Losing a grand final is always tough but it was even tougher for Tullamarine on Sunday knowing they’d played their worst game of the year in the Essendon District Football League division 1.
The Demons went into the match full of confidence after beating opponent West Coburg in the semi-finals.
But they couldn’t reproduce the same form and went down 13.15 (93) to 5.10 (40).
PICTURE GALLERY: Tullamarine v West Coburg grand final
The Demons led at quarter-time but it was clear by half-time it wasn’t going to be their day.
While the scoreboard showed the Demons still in the game at half-time, West Coburg was already starting to flex its muscles.
And when West Coburg kicked five goals to none in the third quarter and two early ones in the last, the Demons’s hopes had gone.
The Demons lost the match in middle of the ground. They were second to the ball, kicked straight to opponents and weren’t giving their forwards any chances.
And while not helped by a one-sided free kick count, in the end it had little impact on the game.
Demons’ coach Ash Manning was left shocked by his side’s performance.
“It’s fair to say I didn’t see this coming,” he said after the game.
“If we’d played well and they beat us I could have understood but we were out-tackled and outnumbered and they beat us in every area.
“Their third quarter was unbelievable.”
Manning said his midfielders were soundly beaten.
“They killed us,” he said. “They smashed us in the clearances and their big midfielders monstered us.”
Sean Doyle kicked two goals for the Demons, but the league’s two leading goalkickers, Jonathon Kent and Daniel Mangan, both failed to kick a goal.
Manning, who will coach again next year, said that while disappointed with the loss, he took positives out of losing only four matches for the year and making the grand final.
