Sport
22 August, 2022
Dunolly senior footballers headed to MCDFNL finals for the first time in 11 years
It’s been a long, arduous road for the Dunolly Football Netball Club, but after a run of form which saw the club win only two of 58 games between 2017 and the first round of 2022, the Eagles are back in the Maryborough Castlemaine District...
It’s been a long, arduous road for the Dunolly Football Netball Club, but after a run of form which saw the club win only two of 58 games between 2017 and the first round of 2022, the Eagles are back in the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League (MCDFNL) finals for the first time since 2011, courtesy of a 35-point victory over Avoca.
It was the second quarter that essentially sealed the Eagles’ path to victory on Saturday, kicking four goals to nil to turn a seven-point quarter time lead into a 34-point cushion at half time.
Despite some nervous moments at times, including Avoca kicking the first two goals of the last quarter to reduce the margin to 22 points, the Eagles held firm in the second half, answering every challenge from the Bulldogs and ensuring they would not be denied a long-awaited finals spot, with Trentham’s 95-point victory over Talbot confirming they would seal their long-awaited finals participation for 2022.
Joel Fisher, Joshua Goodman, Lachlan Tranter, Connor Sheppard, Bailey Goodwin and Adal Zuk were named in Dunolly’s best on Saturday, while Bryce Howell, Joel Antonio, Simon Elliott, Cameron Antonio, Jason Hunt and Scott Cawthan were all named in Avoca’s best.
Eagles’ president Ric Lang was lost for words after a year which has seen Dunolly regain their flair with an exciting young list, which brought an enormous crowd to Deledio Reserve on Saturday.
“It’s unbelievable — what do I say? They are playing hard every week, they win some and they lose some, but where we are now is unreal. It’s been 12 years in the making,” he said.
“It’s great that there was a huge crowd in attendance — the club is getting better week in, week out. It’s thanks to these boys and everyone else who plays for the club.”
Co-coaches Rhys Brown and Bailey Goodwin lauded the work of the Eagles’ young list, which has seen them record rousing victories over the likes of Lexton, Royal Park and Talbot throughout the season, eventually resulting in an appearance against Navarre in their elimination final meeting next Sunday at Princes Park.
“It’s pretty exciting. If you look at the early rounds, where we were a bit of an unknown, to now, seeing hundreds of people come through the gate, making the effort to get around the club, it’s been unreal. Working with Bailey, it’s been challenging as we’re two young coaches, but the work we’ve put in behind the scenes and to see those rewards reaped with a finals appearance is incredible,” Brown said.
“The main thing was not going after two or three stars, we wanted to get a group of mates together, and it makes it so much easier running out with 22 mates. Regardless of the results, we get along, and it makes it even better when we win on a day like today.”
Goodwin agreed with Brown’s assessment of the excitement around the club, while revealing the extent of some of the challenges that have been thrown their way in season 2022.
“The crowd support has only got bigger and better throughout the season. The way the crowd got involved on Saturday was amazing — half the time, it might not have worked in our favour, but hearing their support behind us for the four quarters helped us get over the line. I was grateful to be playing at home for sure,” he said.
“It was a challenge mid-season seeing Rhys move down to Melbourne, but we have been best mates for five or six years, so we’re able to work off that and bounce off one another.”
Brown revealed that both he, Goodwin and the majority of the list will be staying at Dunolly next season, while also looking to fill “four or five” positions to make the team better.
“Bailey and I have recommitted for 2023, and I would say about 80 percent of the current senior playing list have recommitted. If we can get the entire group from this year onboard and buying in like we have all year, then fill the four or five positions that we need next year, anything can happen, especially with a young side. We’re just grateful for the opportunity that we’ve been given, and hopefully we’ve done the town and the club proud,” Brown said.
The challenge of facing Navarre, who just missed out on a spot in the top four, looks daunting on paper, with the Eagles losing their only encounter against the Hoppers by 79 points in round nine.
However, the Eagles have belief that they are able to match it for large periods on Sunday afternoon.
“Giving Navarre four quarters every week is all we can do, showing them what we’ve got,” Lang said.
Goodwin outlined his plans for the game, as well as his long-term desire for the club to compete with the established hierachy at the top of the MCDFNL tree.
“We’re looking to prevent the lapses we have had against the top teams, which has been our downfall. There has been stages where we’ve taken it to the top five teams, but anything can happen, and we will go in with all the confidence in the world after today,” he said.
“Regardless of what happens next week, the future of the club is trending upwards. It’s our 150th year next year, so if we can get a great crowd for that and bring in more people next year, it’ll work out very well for us.”
