball in the middle of the ground, the Demons led by 11 points heading into the final break.
A couple of injuries in the third quarter and a couple more in the last quarter made things hard for the Demons.
While the Demons were struggling with numbers, the Power’s running game took over and guided it to the premiership.
Fletcher said losing key players at key times didn’t help their cause.
“It changed the game a little bit,” he said. “ Michael Evans got hurt in the third quarter and was by far the best on the ground at that stage.
“He did the grunt work in the middle. You can’t do anything about that, but we got beaten by a better side.”
Fletcher said Evans was a shattered man after the game. Billy Morrison, who is known for performing on the big stage, spent the night in hospital as well, with Fletcher saying on Sunday they were still waiting on the results of scans to know how badly he was injured.
Riley Edwards kicked three goals in the loss for the Demons, while William Crouch and Bryce Kimuliatis kicked two goals each.
Evans, Dayne Kellett and Morrison were named their best.
Fletcher said the loss would hurt for a while but believed it would help spur the group forward in the future.
“Before we went back to the rooms we went back to our football manager’s, Shaun Mills, home and his and his wife and served food up.
“We were there for an hour and a half and the smiles started to come back to their faces.
“In the back of their minds they’re already thinking when does pre-season start?”
