In a brutal display across both football and netball, Moama delivered another clean sweep over Echuca United to retain the Three Jacks Trophy in style.
The Eagles travelled to Moama Recreation Reserve with hopes of reversing the results from round two, when they suffered a devastating defeat in every game across the day.
While the return leg was a much more competitive affair, the Eagles were unable to record a win, as Moama proved its strength on the court and the oval.
The A-grade netball match lived up to its billing as an epic, with Moama mounting a second-half comeback to bring an end to Echuca United’s seven-game winning streak, claiming a 45-42 win.
Moama’s Liv Taverna received the Teasdale award as best-on-court, with a stellar effort at both ends of the court ensuring her Magpies side continues its finals charge.
Tessa Bruni was solid as Echuca United’s best player, while Aisha Railton impressed in her A-grade debut.
The senior football was a cracking contest as well, with the game played at an intensity that only the Three Jacks rivalry can inspire.
Despite the final score being 15.11 (101) to 9.5 (59) in favour of Moama, it was a fairly even tussle until three-quarter time.
Moama looked in control for the first half without setting the game alight, before the strong crowd that lined the fences was whipped into a frenzy in the third quarter.
Echuca United made a bold run at the highly fancied home side, closing the margin to just six points with a minute to go in the third term, before a couple of goals to the Magpies in quick succession killed any momentum the Eagles may have had going into the final quarter.
Eagles coach Farran Priest praised his young side for its effort, although he lamented the lack of experience when the game was on the line.
“It’s still a bit raw, I suppose,” he said.
“That third quarter probably just shows where this group is at, and there’s maturity growth there, too.
“We showed our best is good enough, it's just how we continue to tap into that. Take nothing away from Moama, they're a good side, and that's the challenge we want.
“We were in it in the third quarter, it was 42 points in the end, and that's disappointing too, because that's a quarter of footy, we have a lapse, and we give up seven goals.”
Moama’s experience and toughness showed, with a hardened midfield outfit standing up when the game was there to be won.
Jack Sheldon and captain Jack Russell in particular made their presence felt at the stoppages in the last quarter, while Jobe Shanahan capped off a strong performance with a huge hanger and goal that sealed the game, earning himself the Teasdale award for best-on-ground.
Russell was full of praise for not only his side, but the rest of the club, which dominated the Three Jacks proceedings for the second time this year.
“Yeah, it's awesome. Obviously there's a bit of a rivalry between us two, and we play for that as a whole club,” he said.
“Credit to the whole club, I think we won every game of footy and netball, so that just shows where our club is at and it's really enjoyable.”
On the court, the Pies won a tight contest 52-45 to continue their unbeaten streak in the B-grade competition, while the C-grade (57-21) and C-reserve (37-28) sides also won comfortably.
Moama’s under-13s enjoyed a commanding 33-9 win, while the under-15 and under-17 sides followed suit with 43-18 and 50-17 wins respectively.
The junior football matches were one-sided affairs as the under-14s claimed a dominant 10.13 (73) to 0.1 (1) win and the under-17s won 10.15 (75) to 2.2 (14).
The Magpies also proved too good in the reserves football match, taking out the clash 13.12 (90) to 4.2 (26).