Questions are always asked around the tables of defeated teams, deep in devastating post mortem, shattered at a dream ending. The look of resignation was there to see outside the Pro Shop as the cold cloak of night was wrapping itself around another tension packed finals Saturday in the Premiership. It was etched on the long faces of the In Time Dynasty team, the blank stare, the look of shock that the season was over. It seems fitting that on the very same weekend the great Irish Champion Padraig Harrington’s reign as ‘Open Champion’ came to an end, so did the run of the Irish led ‘In Time’. Yes the Guinness around Ireland has certainly run dry and is unlikely to flow too freely as rumours abound that In Time’s great Irish Leader Bill The Hassett, is unlikely to poll well in this year’s Charles Latrobe Medal. Dreams have been washed away and the Guinness is sure to flow again, it takes some time for the wounds of defeat to heal.
However life tends to seek an equal state and with In Time’s shattering fall, another has felt the exhilaration of a win. The Brothers in Arms have finally felt the joy of winning in the finals. This is the second year that they have been a dominant force in the regular season however their ability to back up this sensational play has fell well short of the mark when the pressure was turned on. Last year it was 2 quick losses and into the devastation of the above paragraph. This year, they faulted badly during the big rivalry match against their nemesis Wally World flailing away to their worst score of the year. Then, in the final round where victory would sit them on the top of the Premiership table, a deserved ‘minor’ premier they lost their final round to slip to second. This put them against the red hot ‘Gummers’ outfit that have firmed to favouritism and were dually inflicted another cruel hiding. It seemed that the whispers of their inability to perform when the heat was on were proving correct time and time again. Finally however, against a gallant and fired up opponent, the Brothers in Arms bound together and like the strength of the grip that forms the pinnacle of their forceful logo, under the afternoon leadership of their captain’s magnificent play, inside the warmth that the cloak of Melbourne’s cold winters night provides to some; they won their first finals match.
Cambridge had another great season. After shocking the punters last year with their upset win in the Cambridge Knockout, they have grown in strength and consistency this year and were true contenders in the big one, the Premiership. The loss to the Buglers will cut a little deeper as they have had their hand on Silverware and clearly wanted more. They have had some strong performers this year and have booked on masse to join the celebrations on the night of the Charles Latrobe medal. They will not be drinking from the cup this year however they may still have something to cheer about on the night of nights.....or maybe they wont.
The Buglers chances of defending their title were always going to be difficult. The ‘Cambridge’ draft has a way of assisting teams that need assistance and making life a little more difficult for the teams that have found life a little more easy in the previous season. It still astounds the Captain of this team, it still astounds the players in this team, it still astounds the author of this little blog and now astounds the world as Buglers favourite Tommy Robson tries to explain how it happened to astonished folk in beer parlours across the middle of Canada and Ferrets Captain ries to explain to astonished Scotsman at the home of golf itself; how the other 15 captains allowed the present Club Champion who was set to play every game in the season; (until that is when he fell in love and spent a few weekends away on picnics holding hands with his future bride looking endlessly into her eyes whispering sonnets of love into her neckline (congrats on the impending engagement Tim)), to slip to number 16 in the draft????? This tardiness of all Captains came back to haunt Cambridge as, under the pressure and tension of a knockout final, the Champion of the Club performed magnificently, as champions of a club generally do, with the best score of the day 40 points. It was required for the win and the dream of back to back premierships is now alive and well.
Waiting patiently in the Preliminary finals are two worthy opponents. One the dominant side of the past 2 years however still lacking the silverware that this dominance should have accumulated and the other the new favourite of the Coca Cola Latrobe Team Premiership.
Both have demons to slay from seasons past.....
The Ferrets are in position to win again. It is the second year they have finished top of the table. They should be favourites; but they are not. They go in 3 players down. Their senior champion has stamped himself and is out for a month injured. There Captain and his offsider, have gone golfing in Scotland??? If they are to lose, there will be some searching questions to their captain. The timing of his life trip to the home of golf will be examined in far greater depth then this blog will go into. Taking a fellow star performer away (also from the mighty Lions’s charge to finals) with him will make this inquisition long and exhausting. It is a long flight back to Australia from the sewers of London with a stop-over in Dubai adding to this time; one would suggest that this time needs to be spent searching for some pretty good answers. (If the Lions miss the finals Mr Stray, I would suggest you look for some answers as well).
The Snowgummers continue to live with the memory of their finish to last year’s premiership. It has driven them all year. Their strategy of drafting friends who had also felt the pain of last year’s choking finish by sitting through hours and hours of Darryl Bakers endless and thorough post mortems would instil a desire in even the rookies not to go through that again. They have not looked like anything but finalists this year, consistent and driven. They now come to the penultimate week end, up against the defending Champions ‘The Buglers’, the tension of preliminary final, as favourites to win the Premiership.
