Yarraville Club has returned to the VTCA senior division premiership dais for an unimaginable eighth time in 10 summers.
The Clubbers saluted for back-to-back flags after a nine-wicket win over South Caulfield in the grand final at Peter Robertson Oval on Sunday.
On paper, it would seem like a routine grand final win for the Clubbers compared with the long line of drama-filled finals days in the past eight glories, but the scorebook is deceptive on this occasion.
For a large part of the game, South Caulfield must have felt a semblance of control – right up until the fourth and final day.
That’s when the Clubbers’ big-game experience came to the fore as they chased down the 218 required for victory.
Clubbers coach Michael O’Keefe described as “incredible” the transformation of his side from its position at stumps on day two to the final-day victory.
“It showed character from the boys, the way they played over the last two days. They were unbelievable.”
Sunday will go down as one of the great days in Clubber history.
That says a lot about the unbroken 193-run stand between captain Anthony Cristofaro and wicketkeeper Ben Tupper, considering the number of unforgettable days of March finals action witnessed by Clubbers supporters since the turn of the century.
Cristofaro must have been spitting chips after the first weekend, out for a golden duck after receiving a peach of a delivery.
The skipper had to wipe it from his memory because the team needed him on the second weekend.
As with the past two premierships, Cristofaro came up big with the bat at the right time, blasting 106 not out.
Tupper played his part on the decisive final day’s play with a Herculean knock of 91 not out.
The opening weekend of the grand final was a beauty for the bowlers.
Konrad Kurta, who finished with nine wickets for the match, was the chief destroyer with 4-37 as South perished for 147 in its first dig.
The Clubbers put up a lame response with the bat, posting just 140 that could have been worse had Justin Baker not eked out a valuable 52.
South Caulfield looked to take control on the third day, scoring 211 on the back of 129 from Anthony Grey, a knock described by O’Keefe as “one of the best I’ve seen”.
Kurta’s 5-44 off 32 overs limited the damage, but it was Aaron Mato who claimed the prized scalp of Grey.
Staring at a 217-run deficit with a day and a bit to bat, the final day was set up nicely for the neutrals, but O’Keefe always had faith that his men, who had got the job done in so many big games in the past decade, had one last big innings in them.
“There is that belief within the group because we’ve had the experience of playing in grand finals over the past six or seven years,” O’Keefe said.
“We’ve won in so many different ways.”
The Clubbers passed the target one down with seven overs to spare.
The decade of dominance complete, the dynasty lives on.
