WHEN Brendan Fevola snapped his fifth goal, just over 11 minutes into the final quarter, the roar was near deafening.
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It was over.
The heartache of the past three years a distant memory.
Yarrawonga was 38 points clear and on its way to just its fourth premiership.
Jeremy O’Brien then slotted home another on the run and the difference was out to a game-high 43 points.
The Pigeons were home.
A brave Albury slammed on the final five goals of the game but, to be blunt, the damage was done.
They were never going to give up, the Tigers, but it was always going to take a miracle for them to pinch a fourth successive premiership.
History, form and logic were against them.
After clawing their way to the decider with two bruising finals’ victories, the Tigers were down to just one fit player on the bench by half-time.
It was always going to be telling.
So much about this year’s grand final between Albury and Yarrawonga was different to the past three years.
But, at the same time, so much was the same.
There was a hot start, punches thrown and a late charge at the end from the side in arrears.
But it was the Pigeons who got off to a flyer, the Pigeons who flexed their muscle and the Tigers who were forced to scramble home against all the odds.
Craig Ednie and Matt Dwyer were the two best players on the ground but it was this year’s finals’ specialist, Marcus McMillan, who was probably the most influential.
With a three-goal breeze heading towards Lavington’s flash new scoreboard, McMillan was left down that end of the ground for the entire game.
He spent a half as one of the game’s most dangerous forwards, the other, as a pivotal post in defence.
Albury had more inside 50 entries but McMillan’s presence, along with Matt Shannon’s superb job on Andy Carey, ensured those forward thrusts were nothing more than that.
And while Brendan Fevola was celebrating each of his five goals like they were his last as the crowd ate out of his hand, the two-time Coleman medallist didn’t lose sight of what was the difference yesterday.
“The boys down back were super,” he said moments after the win.
“I was lucky enough to kick five but our defence was amazing against the wind and that was probably what won us the game.”
Plenty have moaned about Albury and Yarrawonga’s dominance in recent times, however, it was never going to be a dull day with Fevola involved.
The record crowd of more than 12,000 proved exactly that.
It took less than five minutes for Fevola to make his mark on the game when he was entangled in a goal-square stoush with Jay Koehler.
Fevola received a free just 10 metres out, which he drilled home as expected, and Koehler was sent from the ground.
The cards were falling Yarrawonga’s way already.
But with Fevola involved it was never going to end there, was it?
After nailing home his first, he quickly let Tiger Will Smith know about it.
And before too long Fevola found himself sitting on the pine too.
But as has been the case all year, bar the Tigers’ win over the Pigeons in round 6, Fevola’s removal didn’t prove too costly.
He got his medal and that’s all that matters.
“It’s a grand final and those sorts of things are expected,” Fevola said.
“There was nothing in it but as usual a couple of guys got sent off.
“You’ve got to show a bit of emotion.”
And co-coach Chris Kennedy wasn’t going to bemoan his most prized playing asset for doing just that.
“That’s our strength,” Kennedy said.
“We’re a one-club town and we’ve got such passion in the town among our players and supporters.
“The town’s been waiting four years for this and they’ll celebrate it like they’ve done just that.”
