By Lance Jenkinson
Yarraville Seddon will no longer have to talk about those wretched three consecutive grand final losses in the Western Region Football League division 2.
The Eagles changed the narrative on Sunday with a 67-point thrashing of Wyndhamvale in the 2019 grand final at Avalon Airport Oval.
They silenced all the doubters and answered every question emphatically to record the biggest winning margin in a division 2 decider since Deer Park’s 131-point belting of Albanvale in 2011.
Eagles coach Vinnie Turcinovich had only been involved in one of those three grand final defeats between 2016-18 and only three players featured in all three, but it did not stop all the chatter about whether his side could handle the pressure of a big occasion.
“It still hasn’t hit me that we’re premiers,” Turcinovich said.
“Losing last year, my first year, and winning this year, it’s just a credit to the boys.
“They worked so hard to get here again.
“I thought we were the best team, even considering they [Wyndhamvale] ended up on top.
“We wanted to be the best team in September when it counted.”
After a tight opening to the game, Wyndhamvale kicked the first goal 11 minutes in through playing-coach Chris Moreland from a set shot.
Nathan Bisset made it two in a row with a nice crumbing goal and it looked like the Falcons were on.
Yarraville Seddon took some time to settle, but they had the better of the latter part of the first quarter.
PHOTO GALLERY: WRFL division 2 grand final
Sam Faure showed nerves of steel to goal from a set shot tight on the boundary and then Matthew Taylor pounced on a Wyndhamvale defensive error to put the Eagles in front for the first time.
The Eagles took a slight lead at quarter-time and never relinquished it.
With the rain setting in and lights switched on, Yarraville Seddon took its game up to another level.
The Eagles created further separation on the scoreboard when James Backway was left unattended on the edge of the square and ran in for a team-lifting goal from 50 metres on the run.
Brandon Lester had patrolled the half back line for Yarraville Seddon the whole first half and he provided an assist for Varsamakis to put through the Eagles fifth consecutive goal for a 23-point lead.
The only goal joy Wyndhamvale had in the second came courtesy of a 50-metre penalty, slotted by Liam Scarborough.
In an instant, that was responded to by Yarraville Seddon, who got a quick clearance and went long and strong to Varsamakis, who was impeded in the marking contest and goaled from the resulting free kick to give the Eagles four goals breathing space at half-time.
Varsamakis was huge in the first half.
“He took a few marks, but he just competed in the air,” Turcinovich said.
“He was hard to beat.”
Wyndhamvale, lifted by Scarborough and Jack Tessari, gave it their best shot early in the third quarter, but just could not put it on the scoreboard.
After five minutes of sustained Falcons pressure, Yarraville Seddon went up the other end and goaled against the run of play through Andrejs Everitt.
It was all one-way traffic thereafter with Yarraville Seddon piling on eight goals to one in the second half.
The most memorable part of the game was Everitt’s incredible last quarter. He finished with three goals.
Young Yarraville Seddon wingman Karan Bharathi claimed the best-on-ground medal.
In division 1, Spotswood was eliminated from the finals, going down by 27 points to Deer Park.
It has set up a grand final between six-time defending premiers Deer Park and minor premiers Altona at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday.
In division 3, Glen Orden claimed the premiership with a 26-point win over Albanvale in the grand final at the VU Whitten Oval.
Hawks coach Phil Crea confirmed his club will be going up to division 2 in 2020.
