2009 Mens Grand Final Night

The last Thursday in August is what teams have been striving for all season and the last two teams standing in each of the 6 divisions played off in the 2009 winter grand final at the Boroondara Sports Complex.

Kicking us off for the night was the B grade grand final which saw perennial grand finalists Pacman take on the Carlton Cannons. The Pacmen made it to the grand final the hard way without the benefit of the double chance in the first round and finished off the job against the Cannons in the big game 40-35. Zach Rose led the way with 11 points for the victors while Ali McKay of the Cannons led all scorers with 15 points.

Meanwhile, on court 2, Beyapardn took on Varpas, a team who has constantly been right up there in the A reserve comp for a few seasons. In what was a ripping match, Varpas, led by Dale Weston (19 points) took out the title 48-46. Dan Moore (14 points) was the pick of the Beyapardn team.

The A grade grand final had a familiar feel to it as it pitted arch rivals Temerity and Pro City together again. After years of dominating the A grade competition, Temerity met its match in last season's grand final when they were defeated by the Pirates. This season, Pro City set about exacting revenge on the team who had eliminated them from the competition at the final hurdle many times before. Anthony Richardson of Temerity led all scorers with 23, but it wasn't enough as Pro City, led by Jay Allen's 21 points took out the title.

Over on court 2, OCGA took on Nando's Magic in the second B Reserve grand final. OCGA, who were the dominant team of the competition all season finished off the job in style by toppling the Nando's Magic 42-29. A massive 34 point performance from Tom Sapountsis spurred OCGA to victory while Will Papakostas of Nando's Magic finished with 9.

The C grade grand final had SKOB's face off against Dribbling Mess. The SKOB's led by Rohan White and Daniel Noonan (both 11 points), outlasted Dribbling Mess who were led by Steve Wilson (9 points) to take out the title 36-31.

Finally, the last game of the night saw the Ninjas take on the Wellers in the Youth League grand final and for those who hung around, it was well worth the wait. The 40 minutes of regulation and an extra 5 minutes couldn't separate the teams. In a double overtime classic, the Ninjas, led by Jake Cooper 20 points survived the arduous battle to defeat the Wellers who were led by Josh Arrowsmith. The final score was 61-59.

Following each match, the referees award votes to who they deem to be the Most Valuable Player (MVP). At the end of the season, these votes are compiled and the winners of this award and the Top Goal Scorer for each division are presented with their trophies at the grand final presentations.

Photos from Mens Grand Final 2009 in the Gallery