FINAL '17: Demons vs Lions (Social)

Stu Fox | 16.08.17

South London Demons 6.5 (41) def. Bounds Green Lions 1.3 (9)

The final game of the season, here it was, the day of days, the precipice, where the Super 3's reach for the stars and attend to claiming the almighty 3-peat status. Some would say destiny, others would simply remark it's natural; but throughout a year of indifferent form, being back on the sun drenched grass for the last game of the year seemed gospel. Today was the day to cement some very important names into folk law and reassure all just how good we really are.

1st Quarter

The start of the game was typically full of pressure acts from both sides, an excellent degree of hardness and skill. The first opportunity for a score was produced by the Lions through a Terry 'Turtle' Unitt wayward elbow to the chin of the oncoming player. The Lions couldn't manage a goal and the result was a swift series of kicks bringing the ball deep into the Demon's forward fifty. Rob 'John Dill's' Dillon managed to sneak the first goal of the game, turning with poise and ball in hand from a beautiful Jeremy Coombes tap. The Demons taking 4 minutes to score their first goal and it wasn't even a minute later when a magnificent ruck tap from Lachie 'Lock'n'Key' Robinson fell into Brett 'Bert' Hoare's advantage who drove the ball inside 50 and eventually Travis 'Hollywood' Gordon marking in the square and lodging the Super 3's second goal. With the rest of the Quarter a solid arm wrestle it was a great start by the Demons, some players showing real class with Courtney 'Babu' Wright, his brother Ray 'Bubba' Wright and Micky Andrews being prolific throughout the first term.

2nd Quarter

The lads walked back onto the deck to attack the Second Quarter; within minutes of the first bounce, typical to form the mid-field were electric. The inclusion of McCarrey was a welcome addition to the midfield, as the group needed to adapt due to injuries from previous games, resulting in Mark 'Bresci' Brescacin needing to play Centre Half Forward all game. The ball ricocheted around the Demons 50 meter arch before being kicked deep and finding Hollywood once again, enabling him to run into an open goal - this provided the Super 3's with a 3 goal advantage. Taking advantage of this momentum; the Demons drove the ball into their forward line again, Hollywood mercurially finding the ball in his arms and running into an open goal. The Lions were able to pin the scoreboard back with one goal towards the end of the quarter. But like the year we had seen to date, the backline stood tall and limited any real damage to the scoreboard up to half time.

3rd Quarter

The 3rd Quarter started to show some beautiful sequences of play being produced by the Demons players, most importantly the catalyst for all these was our Ruckman Lach'n'Key; his consistency of tapping to the advantage of our midfielders was scintillating to watch. One of these plays which started with Lach'n'key was within minutes of the 3rd Quarter resuming; a tap out of the centre, a quick clearance, the ball finding its way into the hands of Bresci, whom took the game by the scruff of the neck and slotted a superb goal to wrench the proverbial hearts out of the Lions chest. Another huge moment of the game - especially in reflection to the hardness of the game - was Bert Hoare being hammered in a collision with a Lions player, an impact that reverberated through the soil underfoot. Bert needed to come off for the remainder of the 3rd quarter but did eventually play some last minutes. The conclusion of the 3rd Quarter had the Demons attacking the goals on many occasions with little advantage made on the scoreboard.

4th Quarter

"Can we get much Higher?" was asked the commentator during the broadcast of the 4th Quarter of the Men's Social Division Grand Final. There was no doubt that the boys in Navy and Red were wanting some more goals to feast on, it was almost provided with a wonderful kick on the run by Bresci, to the aghast of supporters the ball slide over the goal post for a point. Tim 'ChickenTim' Donovan proved himself with some bone-crunching moments in the last quarter. Playing in the Back Pocket, he was going to receive some hard knocks and determined body pressure, but he stood the test and helped maintain the back lines complete dominance. The game was finally put to bed when Jeremy 'Coombsey' Coombes marked about 40 meters out and slotted a resounding goal, it was a magical moment for the bloke who only two weeks earlier had missed the first final due to a calf injury. The Demon's ran out Premiers to the delight of many around the home turf of Clapham Common, it was an inspired effort and a hard fought victory.

Post game it was easy to see the power of our performance, so many to thank and so many to be proud of. Lachlan 'Lock'n'Key' Robinson was named Best Afield with his outstanding work in the ruck all day, the exponents of silkiness across the ground were regular names week in, week out; the likes of Captain Turtle, Slithering Skelly, ConorConorConor, Prez, Bresci, Coombsey, Micky Andrew's, LadyCourtney, Bubba, Rob Dill's, Hollywood, Haydos, Webby, Bert and so many more who made the core of this team. It's a spectacular achievement and the Super 3's lift even higher and achieve monumental status as the Super Duper 3's for 2018.

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