Underdogs claim a thriller

The historic game for this week is the grand final of 2015, which saw Deanmill defeat Southerners in wet conditions at Boyup Brook. The teams met in the semi-final, with Southerners emerging the winners, beating the Hawks by 16 points, leaving Deanmill to play Imperials in the preliminary final. Deanmill defeated Imperials that day, winning by 22 points. Deanmill veteran Tim Ioannou said having to play Imperials in the week before the final helped Deanmill build momentum. “It helped because it built momentum playing in the prelim,” he said. “Playing that game against Imperials and that being a tough game hardened us for the final the following week.” The weather on grand final day made for difficult conditions for the players, something that Ioannou recalls vividly. “It was some of the worst conditions I’ve played in, to be honest,” he said. His captain that day, Craig Stanley-Smith agreed. “That day I reckon we would have had two inches of rain in the morning, so it was a very heavy ground,” he said. Stanley-Smith said his Deanmill side were underdogs going into that match. “The team that they had, we were not favoured to win by any stretch of the imagination,” he said. Southerners led the low-scoring match 25 to 22 at three-quarter time, before Deanmill surged in the final quarter, kicking three goals to Southerners’ one to claim the premiership. Ioannou claimed the award for best on ground that day and said he was extremely happy with his performance in the wet, as well as to claim a victory over their arch-rivals Southerners. “It was very rewarding to beat Southerners, especially as we lost the second semi to them.” Stanley-Smith said the whole final was a slog, but both players had praise for their opponents that day. “Southerners have been renowned for being really hard over the ball and really tough and they don’t let much through,” Ioannou said. “Southerners have always been tough, the core group of players they usually have ... if there is still game to be played, they’re a chance,” Stanley-Smith said.