Football
23 September, 2024
Saints reserves claim premiership in tough match
The Horsham Saints Reserves have claimed their first premiership since 2018 with a tough, hard-fought 19-point win over Horsham.
Jordy Schmidt kicked the opening goal for the Demons, with Saints' Adrianne Lupton levelling the scores at the seven-minute mark.
Bailey Nelson kicked truly two minutes later to give the Demons the lead before Mitchell Amos responded so the Saints could level the scores again.
Nathan Byrne then put the Saints in front for the first time, but late in the quarter, Tyge Nelson kicked his first for the Demons to level the scores by 3.0.18 at quarter-time.
In the first six minutes of the second quarter, Nathan Byrne kicked his second and league-leading goalscorer Gavin Kelm got on the board to give the Saints a 12-point lead.
Tyge Nelson then kicked his second for the Demons to bring the margin back to six points before Adrianne Lupton kicked his second to bring the lead back out to 12 points.
The Demons had a few chances late but went into half-time with a ten-point deficit.
The Demons had a lot of play at the start of the third quarter but couldn't convert on the scoreboard. They kicked three behinds until Millar kicked his second to bring the margin back to a point.
Kelm responded a minute later, and when he kicked his third late in the quarter, their lead was 13 points at the final break.
Much like the third quarter, the Demons pressed hard in the last but couldn't convert on the scoreboard. At the halfway mark of the quarter, Matthew Combe and Hugh Dougherty kicked back-to-back goals for the Saints, and they held on to win 10.3.63 to 5.14.44.
Judd Wright was awarded best on the ground for an excellent game in defence, with Robert Walker, Rory Cameron, Mitchell Clarke, Hugh Dougherty, and Nathan Clough among their best players.
Xavier O'Brien, Tyge Nelson, Jordy Schmidt, Bradley Hartigan, Logan Millar and Josh Pekin were the best players for the Demons.
In his first senior year as coach, Saints' coach Matt Combe said it was unreal.
"I am proud of the boys, and it hasn't sunk in yet," Combe said after the match.
"I knew coming into this we had a good group of players and a team that could do it, and it was a matter of doing it on the day, and I am super proud of the boys.
"We were fortunate enough to get a couple of blokes back from seniors, and that happens every year for many teams. We used it to our advantage."
"They had a lot of shots on goal and could have snagged the game and we always knew it was going to be a hard game."
Combe has played in a few senior premierships, but coaching one in his first year as a coach is pretty special.
"To get my first one as a coach is special, and it's something I will never forget. It's unreal."