Tara Murray
Altona star Connor Menadue was hyped up in the lead up to the Western Region Football League division 1 grand final.
Having returned to his junior club this season, the former AFL-listed player, was always going to be a key in who decided the premiership.
Menadue was good early, setting up a couple of goals and kicking one himself against Werribee Districts. He would continue that momentum and was named the Herb Pascarl Medallist as the best player on the ground.
Vikings coach Corey McCall said Menadue was keen for the big day to come round.
“Connor was hyped up for a week,” he said. “I told him he needs to calm down for a bit.
“He’s obviously come back from playing AFL footy and he has some real confidence about his footy.
“A lot of the other boys were like he might have gone a bit too far with the confidence, everyone is different with approaches.”
For Menadue this year was about returning to his home club and enjoying his football having tried to make it at the highest level.
Having come through the club, he knows how much this means to everyone.
“Just being able to come back and play for the local club, I played for as a junior,” he said. “A lot of mates play here, my brother plays here.
“He was a big reason why I wanted to come back, I wanted to enjoy my football too.
“It feels great and seeing all the smiles on all the faces of players, coaching staff, fans.. you can tell that everyone wanted it after the last few years.”
Menadue said he had been a bit sore leading into the grand final, but had tried to set himself up for a big game.
He said he knew that he could step up on the biggest stage.
“I was ready to try and have a good game and give ourselves the best shot at winning,” he said.
“I always knew I could change a game like that, I was hoping my body would allow me to do that today. I felt pretty good today, really happy with that win.
“I really wanted to play well for the team and it’s nice to get recognised.”
While Menadue was named best on ground, his brother Joel Menadue did a lot of the damage early up forward.
The return of Connor to Altona played a big part of Joel cementing his spot in the senior side. He was named in the WRFL division 1 team of the year.
McCall said Connor made the call when he decided to come back, that he would take his brother with him.
For Connor, Saturday was a dream come true, playing in a premiership with his brother.
“He has had a terrific year,” he said. “He’s gone from a handful of senor games last year, to come in a had a huge role with the success of where we are now.”
It was a big day for the Menadue family, with Jackson Menadue playing in Werribee Districts reserves premiership side.
