“If our full forward can kick a few goals it’d go a long way to us winning the game,” Foley said.
The full forward in question being James Lloyd, who had kicked 97 goals for the season ahead of the decider.
As the final siren sounded for the decider, and the Grasshoppers led by two points, he’d kicked 102.
It wasn’t just the goals for Lloyd, it was when he kicked them that made an impact.
Trailing at quarter time, Lloyd kicked the first of the second term and assisted the next.
Then in the final term, with the game hanging in the balance, and Murchison-Toolamba trailing in the contest, Lloyd kicked back-to-back clutch goals.
The latter, his fifth, was the best of all.
A set shot on the cusp of the 50 metre arc, on the boundary line.
Fans in his ear, either providing unsolicited advice or riding the kick home.
The pressure in that moment would have overawed many - it would be forgiven to have even looked for a teammate to pass off to.
But Lloyd backed himself in, and the goal umpire needn’t move - the kick was flush.
Lloyd was speechless when reflecting on the moment post-game, as the impossible-angle kick was ultimately the sealer and match-winner for Murchison-Toolamba.
“It’s funny, I haven’t kicked the best this year, I’ve been a bit wayward, but I know just to back my routine,” he said.
“To do that, in that circumstance, just... yeah, I’ve got no words.
“Just happy.”
It’s not the first time Lloyd has stepped up on the big occasion, kicking four in the Grasshoppers’ 2024 flag.
Although this year, a calmer approach to the game placed Lloyd in a relaxed mindset for the contest.
“This is the first granny I’ve ever gone into actually excited to play rather than being nervous,” Lloyd said post-game.
“Playing for a couple of good teams in a row, it’s been good to get to this occasion a couple of times now, and it’s probably easier to roll into.
“It’s funny with the young blokes coming into their first granny, saying how nervous they are and I was just trying to instil into them it’s just a game of footy, at the end of the day the sun’s still going to come up tomorrow, but we’ll give it our all to win.”
Lloyd was three majors away from bringing up the ton, but said it played no thought in his mind to reach the rare feat.
“At the end of the day, it would’ve been cool to do it during the season, and it is cool to do it when the season’s done, but as long as we won I couldn’t have cared if I kicked no goals.
“We won and it was good to play a part.”
Now, the clutch superstar Grasshopper is a dual premiership player, and will be long remembered in KDL history for his ice in the veins moment to seal one of the most thrilling grand final affairs.
