By Tania Martin
OLINDA Ferny Creek Football Club has taken out triple honours in division two of the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League.
This comes on the back of an emotional season with the club losing one of its bright stars in a house fire in May.
The club also marked several milestones on the weekend, taking out their first ever premiership flags in the under-18s and the reserves.
Club president Peter Hayne said all the players had shown great maturity this year dealing with the death of Michael Wilson
Wilson died in a house fire shortly after 3am on Saturday 30 May, leaving the club reeling from the loss.
“The players have resolved this emotionally and bonded together in a way that you rarely see outside an organisation such as our own,” he said.
The club also honoured Wilson, inscribing his initials MW and his number 55 on the back of all its new jumpers.
The players carried their mate with them onto the field on Saturday with each player writing Wilson’s number on their shoulder in black marker.
“He was with us all the way,” Mr Hayne said.
The Bloods started the day strong taking out the under-18s flag with a convincing 31-point win over Emerald.
The Bloods reserve squad also proved it was a force to be reckoned with taking out the flag with a 32-point victory over Yarra Glen. But it was the seniors’ clash against Kinglake that was the talking point of the finals.
In this emotional clash, both teams played their hearts out.
For Kinglake it was for all those who had perished in the Black Saturday fires and for the Bloods in memory of Wilson.
Former Prime Minister John Howard and AFL legend Jim Stynes spoke to both clubs in the lead-up to the first bounce.
The Bloods had only lost once during the home-and-away season to an inspired Kinglake in round two.
It was touted as anyone’s game and proved to be a tight clash.
Mr Payne said he was on the edge of his seat with just five minutes to go and the Bloods down by two goals.
“It was a fantastic game of footy,” he said.
“There was enormous pressure on everyone emotionally.”
But in the end it was the Bloods’ day taking out the honours in the dying seconds with a six-point win.
The final scores read Olinda-Ferny Creek 12.12.84 to Kinglake 11.12.78.
“I am really proud of all my boys,” Mr Hayne said.
Mr Hayne said Olinda life-member Rick Wall had done an amazing job filling in the job of CEO for the Kinglake Football Club this season.
“He has worked tirelessly to ensure the continuing place for Kinglake in our football league,” he said.
