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BENALLA’S dream season ended in heartbreak yesterday with the three-point loss to Shepparton Swans in the Goulburn Valley league grand final at Deakin Reserve.
The Saints went into the match on the back of a club record 20-match winning streak and produced the top-two placegetters in the Morrison Medal, Will Martiniello and coach Luke Morgan.
They were also the first team into the grand final.
But as was the case in 1978 when the club won 15 matches in a row and lost to Wangaratta Rovers, it stumbled at the final hurdle again.
With majority support in the estimated 9500 crowd, the Saints couldn’t find the knockout blow in the final quarter after starting 10 points in arrears.
The day began promisingly with the club’s under-18 team winning the flag before the reserves went down by 12 points.
A shattered coach Luke Morgan said his team didn’t handle the windy conditions as well as their opponents.
Both teams also had to contend with temperatures that climbed into the mid-20s.
“We just haven’t used it well enough, they’ve put some pressure on and we haven’t kicked to good spots,” he said.
“We had our chances.
“This is not the end. We’ve got a bunch of boys who are very proud.
“Eighteen have played junior footy at Benalla and we need to retain them all.
“We’ve got a premiership side on our list.
“Benalla will be getting one before my time is out.”
Benalla was trying to win its first flag since returning to the GV league in 1998.
Meanwhile, Shepparton Swans’ coach Brett Warburton is handing over the coaching reins to Hayden Best after four years at the helm.
The Swans won two and four games in his first two seasons before emerging as a force and finally snaring a flag.