SHELL-SHOCKED Spotswood is ruing the Western Region Football League division1 grand final that got away.
The Woodsmen got a case of the goalkicking yips at precisely the wrong time of the season, on the grandest of stages.
They had a lopsided 30 scoring shots to 21 in Saturday’s season decider but turned a mere 12 chances into goals for a woeful 40per cent conversion rate, while the clinical Altona Vikings converted 14 of 21 for a 66per cent return and a thrilling one-point victory.
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Coincidently, the Woodsmen’s scoreline of 12.18 (90) was the same score they triumphed with in last year’s grand final over Albion.
Woodsmen player-coach Chris O’Keefe told the Weekly his side demonstrated ‘‘how to lose a grand final’’. ‘‘It’s shattering. We didn’t take all the chances that we had and it’s cost us. I felt we controlled more of the game than Altona did, but we just didn’t get the scoreboard pressure needed to win.’’
O’Keefe was visibly distraught at the manner of his side’s loss. He clearly felt they had done enough in general play during the game to win.
The more he assessed the game, the more it came back to that raft of missed opportunities.
‘‘You think about the goals we should’ve kicked …’’ O’Keefe said, before stopping mid-sentence in a sign of helplessness.
He said the Woodsmen had to get better in that area of the game next season. They haven’t been in the positive goals to points ratio in any of their past four grand finals.
Even in the first two weeks of this season’s finals, they kicked 12.22 against Port Melbourne Colts in the qualifying final and 10.13 against Altona in the semi, before cleaning up their act in the preliminary final against Hoppers Crossing.
‘‘There’s a lesson that needs to be learned and the lesson is you can’t kick your way out of a grand final,’’ O’Keefe said. ‘‘We need to work harder during our games to make sure we get better opportunities in front of goal so we’re kicking from 10 metres out, not 40.’’
The Woodsmen have shown their ability to bounce back from a grand final setback. They did it last year by exacting revenge on Albion. This loss is sure to galvanise the playing group.
‘‘It will be a driving motivation for us to make sure we work harder over the preseason,’’ O’Keefe said. ‘‘We need to make sure we don’t ever let this happen again.’’
O’Keefe paid tribute to the Vikings’ never-say-die attitude and their fitness levels.
When the Woodsmen kicked out to a handy nine-point lead early in the last quarter, he knew it was far from over. ‘‘You never doubt them,’’ he said. ‘‘They’re obviously a very good running team and they won’t stop. They keep going.’’
The Woodsmen had their share of winners on the day.
Jason Cloke just got the points in a titanic battle with Altona full-back Joey Halloran.
Cloke kicked five goals after suffering concussion in the second term in a sickening pack collision.
‘‘I thought he really stood up given the heavy knock he took before half-time,’’ O’Keefe said. ‘‘To bounce up and keep having a go was great.’’
Sam Wood shut down Vikings star Travis Lunardi for the most part.
Ben Perry’s goal figured in an enthralling ruck duel with Liam Gardiner, taking the honours before the Vikings big man turned the tables with two critical late goals.
Captain Tom Langlands continued his stellar finals series with another outstanding game in the guts, while O’Keefe, who came into the game on the back of a hamstring injury, fired in the last quarter with a number of crucial centre clearances.
