The Essendon District Football League division 1 premiership was always seen as Craigieburn’s to lose this year.
Having made the grand final last year, the Eagles strengthened their line-up in their bid to go one step further in 2016.
They started the season on fire, winning their first 12 games before a mid-season slump saw the doubts of those outside the club begin to grow.
But after thumping Tullamarine in the first semi-final, the Eagles were again seen as the team to beat in the grand final.
On Sunday they would again face Tullamarine, which had snuck through to the grand final after beating Oak Park in a preliminary final thriller.
This time, Craigieburn emerged victorious with a 15.10 (100)-12.8 (80) scoreline.
For Eagles coach Peter Bugden it was a relief to meet the club’s high expectations.
“I can tell you now, when you’re the senior coach and you’re expected to win, there’s so much pressure,” he said after the game. “It’s a relief, that’s all it is.
“They had us at half-time. I think we were pushing up daises a little bit and they were full of run … fortunately the big boys came out to play in the second half.”
Unlike the last time the two teams met, the Demons came to play. They attacked early and put the Eagles defenders under pressure.
The Eagles on the other hand, while not having the same number of inside-50s, had key targets who were getting the ball, namely Jason and Cameron Cloke.
Picture Shawn Smits.
The Eagles led by 19 points at quarter-time.
But the Demons didn’t go away, with Jack Sims showing why the club had recruited him from the Riddell District Football League.
He kicked three of the Demons’ goals for the second quarter as they reduced the margin to four points at the main break.
The Eagles got the first two goals of the third quarter as both Clokes continued to provide issues for Tullamarine up forward. Cameron kicked two goals.
Just as the Eagles looked like they were going to run away with it, the Demons kicked their first goal of the quarter in the 17th minute through Chris Burns. That was quickly followed by a Jack Burns goal that kept the Demons in the game.
The Eagles held a 20-point lead going into the final quarter, with the Demons kicking with a slight wind.
The Eagles needed someone to stand up early in the last quarter, and it wasn’t surprising it was one of the Clokes who did so. Jason kicked the opening two goals of the quarter.
Justin Marcy kept the Demons’ small chances alive by getting one back, but when Alex Loizou and Samuel Laffan kicked goals for the Eagles the game was over.
The Demons kicked the last three goals of the game to reduce the margin, but it was too little too late.
The Eagles’ coaching staff made a few changes at half-time, including moving Ryan Bongetti into the middle of the ground.
It was a winning move, with Bongetti being awarded the best-on-ground medal.
Picture Shawn Smits.
“We made some minor changes,” Bugden said. “We thought we needed more runners and to get some pressure on exit [from the 50], and also ‘Bono’ going into the midfield obviously.
“The boy has had a strained ACL and he could have easily not played – to play and get best on ground [was massive].
“Nick Fletcher and David Courouzou didn’t get much of a run in the second half, as we needed runners.
“‘Fletch’ had an injury for four to five weeks but we think a little bit of ‘Fletch’ is better than none.”
Jason Cloke kicked four goals, while Cameron Cloke and Samuel Laffan kicked three each.
Laffan is one of the young brigade of home-grown Craigieburn players who have cemented spots in the senior side.
The youngest, 16-year-old Tye Browning, played in the senior side’s past four games of the season, including both finals.
“I think Sammy Laffan, Jamie Gorgievski, Jake Piggott and Ben Fynch are young boys who have earnt their spots over a three-year period,” Bugden said. “They’ve stuck by the club and worked really hard and have been rewarded for it.”
“Sammy is 60 kilos wringing wet, but 60 kilos of heart.
“Tye didn’t get a lot of game time today but when he was on the ground what a contribution – he did what we want of a quality senior player.”
The win puts the Eagles back in premier division – that’s a long way from the end of the 2014 season, when they avoided relegation to division 2 on percentage.
For more pictures from Sunday’s game, CLICK HERE
