Fairytale complete as Katamatite goes back-to-back in Picola District League grand final thriller
Katamatite has completed its own football fairytale, surviving a desperate Waaia fightback to claim back-to-back Picola and District Football League senior premierships in a grand final thriller at Mathoura.
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The Tigers held their nerve in a pulsating finish on Saturday, prevailing 12.8 (80) to 10.15 (75) to secure a second consecutive flag and the club’s sixth senior premiership in about 130 years.
And when the final siren confirmed Katamatite had done it again, the emotion poured out.
Players celebrated wildly on the field as supporters quickly streamed across the boundary to embrace their premiership heroes, the scenes reflecting just how much another flag meant to the small Katamatite community.
“It was unbelievable,” Katamatite’s Tom Clurey said.
“I’ve been back here two years and, for a club that hasn’t really had too much success, with six flags in 130 years, to win two, that was our goal at the start of the year.
“I said it to the boys, I said it’s achievable. It’s like a fairytale.”
Waaia certainly made the Tigers earn it. The Bombers started the better of the two sides, kicking 2.4 to 1.1 in the opening quarter to establish a nine-point advantage.
But Katamatite turned the grand final on its head with a devastating second term.
The Tigers slammed on 6.2 for the quarter while restricting Waaia to 1.3, transforming a nine-point deficit into a 20-point half-time advantage at 7.3 (45) to 3.7 (25).
Katamatite looked to be taking control, but there was always going to be another response from a Waaia side with considerable grand final pedigree.
The Bombers had won three consecutive premierships before Katamatite broke through last season, and the Tigers knew exactly what sort of challenge awaited them.
“It’s always a grind against them, they’re a good team,” the Tigers player-coach Clurey said.
“They won three in a row before the last two years and they’re always around the mark — every time we play them it’s a hard game.
“But I had the belief. I told the boys if we put them under pressure, hunt them and slowly grind them down, we could come out on top.”
The third quarter developed into an arm wrestle.
Waaia kicked 3.5 to Katamatite’s 1.2 to reduce the deficit to five points, with the Tigers taking an 8.5 (53) to 6.12 (48) advantage into the final change.
That set the stage for a frantic finish. Katamatite found four goals in the final term, but Waaia refused to go away, kicking another 4.3 and continuing to threaten as the clock wound down.
The Bombers' inaccuracy ultimately proved costly. They finished with 25 scoring shots to Katamatite's 20 but could not find the goal they needed to complete the comeback.
“It got a little bit close towards the end there, but it was one hell of an effort,” Clurey said.
“A win’s a win, I’ll take it.”
Mitch Ward and William Gorman kicked three goals apiece for the Tigers, while Mitchell Coleman booted two. Jack Connolly, Toby Kopa, Patrick Riordan and Liam Williams each added one.
For Waaia, Charlie Burrows kicked three goals, Jesse Trower and Dustin Blake booted two each, while Todd Davies, James Carpenter and Callum Leighton-Daly each kicked one.
But the afternoon belonged to Katamatite.
The scenes after the siren underlined the significance of the achievement, with the club's supporters again turning out in force 12 months after celebrating the Tigers' breakthrough premiership.
“We’re a community and this time last year in Deni, the whole community showed up, and they have again today,” the eventual best-on-ground winner Clurey said.
“It’s incredible.”
Even after being recognised as the best player on the biggest stage, the individual honour was secondary.
“I’m not about the individual accolades, I just try and do my part and help all the boys,” he said.
“But it’s just incredible. I’m lost for words.”