(By Percy Taylor, with some assistance)
Twenty years ago this was the headline in the “Buloke Times”. 

Twenty years ago your correspondent was heavily involved in education at Birchip P-12 School, and was also co-secretary of the Birchip-Watchem Junior Football Committee. 
As a life-long Collingwood supporter I was accustomed to being disappointed on grand final days.

But enough of myself.  Twenty years ago a committed group of boys with a committed coach, Kieran Hunt, defeated the enemy!  (Donald, of course) They won the N-CFL under-16 premiership. Underage premierships were a rarity in the years leading up to 2000.  Many of the under-16 team had been unlucky losers in the under-14 grand final two years before and felt a flag was their due.

Hard Yards
We, as parents, had done the hard yards.  Early starts to travel for Under 14s games.  (One of the boys was heard to say that he felt like hitting someone so that he could be sent off – it was so cold that day.)  We had done canteen duty, cooked Thursday night meals, catered for numerous functions, goal-umpired and so on. 

Yet a camaraderie developed over the years as we watched our boys.  Over the years this group had gone from getting thrashed every week, to getting bigger scores, to becoming competitive, to winning games, to being Premiers.

Time probably romanticises the achievement, but it really was something.  The match was a spine-tingler. As this correspondent wrote in the “Buloke Times”, from the outset the game was characterized by fierce tackling and vigorous bumping, inducing ball handling errors and turnovers. Scoring was difficult.

Home Ground
Birchip-Watchem, with the advantage of playing on its home ground, George Cart-wright Oval, controlled the play for the first ten minutes and continually moved the ball into its forward line. The Donald backline led by Toby Gilmour and Justin Sachse fought gallantly and kept the pressure on the Bulls’ forwards. A rushed behind was followed by snapped behinds by Sam Noonan and Derek Dobson. 
Numerous wasted chances by the Bulls forwards and a steady stream of free kicks to the Royal Blues made the Bulls’ supporters nervous.

First Goal
Eventually, James Scambler’s long kick from the half-forward flank bounced through for the first goal of the match. Soon afterwards Sam Noonan, in everything, marked well and kicked precisely to Derek Dobson, who marked and kicked his team’s second major.
The Royal Blues were stung into action and attacked consistently in the latter part of the quarter. The game was still tight and Jacob Noonan held on strongly at full-back (something he is still doing for the Bulls’ senior team 20 years later).
A Donald kick across the half-forward line was marked by the dangerous Josh Thewlis (just two years shy of being drafted by the Sydney Swans) whose set shot just missed. Pressure from his tagger, Marcus Ferrier, was a telling factor. With ten seconds to go in the quarter, Bryan Beckham marked close in. His accurate kick after the siren reduced Birchip-Watchem’s lead to 7 points.
Encouraged by the late goal, and a stir from coach Des Hose at quarter-time, the Royal Blues gained the first break of the second quarter. A quick kick forward and an accurate long shot by Duane Johns brought Donald’s second goal. Another clearance and a quick but inaccurate kick levelled the scores.

Terrific Contest
Terrific contests featured at all parts of the ground. Dan Coffey, substituting ably at centre half-back for the cruelly injured Zane Hunt, stood out with a great burst from the backline which deserved a goal. Sean O’Donnell was continually into the packs gaining kicks and smothers.

His kick from an angle brought up Donald’s third goal and a lead against the run of play. 

The Birchip-Watchem boys were not daunted by the reversal, and renewed their efforts. Big Terence Young, although blanketed at full-forward, knocked the ball cleverly to Tim McLoughlan, who passed to Shannon Koops for a goal to level the scores. Tim McLoughlan added a fourth goal before half-time, but the Bulls’ 6 point lead at the main break was not convincing.

Desperation
The third quarter was typical of many grand finals. The desperation from the onballers and backmen was too much for the forwards and neither team could goal. Alternate behinds were the only scores for the quarter and the half-time margin of 6 points remained at three-quarter time. 

The final term continued in a similar way to the third until a skilful passage of play between Tim Spicer and James Scambler resulted in Scambler kicking his second major from well out on the flank. The Royal Blues counter-attacked, holding the ball in their forward line for some time until Luke Hollis snapped their fourth goal. Another good passage of play concluded with a long shot by Tim Stewart for a goal to even the scores.

Even the notoriously noisy Bulls’ dugout (and yours truly) was momentarily quiet. The tension was too much for several diehard supporters, including my better half, who disappeared to the hockey field, unable to watch the finish. 

With five minutes to go Tim Spicer, left alone in the forward line, marked Sam Noonan’s cross and kicked accurately to restore the 6 point lead of the Bulls.

For the final minutes of the match the Royal Blues attacked ferociously while their opponents defenced with equal ferocity. A rushed behind reduced the margin to 5 points. Luke Hollis marked in the pocket but he was unable to score and the ball was rushed through for another minor score.

Memorable Victory
The Birchip-Watchem back­line retained composure for the final seconds and held on for a great and memorable victory. The final siren saw a 4 point win to the Bulls.

Birchip-Watchem  6.5 (41) defeated Donald 5.7 (37).

Goals for Birchip-Watchem: J. Scambler 2, D. Dobson, S. Koops, T. McLoughlan, T. Spicer

For Donald: B. Beckham 2, D. Johns, L. Hollis, T. Stewart.

Marcus Ferrier (financial analyst in Bendigo), Sam Noonan  (senior constable with VicPol), Jake Noonan  (a builder and still a stalwart of the Birchip-Watchem backline), Dan Coffey (contractor in Birchip), Derek Dobson (a teacher in Geelong), Sam Goldsmith (grain site supervisor and Esoteric host in Donald), Tim McLoughlan (dialysis nurse in Perth).

Donald: T. Gilmour, M. Shaughnessy, T. Hancock, D. Johns, J. Sachse, G. Davidson, J. Thewlis.

Celebrations
Premiership celebrations continued into the night for the young Bulls at the Birchip Leisure Centre and at the Hunts’ residence. It should be mentioned again the contribution of the late Kieran Hunt, and his son Zane, who missed the game after breaking his ankle at pre-grand final training. 

Kieran and his assistant coach, Gavan O’Donnell, created a football environment where the boys developed strong character and the desperation to smother, tackle, chase and punch the ball away when caught behind. 

Most importantly, they created an atmosphere where the boys enjoyed their football. All these attributes were evident on that grand final day twenty years ago.

From the winning team, Sean O’Donnell and James Scambler backed up the under-16 premiership with senior premiership success with

Birchip-Watchem in 2001. O’Donnell, Danny Glen, Terence Young, Dan Coffey and Sam Goldsmith have played in reserves premierships with the Bulls.

Many of the group have maintained contact with each other and contributed significantly to the population of the country. To the best of my knowledge there have been 40 offspring (17 boys and 23 girls), with at least 2 more on the way.

It was a day to remember, and a pity it could not be celebrated with a reunion at the Leisure Centre.