AJAX brave in VAFA reserves grand final defeat
AJAX didn't win, but can feel proud of making their first VAFA men's reserves grand final in 13 years.
Despite not earning the right to hold the 2024 VAFA men’s Premier C reserve grade premiership trophy aloft following their grand final loss to ladder leaders the Parkdale Vultures on September 21, AJAX’s captain Jordan Tonkin described the occasion, and the build-up to it, as “a really fun and special day to be part of”.
“It was fantastic to be in it, as it’s been 13 years since the last time an AJAX side has been in the men’s reserves grand final, and we were able to take it all in,” Tonkin said.
“They [Parkdale] were just the better team on the day. I thought we did really well in the third quarter to get back into it, but they [the Vultures] created more scoring shots than us overall, and that was the difference.”
After finishing in second spot at the end of the regular season, losing to Parkdale in week one of the finals, but then bouncing back with a 3-point preliminary final win over Hampton, AJAX went into the decider with an attitude to give it a crack and enjoy it.
And they began well, restricting the Vultures to one goal in the opening quarter, while kicking a major through the boot of Logan Siegel.
The Jackas’ half forward scored another goal in the next quarter, but Parkdale were more fluent in attack, opening more doors for their forwards, who kicked 4 more goals and 7 behinds to lead AJAX 41-14 at the main break.
To their credit, the men in black, white and red lifted in both defence and attack in the third term, to reduce their deficit from 27 points to just 15, with one quarter left to play.
The steel in the Jackas’ defence returned, led by Tonkin, vice captain Joel Burston and senior leadership group member Janathan Machlin in the backline, keeping Parkdale to one goal and a behind, while accurate kicking within the 50 saw Noah Spitz kicked 2 goals and super sub Justin Spicer one.
But a sniff of hope for AJAX was snuffed out with an early goal to Parkdale in the fourth quarter, followed by 3 more goals, while the Jackas could only manage to score 4 behinds, recording a 5.7 (37) to 10.16 (76) loss.
“The result is what it is, but it was a special day and we want to thank all our supporters who turned up for us all season, and throughout the finals, and for making for such a great atmosphere on grand final day,” Tonkin said.
“As per tradition at AJAX, we had a pre-game team presentation, in which club stalwart Peter Kagan spoke, [ruck rover] Brandon Efron brought his grandfather into the room and Joel [Burston] gave a passionate pep talk.
“I also want to thank the club’s hard-working committee, all our coaches and physios, and our entire squad, because while only 22 players could be picked for the grand final, more than 55 players contributed to our success this year.”
The team’s head coach, Daniel Freed, said it was “a very good season, in which a lot of guys put on the AJAX jumper, and 61 guys got game time for us in 2024”.
“I, and my brother Tim, were part of the Jackas team that last were in, and won, a reserve grade grand final, in 2011, so it felt special to be in a grand final again, this time as a coach.
“Our assistant coach, Rubin Winograd, is also a former teammate and although we couldn’t quite get a win for him on Saturday too, being part of any grand final is special.
“Congratulations to Parkdale, who were very good. We definitely gave ourselves a chance with that flurry of goals in the third quarter, but they [Parkdale] got the momentum back with their next goal, and got away from us from there.”
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