Tungamah celebrates the flag victory.
Photo by
Liam Nash
Tungamah have stormed from fourth to premiers, capping off a gruelling finals run with a gritty 22-point win over Deni Rovers in the reserves grand final at Memorial Park, Deniliquin.
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The Bears were made to earn every bit of their 11.5 (71) to 7.7 (49) victory. On a scrappy day where clean footy was rare and stoppages dominated, they found the moments that mattered and crucially, converted their chances when Deni could not.
The Rovers entered as favourites, having finished second with 14 wins, but Tungamah’s hunger was obvious early. Ash Saunders gave them a target up front and slotted four goals, while Tyler Greene and Tom Irvine were sharp at ground level. By contrast, Deni’s ball movement stalled too often, their forwards starved or wasteful when opportunities did come.
The contest started evenly, two goals apiece in the opening quarter, but a costly 100-metre penalty midway through the second term turned the tide. Tungamah converted from point-blank range to snatch the lead, and from there the Bears tightened the screws, carrying a five-point edge into half-time.
The third quarter proved decisive. Tungamah surged forward through chaos entries, with Irvine snaring a goal from a fortunate bounce on the line before Greene coolly nailed one from the pocket. Irvine then again snapped truly, and suddenly the margin had ballooned to 22 points.
Deni refused to go quietly. James Kirby kept battling in the ruck, while Bailey Caruso (three goals) and Aden Birmingham (two) gave the Rovers some spark. By three-quarter time the margin was back to 16 points and the contest still alive, but Tungamah always looked in control.
The Bears landed the first blow of the last term, Saunders again the finisher, and from there they never looked threatened. Deni had their chances, missing a pair of gettable set shots that might have tightened the screws, but the composure belonged to Tungamah. Appropriately, it was Saunders who put the exclamation mark on the day, his fourth goal sealing a premiership moment for the Bears.
For co-coach Matthew Bourke, it was a victory built on resilience. “It feels amazing. It sounds amazing,” he said post-game. “I’m very grateful and appreciative of what the group’s been able to put together.”
Bourke admitted the loss to Deni back in round 10, a wet and windy June long weekend, had lingered. “They had the real end of us that day,” he said. “So it was good to get back, we went to work on them and implemented a lot of it today.”
The Bears had to do it the hard way after finishing fourth. “We probably played out of our skin against Waaia in the first final, and that win put us on the right side of the finals series,” Bourke said.
“Coming here today, I thought Deni were the best side all year. In the back of my head, I was just thinking how close could we get, not thinking winning was a real option. But the boys proved me wrong.”
Three-quarter time was all about grit. “The message was above the shoulders, just work through the pain, a bit of extra work rate, don’t overuse the footy,” Bourke said. “It was a stoppage-heavy game, which worked in our favour. We just slowed it down and made it our game.”
And then there was Saunders. The veteran full forward was simply too good, his four goals including a couple of trademark drop punts from the pocket. “We’re absolutely spoiled to have big Goober at full forward,” Bourke laughed.
“Amazing footballer, and he’s way too good to be playing at 12 o’clock. He was phenomenal today, an absolute coach’s dream.”
For Tungamah, it was the perfect finish to a finals run that tested them at every turn. From fourth to premiers, the Bears embraced the grind, seized their chances, and walked away with the flag.
