Lockington-Bamawm United forward James Brentnall stole the show for the Cats’ under-18s, kicking five goals as the side claimed the premiership with a 38-point triumph over Mount Pleasant.
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After booting an incredible 10 majors in the preliminary final thrashing of White Hills, Brentnall was in the mood again at Strauch Reserve, proving elusive for the Mounts’ defence.
LBU kicked the first four goals of the grand final, with Brentnall responsible for three of them, his speed across the ground being too much for Pleasant to handle early on.
The Cats held a 25-7 lead at quarter-time, and their early avalanche only continued to open the second term.
Brentnall snapped through his fourth of the contest early in the period before Jett Huddle joined the first-half party with an improvised finish.
LBU had the Mounts locked into their defensive 50 for much of the opening two quarters, providing them with no easy options to transition out and forcing kicks to big packs down the line.
Pleasant did start to enter its forward 50 with more regularity towards the end of the second quarter, and kicked a second major through Ben Miller, but the Cats still sat pretty up 6.1 (37) to 2.3 (15) at half-time.
The Mounts would be more competitive after the main break, but Lockington kept up its intensity to see out a dominant win.
Its clean ball use was a highlight, and showed up in several instances during the third quarter.
The game
Lockington-Bamawm United: 4.1, 6.1, 10.4, 12.8 (80)
Mount Pleasant: 1.1, 2.3, 4.4, 6.6 (42)
Goals
Lockington-Bamawm United: James Brentnall 5, Jack Alberni 2, Harrison Condliffe 2, Axel Dixon, Jett Huddle, William Walshe
Mount Pleasant: Bailey Holland 3, Ben Miller, Griffin O’Shea, Sam Rogers
Best
Lockington-Bamawm United: James Brentnall, Harrison Condliffe, Campbell Keele, Nicholas Mitchell, Charlie McIntyre
Mount Pleasant: Bailey Holland, James Mathews, Mitchell Bray, Ben Miller, Van Bortolotto, Ned Browell
Harrison Condliffe goaled by strolling into the 50 after the Cats got him into the position with superb back-to-front ball movement.
Not long after, the same player would start and end a similar move from the wing by finishing on a tight angle.
Of course, there was also time for Brentnall to continue to torment the Mounts defence, again finding himself free out the back of the pack for an easy finish in the goal square.
LBU had one hand on the trophy, entering the fourth up by six goals, with the final term, which saw the Cats kick 2.4 to Pleasant’s 2.2, cosmetic in the overall picture.
Vice-captain Campbell Keele was a persistent presence around the footy at stoppages, while William Walshe’s well-weighted kicks inside often opened up the corridor for the Cats.
That duo stood out along with Brentnall, who could have easily had more on the day after missing a few set shots in the final quarter.
As a result of his performance, the forward was also named best on ground.
“He's a great leader,” Lockington coach Tyler Phillips said.
“He had a pretty serious injury this year, had a face surgery, so it hasn't been easy for him, he missed a fair chunk of footy, and he came back and said to me that he wants to play thirds, and he wants to win a flag.
“He came back into the juniors [after] playing senior finals and he’s just come back a different player.”
Lockington ran out as a 12.8 (80) to 6.6 (42) winner, shifting a narrative between the two sides from this year that had seen each of their previous three contests decided by two goals or fewer.
“Both teams have been so even for the year and we’ve had a lot of boys playing senior footy, so we’ve had a bit of an interrupted year with players not playing under-18s and a lot of them playing seniors,” Phillips said.
“To have them all back on a day like today really showed the junior system that Jayden Howe and myself and the coaches run.
“We’ve had 15-year-olds playing senior footy and then those 15-year-olds come here and play and they’re just so different.
“To play four quarters like that, we didn’t let up the whole game, so I was so, so proud of how they have been able to play and put it together on the one day that counts.”