Magical moment: Echuca’s Sam (left) and Ben Reid share a special moment of celebration with their 88-year-old nan, Pat, after their grand final victory. Photo: Bransen Gibson
Before Sunday’s Goulburn Valley League grand final, Echuca’s Sam Reid said the reason he came to Echuca was to win a premiership alongside his brother, Ben.
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When the final siren sounded at Deakin Reserve in Shepparton, that dream came true.
Sam and Ben embraced after the game, celebrating after the club broke its 20-year premiership drought with a 12-point win over Euroa.
“It is unbelievable,” Sam said.
“This is why I came back. We hadn’t played together in senior footy ever, so to come back … we didn’t think we were going to get here because we both had injuries. It is so good.”
The grand final victory was the realisation of a dream for Ben and Sam, and they weren’t the only Reids there for the special occasion.
There were four generations of the Reid family celebrating on the field after the game, evidence that Echuca really is the family club.
Family fun: Ben (left) and Sam Reid hug their father, Jeff, after Echuca’s 12-point grand final win. Photo: Bransen Gibson
Ben and Sam shared a hug with their nan, Pat, an emotional embrace with their father, Jeff, and they got to celebrate with each of their young kids.
“I have a six-month-old baby daughter here. She is in tears and I am in tears. Sam has his three-year-old here, too,” Ben said.
“Nan is here. She is 88 years old and out here celebrating with us. It is such a special family moment and it just means so much.
“The whole club is one big family. We have a bunch of brothers playing and it is just such a family-oriented club. It is a place where you want to come and play footy. It is a bloody good place to be.
“Twenty years since we last won a flag — to lose just one game throughout the whole season, and to finally come out on the biggest day of the year and get the win, it is unbelievable.”
This was Sam’s first year with the Murray Bombers and he said it was great to see the whole town get behind the club.
“Look around, the community … I didn’t know what to expect before I got here,” Sam said.
“Having spoken to Ben since he’s been here with the club, this is incredible, the way all of Echuca has jumped on.
“It is unbelievable. It was probably a sense of relief for a lot of people here as well and excitement when we knew two weeks ago that we were in the grand final. We had a lot of pressure on us given the year we had.”
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