“God help Mooroopna tomorrow.”
It was the tongue-in-cheek response from JD Hayes at the end of a Racing.com interview ― following the Memsie Stakes win by Mr Brightside on Saturday ― that garnered plenty of traction in the hours following.
The Euroa gun, who trains Mr Brightside alongside his twin brother Will and older sibling Ben, got his remark right though as the Magpies blew Mooroopna out of the water in the final quarter of their Goulburn Valley League elimination final clash.
Euroa booted seven goals to zip in a whirlwind and rampaging 15 minutes of football.
JD was judged best-on for the Magpies with 19 disposals, seven score involvements and five inside 50s, while his brother Will had 29 disposals and 15 pressure acts.
“I think it really meant a lot to them (to play together),” Euroa coach Scott Rowan said post-match.
“Obviously they had a fantastic day yesterday (Saturday) and I was quick to message them at around 8.30pm last night and I got a few quick replies back saying they were on the Gatorades and pastas. I’m not sure I would have had that discipline, but I’m very thankful they’re with us.”
At three-quarter time, the Magpies must have wondered what it would take to edge ahead with 30 minutes left to save their season.
Even several minutes into the final term, it appeared their toils would still bear no fruit, booting 0.7 in a hugely wasteful third term to face a deficit at all three changes against the Cats.
What changed to turn a back-and-forth tussle into a dizzying demolition?
Euroa’s phenomenal final quarter v Mooroopna
Hit-outs to advantage: 5-0
Contested possessions: 44-15
Clearances (centre): 21-2 (7-0)
Inside 50s: 19-5
It appears to have been a case of at last bursting the dam wall and the energy lift that comes with breaking through for a long-awaited major.
Jett Trotter made sure his impact was felt and, in an enhanced version of the late heroics he displayed against Mansfield the week prior, exploded once the chains were off with three goals in the final term.
Rowan noted post-match that “it was always going to break at some stage” and once his side converted a single opportunity the rest fell into place post-haste.
Andrew Smith, who finished second in the GVL regular season for hit-outs to advantage, would work in total lock-step with his midfield brigade to mercilessly override what had previously been a dogged, pressure-laden Mooroopna side.
Ever an influential figure in the engine room at Euroa, leading best-and-fairest contender Will Hayes made every one of his six final-quarter touches meaningful, gathering three loose balls, finding forward 50 three times and offloading two goal assists in a frenetic display.
However, Rowan was under no illusions that Mooroopna gave his side “a real fight to the end” and the Cats’ enormous pressure tallies verify this statement.
In the end, the classy efficiency with which Euroa was able to sift the ball to the outside of stoppages and find the extra gear to move the ball unrelentingly towards goal shaped a remarkable turnaround from almost two hours of evenly poised finals football.