King Cobras! Canterbury overcome scoring woes to prevail in Division 3 decider

Canterbury have been crowned premiers in Division 3 Men’s, after a scintillating match against St John’s hung in the balance for three and a half quarters.

As Canterbury approached their initial positions for the opening bounce, the message was clear.

“Keep it simple,” Canterbury coach Josh Ward said his instruction was. “Don’t be overawed by the day, execute the basics and get on with the game.”

Canterbury found multiple marks inside 50 early on, however a ferocious wind affected the distance of a couple shots at goal, whilst closer attempts went wayward. Ultimately, St John’s found the opening goal through Callum Houghton.

It was set to be a tough day up forward for the JOC’s. Missing competition-leading goalkicker Matthew Carnelley through suspension, as well as Michael Ashman – two players who have combined for 103 goals this season – St John’s forward line was depleted for the decider.

The JOC’s stayed in the hunt throughout the majority of the match however, crucially making the most of every opportunity they had.

Brad Kelleher, Canterbury’s liveliest forward for the day, kicked truly in the sixth minute of play to regain the lead after an overstepping-the-mark fifty meter penalty, whilst John Nicolopoulos lapped up the opportunity presented from a harsh rushed behind call.

A back-and-forth contest ensued after, as the Cobras continued to rue missed opportunities in front of goal – a key theme for the afternoon.

A late goal to Canterbury skipper James Boarotto and a behind after the siren levelled the scores at 30 apiece at quarter time – however it was five straight to the JOC’s, 4.6 to the Cobras.

With the breeze in their favour, the Cobras polished field kicking began to catch the JOC’s off-guard. End-to-end transitions that could’ve matched Saturday’s AFL preliminary final, the Cobras relentlessly tallied inside 50 after inside 50, however the scoreboard failed to increase. After an early Jayden Cutts goal, Canterbury would go on to score seven consecutive behinds, failing to put away a St John’s outfit who struggled to keep up with the pace.

Bahaa Khoweiss stuck his boot out on the goal line in the final minute of the first half to create something out of nothing for St John’s, and all of a sudden it was a seven-point margin at the main break, 6.0 (36) to 5.13 (43).

“I wouldn’t say I was confident we’d turn it around (the scoring accuracy), but we definitely felt we were good enough to give ourselves the opportunity to win the game,” Ward said at halftime.

The Cobras maintained their quality skill level in the third quarter, but the heavy wind fuelled a resurgence from the JOC’s.

Canterbury’s early third-quarter lead of 13 began to close, as Harvey Emery and Houghton tacked on two goals to square the ledger. The two clubs exchanged behinds twice, before Jayden Rudd nailed a set shot to hand St John’s an unlikely lead. The Cobras had dominated possession and attack, but St John’s accuracy had given them life. A long set shot from St John’s faded left after the siren, with just one kick separating the two sides at the final change.

Canterbury had the “scoring end”, but in a Grand Final, they knew that wasn’t going to cut it.

“The three-quarter-time message was the scoring end wasn’t going to do it for us, we had to execute and work hard for it,” Ward said.

Emphasising their finals motto of “just one more”, Ward galvanised the troops for the last 30 minutes of their year.

St John’s coaching staff too spurred on their side with an expletive-laden rev-up to add some extra fire in the belly.

The Cobras would surge relentlessly again, emulating their second quarter that had St John’s on the ropes. Yet again though, scoring goals was a struggle for the Cobras. Six behinds in a row, whilst conceding one to St John’s, had Canterbury tantalisingly close to the lead, trailing 58-59.

After mountains of pressure on the St John’s defence, Cobra Roham Walmsley led and marked inside 50. At the 19^th minute mark of the fourth quarter, there was finally a goal, and Canterbury had finally regained the lead.

Tension could be felt all around the boundary of Martin Reserve, with the sense that one more goal from Canterbury would be the straw to break the camel’s back.

Insert Brad Kelleher. The number 16 stabbed the football through the middle sticks, and Canterbury’s momentum began to spike, as St John’s brave defence started unravelling. Kelleher nailed another, Nicolopoulos another two, and it was party time for the Cobras.

A strapping contest that hardly exceeded a two-goal margin for 110 minutes of action, the JOC’s eventually gave way to a highly-composed Canterbury side, who’s inaccuracy finally resolved. The fulltime scores saw Canterbury triumph by 29, 11.22 (88) to 9.5 (59).

The final siren was a blur for Canterbury players and coaches alike.

“Emotions were a bit of a whirlwind really, everything happened so quickly, and we were swamped by all our supporters,” Ward said.

Ward’s premiership side is the final one he’ll coach at Canterbury, moving on from his head coach role in 2025.

“Yes, finishing up. [I’m] very happy the group got the reward to finish it off.”

It’s Canterbury’s first taste at VAFA premiership glory since it’s 2015 Division 4 flag, and they’ll be promoted to Division 2 for the first time in their history.

Tom Lowden’s aerial dominance around the ground, as well as efforts in the ruck and forward-line, earned him the man of the match medal.

Houghton was one of St John’s best, easily the most poised for the JOC’s, and tactical with his possession.

St John’s too will advance to Division 2, without the silverware however, leaving JOC’s coach Tim Edwards gutted after the match.

“Disappointing result. Canterbury played an excellent brand of footy and were really tough and well drilled. Unfortunately, we ran out of soldiers and had nothing left in the tank late… This one really hurts but I’m proud of where the club has come from. I know this group will be even more determined next year to go one better,” Edwards said.

The curtains now close on a remarkable season of Division 3 Senior Men’s football.

The top four was separated by just two wins, and it was fourth-placed Canterbury, who had to play essentially a month of consecutive elimination finals, that claimed the ultimate prize. Finalists North Brunswick and Richmond Central will hold high hopes for 2025 given their reserves’ Grand Final appearances, as will Power House who finished third in 2024. The Division 3 teams will be joined by Bulleen Templestowe and Wattle Park next year, who have been relegated from Division 2 following low-ladder finishes.

Div 3 Men’s GF: St John’s v Canterbury