Rosellas go back-to back in another thriller

Cheltenham has lifted the Southern league Division 1 premiership for a second successive year after bringing down a brave Dingley in an instant classic.

Cheltenham coach Justin Pickering printed off a Rosellas team sheet ahead of round 1 and ripped it to shreds in front of the playing group.

He told them a side scattered with stars on paper meant for nothing if they couldn’t put it together as a collective.

And on Sunday, when it mattered most against Dingley, the Rosellas pieced it together perfectly to claim a second successive Southern league premiership.

Cheltenham’s quarter-time lead had been levelled and then stolen at the next two changes.

Pickering urged his side to “have faith” at three-quarter time and they delivered in a tense final quarter.

The game offered seven lead changes, including three in the last term, as Dingley’s Caleb Lewis (four goals) and Cheltenham’s Rob Cathcart (three) traded goals.

Tom Davis put the Rosellas out to a 10-point lead but the Dingoes, again through Lewis, mounted one final push.

Like their 2023 triumph over Cranbourne, the Rosellas were again forced to fight to the very end.

Through as much desperation as talent, they held on, 8.11 (59) to 8.9 (57), to rise to the top for the second time in as many seasons.

Pickering said the team sheet tear stuck as a theme and it surfaced again in the final quarter.

“I think we are the most talented group in the league, that’s been stated by a lot of people, but you’ve got to back that up,” Pickering said.

“I think in the semi-final we didn’t back ourselves up as much, so we addressed a couple of things Dingley did really well but we had to have faith in ourselves.

“If you saw our side on paper in round 1, it was unbelievable but I didn’t want the boys to think they’d run out and it was just going to happen.

“There’s a lot of egos and individuals in a team environment and sometimes it doesn’t work, but I think the people we’ve brought in haven’t got the egos and are team players.

“That was just a little spark I thought they needed and they’ve clearly taken it on all year.”

With 54 wins from 58 starts heading into the grand final Pickering said there was undeniable pressure on the group.

But his trust in them never wavered.

“Of course there was, any team that’s undefeated throughout the year is (under pressure on grand final day),” he said.

“It’s littered through football, teams who go undefeated and then lose the granny, and I have been a part of a junior team like that.

“There was certainly that pressure but from Thursday onwards, it was the calmest and most relaxed I have felt all year.

“I had complete and utter trust in this group.”

Josh Lai won the Jim Meneilly Medal as best on ground and was supported strongly by Jack Lonie, Jacob Edwards, Dylan Weickhardt and Luke Verma.

Cheltenham captain Jack Worrell fought through a minor calf strain to play and kicked the Rosellas’ first goal of the match.

Worrell has played in each of the Rosellas’ four consecutive grand finals, which have been decided by a total of 23 points.

The skipper said he wasn’t worried about the two-point three-quarter time deficit after his side mowed down the 18-point margin last year.

“We like to leave it tight,” Worrell quipped.

“It’s been a huge four years, everyone deserves this immensely.

“I said: ‘this place (RSEA Park) will be the death of me, one day can we just do it nice?’

“We were in a worse position last year at three quarter time and were able to win, we obviously just wasted a few opportunities in that third quarter.

“We felt if we could stay on top and put scoreboard pressure on we’d be in the game but Dingley are a quality team, they’ve come up again this year with good players and a good coach.”

There’s a cast of fingerprints on Cheltenham’s dynasty but the captain can’t go past long-serving mentor Des Ryan as a main catalyst for its rise.

“I don’t think you can go past Dessy Ryan, he stepped away this year but he put in a huge eight years before that,” he said.

“We’d lost two (grand finals), able to win one and then Pickers was able to come in this year, he’s been around for a few years and it was an easy transition for the players.

“Kingy (president Adam King) as well, it’s such a collective.”

Worrell is now a two-time premiership captain.

He admits ‘three-time’ sounds far better but will enjoy the premiership celebrations before he decides about playing on next year.

“It does, it does,” he said.

“They’re not easy to get but having him (points to Jack Lonie) makes it easier – let’s just enjoy tonight and then we’ll see about next year.”

SCOREBOARD

Cheltenham 1.5, 5.6, 5.11, 8.11 (59) def Dingley 0.2, 5.6, 6.7, 8.9 (57)

Cheltenham goals: Rob Cathcart 3, Luke Verma, Rex Kilburn, Jack Worrell, Tom Davis. Best: Josh Lai, Jacob Edwards, Dylan Weickhardt, Luke Verma.

Dingley goals: Caleb Lewis 4, Tom Morecroft 2, Adam Peacock, Trent Dennis-Lane. Best: Caleb Lewis, Kristen Feehan, Michael Barnes, Kai Stretton and Lucas Walmsley.