The Grafton Tigers have won back to back premierships after a hard fought game against the Sawtell/Tormina Saints in the 2012 AFL North Coast Senior Grand Final.
A massive eight-goal final quarter has propelled Grafton to another AFL North Coast premiership, beating the Saints by 48 points.
The hero was Lee Anderson, whose seven goals earned him the Woodlock Medal for best on ground.
Sawtell had a two-goal lead at quarter time and an eight-point lead at half time, but Anderson’s goal tally was starting to build.
The three quarter time margin was two points in Sawtell’s favour, but it didn’t take long for the floodgates to open as two quick goals set the foundation for a massive final quarter from Grafton. Before long, the margin had blown out.
Mark Heaney, regional manager for the Northern NSW region, was pleased for Grafton.
"Grafton have gone back to back. We’re thrilled with that because it reflects the growth of AFL in the area," he said.
"It was good to see the support from the town as well, the mayor travelled down for the game."
Heaney also noted it was good that Sawtell were able to bounce back after some lean years and make the Grand Final.
In the Reserves Grand Final the young and the not so young (old) players from the Coffs Swans blended together beautifully to win comfortably. The Swans have had a difficult year really struggling in the player numbers area but this gives some reward to a lot of players who toiled all year often having to play two games a week.
The Under 18's Grand Final was a very entertaining affair with the North Coffs Kangaroos leading nearly all day but coming so close to losing the game. Port Macquarie battled on all day and hit the front with just a few minutes to go after kicking three goals in a row. Unfortunatkley for the Magpies it was to no avail as the Kangaroos kicked a late goal with only seconds on the clock to beat Port Macquarie in the season decider for the second year in a row.
Final Scores:
Seniors: Grafton Tigers 16.8 (104) def. Sawtell/Toormina Saints 7.14 (56)
Reserves: Coffs Swans 5.9 (39) def. Sawtell/Toormina Saints 2.5. (17)
Under 18's: North Coffs Kangaroos 9.13 (67) def. Port Macquarie Magpies 9.8 (62)
AFLNC Seniors Presentation Night 2012
Senior Best and Fairest - Jesse Schmidt (Port Macquarie) - 21 Votes
Equal Runner Up Senior Best and Fairest - Courtney Tune (Sawtell/Toormina) - 12 Votes
Equal Runner Up Senior Best and Fairest - Ron Davis (Grafton) - 12 Votes
Equal Runner Up Senior Best and Fairest - Sam Morrison (Grafton) - 12 Votes
Reserves Best and Fairest - Al Rider (Port Macquare) - 12 Votes
Runner Up Reserves Best and Fairest - Tristan Snow (Coffs Swans) - 11 Votes
Under 18's Best and Fairest - Tyson Wiegold (Camden Haven Bombers) - 15 Votes
Runner Up Under 18's Best and Fairest - Jake Saunders (Sawtell/Toormina) - 11 Votes
Leading Goal Kickers
Seniors - Lee Anderson (Grafton) - 61 Goals
Reserves - Mark Blundell (Grafton) - 35 Goals
Under 18's - Kyle Lynch (Port Macquarie) - 52 Goals
Volunteer of the Year Award
Mark "Butch' Clark (Port Macquarie)
AFL NSW/ACT Merit Award
Jim Woodlock (AFLNC Seniors)
Last Modified on 13/09/2012 15:21