It was a gutsy performance from Tullamarine, but it fell just short in the Essendon District Football League division 1 grand final.
The Demons pushed hot favourites Craigieburn for the first three quarters, before the Eagles’ class showed through when it was needed most.
Kicking four of the first five goals of the last quarter, the Eagles crushed the Demons’ premierships hopes in 10 minutes.
The Demons showed the fighting spirit that had got them into the grand final, kicking the last three goals to make the scoreboard more or less respectable. In the end, it was a 20-point loss, with the Eagles winning 15.10 (100) – 12.8 (80).
For Demons’ coach Anthony Leydin it was a case of what might have been. As for most of the season, they fought above their weight.
“We came here to win, and that’s something we have to accept,” he said.
“If you look at the landscape in division 1, we have a few inherent disadvantages that we needed to overcome.
“We thought we were in a pretty strong position heading into three-quarter time.
“They stepped up and we didn’t, and it was over probably 10 minutes into the last.”
Leydin said the Demons were left to rue not making the most of first-half opportunities.
“I don’t think our forward line worked overly well today, and that was probably the difference.
“We had 14 more inside 50s in the first half, and we didn’t put the score on the board … again that has been our problem all year long, and even last year. We took it as far as could.”
For the Demons, the match was also the curtain-fall on the careers of four players – David Brockway, Chris Burns, David Scott, Nathan Tieppo. Leydin said the club had some big decisions moving forward.
“Obviously, we need to get a bit more depth through our list, and get a bit more top-end talent, if we want to challenge,” he said.
“I mean it’s early days, and maybe we need to take a step back and look at other options and build from there. We’ve got this close it would be a shame to go the other way, but if it’s what’s best for the club long term, then we’ll head down that path.”
