Anyone within hearing distance of Deakin Reserve at about 6.45pm on Sunday would have been forgiven for thinking a storm was rolling in.
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The sound that Kiara Cooper's bone-crunching hit on Echuca's Hayley Galea made was akin to that of a thunder clap, such was its intensity.
Grand final victories can be boiled down to singular moments in the game — and the Northern Country Women's League decider at Deakin Reserve was no different.
Mooroopna star Cooper's moments were more prevalent than most of the players in the fray — booting four majors and taking countless intercept marks in defence chief among them — but stopping Galea in her tracks was the final nail in the coffin of the Murray Bombers' previously undefeated campaign.
Galea had gathered the football for one last foray forward as her side watched its premiership hopes fade away, trailing by three goals with about as many minutes remaining in the contest.
If the midfielder's searching run produced a major it could have been the defibrillator shock the Murray Bombers needed to awaken from their stunned state and roar over the top of the Cats.
But Cooper was having none of it.
"I think everyone that came to watch this game will remember that tackle, absolutely, let alone the win," Mooroopna coach Terry Mahoney said.
"But it's big things like that that really stick in the memory and show that everyone's committed to do their best for the team."
Commitment was clearly a key theme for the Cats throughout the history-making premiership triumph — Mooroopna's first senior football crown since 1986.
The likes of Tamara Smith — who was named best player in the decider after the clash — Kayla Shepherd, Molly Tancred, Allana Adams, Cooper, Rianne Hood and Brittany Tancred led the charge as the Cats threw themselves at every loose ball and every marking contest, their desperation quickly replaced by belief when they took control of proceedings.
After leading by 13 points at quarter-time — aided by a strong breeze — Mooroopna knuckled down in the second term to have scores level at the half.
But when the Cats slammed home five goals to one in the premiership quarter the buzz around the grandstand told you everything you needed to know — it was game on.
Thanks to some masterful magnet movements from Mahoney, as well as some stellar performances out on the field, Mooroopna was able to hold on for a special victory.
Not only had the Murray Bombers entered the grand final with a perfect record, they had defeated the Cats this season by 110 and 95 points respectively in their two meetings.
But not even strong showings from the likes of Jodie Lake (three goals), Jessica Gould, Jess Pitts and Tiarna Steel could stand in the way of Mooroopna's destiny.
Not a bad effort for a team that approached the beginning of the campaign with just three players on its list.
"It's quite incredible given that we were a team that had to build momentum just to become competitive throughout the year," Mahoney said.
"A few things fell our way, a couple of players came in to join and gave some others some confidence, and the ones that hadn't played much football before gained some confidence as they got to know their game and picked up their skills.
"And then to get a couple of wins, we thought we may be a sneaky chance to make finals, but never in our wildest dreams did we think that we would be able to go through from the position we were in and go through to a grand final, let alone win one.
"Echuca were the measuring stick all year, as evidenced by their percentage and being unbeaten, but on grand final day anything can happen.
"So when we were there we were going to have a red hot crack at it, and we got away to a good start and were able to keep that momentum."
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