Reputations are made in September.
A saying as old as time in football circles, the greats of the game are those who have stood up on the biggest stage of all, producing their best to lift their team to premiership glory.
And on Saturday afternoon, on-baller Matthew Gorman etched his name into the folklore of Mulwala Football Netball Club, producing a grand final performance for the ages to help break its 32-year premiership drought.
A stalwart of football in the region for more than a decade, Gorman has climbed the mountain in the Ovens and Murray Football League with Yarrawonga in 2013, with his hard edge and determination around the contest making him ready-made for finals football.
But not in his wildest dreams did he think he would walk up on stage to receive three medals on grand final day, with the acclaimed on-baller adding a best-on-ground and MFL player of the finals series to his neck to cap a golden month of football.
“It is pretty cool (to win the three medals), I’ve been lucky enough to play a bit of footy in my time and played with some great footballers over the journey,” Gorman said.
“And the big one for me is you want to be known as someone who has a crack in big games, and that doesn’t mean you are going to get best on or what not, rather just put in a solid effort.
“Generally when you give effort the reward comes and lucky enough for me that happened today.”
For Gorman, his journey with Mulwala began 12 months ago after making the move to play football locally after a two-year stint with Goulburn Valley League club Mooroopna.
Part of the club’s massive off-season recruiting drive, he was instantly welcomed with open arms, and became a key cog to what developed into the competition’s strongest on-ball brigade.
And it was in the finals where he truly showed his worth to the Mulwala faithful, producing best-on-ground performances in the preliminary final and grand final triumphs to lift his team to heights it had not experienced for more than three decades.
Having been part of a lot of football clubs during his career, Gorman said there was always something special about this group of Mulwala players.
“It is unbelievable isn’t it, it’s something we thought was achievable at the start of the year, but so did 11 other clubs, so to actually do it is pretty special,” he said.
“As I said earlier, I’ve played a lot of footy with clubs like Yarrawonga and Mooroopna, but I don’t reckon I’ve played with a more driven group of players and it is infectious.
“So to achieve what we did today it is reward for effort and I know it sounds silly, and people will think it is in the moment, but this is right up there in my footy career and I’ll cherish this win for a long time.”