Euroa wins battle of the Pies to take out GMJL under-16 division two grand final

A five-star, three-goal smoke show from best-on-ground Archie Wilson powered a never-say-die Euroa unit to victory in the battle of the Magpies, taking the chocolates 7.10 (52) to 4.5 (29).

In the eyes of winning coach Owen Robertson, however, it took every ounce from his 21 players to make Sunday’s grand final a memorable one as his young side laid claim to the coveted shield.

“There’s 21 of them over there, it would be a bit rude if I singled one out — it was just a team effort as it has been all year,” he said.

“We’ve struggled for numbers early and come together in the end. We had under-14s that unfortunately couldn’t play, I don’t want to single anyone out.”

Though Moama lost the war, it won the early sparring as Charlie Reardon slung home a dagger from the right pocket to get the Magpies — donning a purple and yellow strip for the day — on the board.

Another Moama goal had its foot lowering to Euroa’s neck as the latter played catch up for the majority of the first quarter, down 14-5 at the first change.

Euroa had much more direct intent throughout the second term and it came to a head as Oliver Wilson barrelled on through as he fell to the floor, making it 14-11.

Euroa willed and warred its way back into the game and Addison Godsmark had the arms pumping as his set shot from 40m out swung through before Ethan Saxton found enough room to blast a goal home.

His darted kick ghosted inside the left post to build Euroa’s buffer to 11 points.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Wilson moved like a Rolls Royce as he cruised inside 50 and unloaded a cannon kick past Moama’s posts and in.

The good news kept pouring in for the Magpies — of the black and white variety — as Saxon and Wilson linked up sublimely, the former bundling home well for another.

Six minutes into the third term, an absolute rocket from Kobe Atkinson — channelling his namesake — fizzed through to a deafening Moama roar, subduing a rampant Euroa if only for a few seconds.

However, Moama had more to give.

The momentum swing became palpable when Dale Dickinson snagged his first, making it an 11-point ball game once again, and all was to play for with one quarter remaining.

From 100 miles an hour to lethargy, a lull filled the first 10 minutes of the last.

That was the case until Jack Walters burst down the left flank and, though he was caught high, managed to get a kick away that bounced into Wilson’s hands in a position he couldn’t miss from.

The tunes were pumping, the sun blazing and Euroa could barely put a foot — or kick — wrong.

Euroa left its best act for last as Wilson aced his kick from an unthinkable angle right as the siren sounded, rubber-stamping a 23-point victory for the ages.

Robertson credited Euroa’s response to initial pressure from Moama, lauding his Pies’ ability to stay on task for the full 80 minutes.

“They were pretty tight at the contest, we knew that Moama were going to be tight at that and get us out the back,” he said.

“So we just had to lock it down and play it on our terms. It was pretty good on the spread, so it wasn’t too bad at all.

“(The message was) just to try and play our footy, not get caught up with trying to do anything stupid because it can get out of hand pretty quick.

“Moama came at us pretty hard in the second semi, we only just got over the line, so we knew it was going to be a really tight contest.

“I’m just proud of the boys that they stuck to the processes and we worked through it which was good.”