As these teams turn off Lucern Crescent and take the drive down Farm Road to Latrobe Golf Club this Saturday, the excitement will be palpable. The tension will build until they take their first swing, hoping for solid contact, a true strike that sends their ball soaring for the flag. It will signal the start of their match in the preliminary final and they will ask of themselves, is this as good as it gets?
However life tends to seek an equal state and with In Time’s shattering fall, another has felt the exhilaration of a win. The Brothers in Arms have finally felt the joy of winning in the finals. This is the second year that they have been a dominant force in the regular season however their ability to back up this sensational play has fell well short of the mark when the pressure was turned on. Last year it was 2 quick losses and into the devastation of the above paragraph. This year, they faulted badly during the big rivalry match against their nemesis Wally World flailing away to their worst score of the year. Then, in the final round where victory would sit them on the top of the Premiership table, a deserved ‘minor’ premier they lost their final round to slip to second. This put them against the red hot ‘Gummers’ outfit that have firmed to favouritism and were dually inflicted another cruel hiding. It seemed that the whispers of their inability to perform when the heat was on were proving correct time and time again. Finally however, against a gallant and fired up opponent, the Brothers in Arms bound together and like the strength of the grip that forms the pinnacle of their forceful logo, under the afternoon leadership of their captain’s magnificent play, inside the warmth that the cloak of Melbourne’s cold winters night provides to some; they won their first finals match.
Cambridge had another great season. After shocking the punters last year with their upset win in the Cambridge Knockout, they have grown in strength and consistency this year and were true contenders in the big one, the Premiership. The loss to the Buglers will cut a little deeper as they have had their hand on Silverware and clearly wanted more. They have had some strong performers this year and have booked on masse to join the celebrations on the night of the Charles Latrobe medal. They will not be drinking from the cup this year however they may still have something to cheer about on the night of nights.....or maybe they wont.
The Buglers chances of defending their title were always going to be difficult. The ‘Cambridge’ draft has a way of assisting teams that need assistance and making life a little more difficult for the teams that have found life a little more easy in the previous season. It still astounds the Captain of this team, it still astounds the players in this team, it still astounds the author of this little blog and now astounds the world as Buglers favourite Tommy Robson tries to explain how it happened to astonished folk in beer parlours across the middle of Canada and Ferrets Captain ries to explain to astonished Scotsman at the home of golf itself; how the other 15 captains allowed the present Club Champion who was set to play every game in the season; (until that is when he fell in love and spent a few weekends away on picnics holding hands with his future bride looking endlessly into her eyes whispering sonnets of love into her neckline (congrats on the impending engagement Tim)), to slip to number 16 in the draft????? This tardiness of all Captains came back to haunt Cambridge as, under the pressure and tension of a knockout final, the Champion of the Club performed magnificently, as champions of a club generally do, with the best score of the day 40 points. It was required for the win and the dream of back to back premierships is now alive and well.
Waiting patiently in the Preliminary finals are two worthy opponents. One the dominant side of the past 2 years however still lacking the silverware that this dominance should have accumulated and the other the new favourite of the Coca Cola Latrobe Team Premiership.
Both have demons to slay from seasons past.....
The Ferrets are in position to win again. It is the second year they have finished top of the table. They should be favourites; but they are not. They go in 3 players down. Their senior champion has stamped himself and is out for a month injured. There Captain and his offsider, have gone golfing in Scotland??? If they are to lose, there will be some searching questions to their captain. The timing of his life trip to the home of golf will be examined in far greater depth then this blog will go into. Taking a fellow star performer away (also from the mighty Lions’s charge to finals) with him will make this inquisition long and exhausting. It is a long flight back to Australia from the sewers of London with a stop-over in Dubai adding to this time; one would suggest that this time needs to be spent searching for some pretty good answers. (If the Lions miss the finals Mr Stray, I would suggest you look for some answers as well).
The Snowgummers continue to live with the memory of their finish to last year’s premiership. It has driven them all year. Their strategy of drafting friends who had also felt the pain of last year’s choking finish by sitting through hours and hours of Darryl Bakers endless and thorough post mortems would instil a desire in even the rookies not to go through that again. They have not looked like anything but finalists this year, consistent and driven. They now come to the penultimate week end, up against the defending Champions ‘The Buglers’, the tension of preliminary final, as favourites to win the Premiership.
As these teams turn off Lucern Crescent and take the drive down Farm Road to Latrobe Golf Club this Saturday, the excitement will be palpable. The tension will build until they take their first swing, hoping for solid contact, a true strike that sends their ball soaring for the flag. It will signal the start of their match in the preliminary final and they will ask of themselves, is this as good as it gets?
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