Last Saturday saw the two top teams in Club XVIII battle it out for the the inaugural ‘Willie Wharton Memorial Cup’ with Old Melburnians taking the honours in a hard fought contest by 6 points.

The day was designed as a tribute to a close friend of many players from both clubs and was played in great spirits and at a high intensity for the bumper crowd. The Crocs jumped out of the blocks early through David Rees up forward and really asserted ourselves on the contest in the opening passages. Nick Corcoran and Tim Silk were influential through the middle of the ground and Fergus Browne continued his fine season winning many contested possessions and releasing the Crocs running players. As expected OM’s hit back and the dangerous Voyage was causing some concerns up forward. Crocs full back, Willy Ireland went down early with a hamstring strain, hopefully returning for the first final, thus causing the already depleted backline to rearrange our match-ups and Ian Parry took on the role of defender and acquitted himself well in the circumstances.

The second term saw OM’s took a different approach with a defensive mindset, with at times two spare men behind the ball that worked well for them on the small ground. However the Crocs were not without our chances and were not able to capitalise on our opportunities and were looking at a 10 point deficit at half time. In passages we were able to string together some excellent football, however we allowed ourselves to be dictated to with positioning, a problem not helped through missing key personnel. Andy Jones was playing his best game for the season and continues to show why he is such an important player for the Diles at the business end of the season. Captain Andy Barratt continued to drive the midfield and after the break the Diles won the majority of stoppages through fantastic ruckwork from Roger Larkins and David Rees.

Our back six has been our strongest unit this season and was again well led by Tim Roache, Mark Davies and Nick Silk. Simon Montgomery continues to improve and has shown he is a valuable member of the Crocodiles in 2010. The final quarter saw OM’s with a four goal lead, however the self belief in the Crocodiles has seen us fight back time and time again. The focus was on winning the contested ball and leaving our forward line as open as possible, with ‘T-Bone’ Byrne one-out in the square. The plan was in place and within the opening two minutes had paid dividends. In what was to be a see-sawing 25 minutes where the ball went from end to end at pace, the Crocs continued to attack and through Jones and Silk and the backline defended with aplomb. The Crocs got a run on and OM’s looked as if they had come to a standstill. As is the way in Club XVIII, with flat 25 minute quarter with no time on, the ball flew over the fence and onto Domain Road and the clock continued run, wasting up to a minute and half off the clock. The final two minutes saw the ball in the Crocs forward half and with a dubious ball up decision in our favour called at the top of the Crocs goal square we had the chance to pinch a memorable victory. Alas the clock ran out and OM’s, who had played the better football for the majority of the day were awarded the four points and now sit a game clear on top of the ladder.

After the game the Crocs looked to the positives and the fact that we were able to get ourselves back into the game through determination and hard work. Once again we would like to the thank the OM All Star Committee for all their hard work in organising the match and the after game  function at the Flying Duck, which was a great opportunity for players from both sides to enjoy a few cold beers and the camaraderie that comes with Club XVIII football and pay tribute to a friend of both clubs.

With one game to go, we will finish the season in second place and have another date with OM’s next week in the second-semi final, a game that will again challenge the Diles and will hopefully be a far different result.