Wangaratta has responded to the heartbreak of last year's senior women's cup final defeat with an impressive 3-0 victory against league champions St Pats in this year's decider at Jelbart Park on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A Bianca Mulqueen hat trick was the difference as the Devils' senior women claimed their first ever cup title.
Mulqueen put Wangaratta in front in the 21st minute when she calmly found the bottom corner on a counter attack.
Her second came on the stroke of half-time when she got on the end of a ball from Christina Mancuso to set up a handy buffer at the break.
St Pats looked much more settled in the second half and began to work their way into the game, but still found it difficult to break down the Wangaratta defence.
Their best chance came at the 75th minute mark when Star Player Claire Mahoney, who had been well held by Wangaratta midfielder Bella Gigliotti all day, got in behind the defence and squared the ball to young winger Tess Spry, who unfortunately sent the ball into the crossbar.
Wangaratta regrouped and Mulqueen iced the game five minutes from full-time when she headed home a well-taken corner from Caity Rizzo for her hat trick.
"It feels amazing," Mulqueen said after being crowned the best on ground in the decider.
"This is my last game for Wang. I've played here for 10 years, so to finish with such a great win feels so good.
"We wanted to go in with confidence, but at the same time we were nervous about St Pats. They got the better of us in the middle of the season and we drew three weeks ago with them.
"When I got the first goal I thought maybe, the second was the same and then the third goal it felt like it was ours.
"I'm so proud of the girls and our effort today."
Rizzo was visibly shaking after the victory.
"Some of us have been playing at the club, like myself, for 20 years, so to finally get a cup is phenomenal," she said.
"The girls are unreal. You can't fault their efforts through the season.
"We've had our highs and lows and we just pushed and finally our hard work has paid off.
"Knowing there was only four minutes left and we were three goals up, we just had to be composed."
The former captain remains unsure of her playing future.
"I would like to say I'm going to retire on a positive, but it depends who we're going to get together next year," Rizzo said.
"I'm buzzing at the moment and I'd like to say I'll be back next year, but retirement is probably the best option (laughs).
St Pats' co-coach Brett Easton paid credit to the way Wangaratta played on the big stage.
"They were the better team," Easton said.
"They won a lot more of those 50-50 balls, particularly at the start of the second half.
"They had that desperation and I think they handled the occasion better.
"They lost it in a close one last year and I think they had that experience that most of our girls didn't have.
"Most of our girls either hadn't played in a grand final before or since they were 11 or 12 years old.
"Now that we've got that experience of losing a grand final, hopefully we can go one better next year."