PFNL Re-wind: The smother that ended in glory

With the Peel Football and Netball League currently sidelined due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Mandurah Mail will take the opportunity over the coming weeks to revisit some of the greatest games and performances in league history.

Today's edition of PFNL Re-wind sends us back to 2015, where a crucial smother in the last minute put South Mandurah on the path to a premiership.

"Our kiwi brother with the match-winning smother."

It might just seem like a bit of a quirky rhyme, but for the South Mandurah Falcons it's a phrase that brings back the fondest of memories.

Of course, the kiwi brother is none other than former Falcons ruckman Tom Wood, and the aforementioned smother speaks of a play that Southies stalwarts still gush over.

It was September, 2015, and as always a raucous crowd had flocked to the club's Lynda Street home to cheer on their Falcons as they took to the field for their first finals clash of the year.

They'd previously earned a week off after finishing as minor premiers with a 16-2 record, but for all their regular season dominance they knew nothing would come easy as they prepared to take on a heavily-armed Halls Head outfit looking to make the most of a grand final window.

The Lightning entered the second semi-final clash on the back of a qualifying final thumping of the perennial powerhouse Waroona Demons.

Their line-up was lethal, and stacked with talent.

Jordan Adamson-Holmes, Marc Re, Jesse Gribble, Mitchell White, Greg Sanders and Tim Bruce led the charge for the club, as they eyed a maiden premiership.

But standing in their way were the Falcons, who were loaded themselves boasting the likes of Blair Bell, Andrew Haydon, Aaron Zucconi, Brad Holmes, John Bennell, Michael Holmes, Sam Hart and Jamen Williams (as well as first year coach Daniel Haines).

The game itself was a see-sawing affair.

A tight first quarter saw the two separated by just two points at the first break, but the Falcons put their foot down to gallop out to a 4.8 (32) to 2.3 (15) lead at the half.

Everything was going according to plan, but Halls Head weren't done with yet.

Gribble, Re, Bruce and company rallied for an almighty third term, booting seven goals and keeping the home side to a lone point to charge out to a 26-point buffer at the final change.

It's at this point that coach Haines became a factor, delivering what then team manager and now club president Greg Barnard described as a "hair-raising" speech to his team.

"Honestly, anyone who heard it was ready to run through a brick wall," Barnard said.

"Stinger (Haines) was never much on the speeches, but that one, that sticks with me to this day."

The spray was exactly what the doctor ordered, with the Falcons going on to keep Halls Head without a goal in the final term (thanks in large to the outstretched hands of Wood, but we'll get to that).

Eventual Ross Elliott medalist Bell got the ball rolling with the first goal of the term, and the comeback was on when Brad Holmes produced another.

Quickly following suit was Matthew McMahon snaring back-to-back majors, and all of a sudden the Falcons were in front.

But Halls Head had one last roll of the dice left, and they (almost) rolled it to perfection when a passage of play netted Sanders, a usually ultra-reliable boot, a shot on goal in the final minute.

"I put my head in my hands, and honestly I could have just vomited," Barnard recalled.

"Of all people, Sanders had it. He was only 15 metres out, slight angle at best, and I honestly thought he'd bury us."

But among all the commotion, Wood had kept his head.

While Sanders turned his back on the goal to prepare for the routine set shot, the South Mandurah ruckman had sneakily carved out his mark in the ground with his boot, before back-tracking a further four steps.

It was something the Halls Head forward hadn't prepared for, and something that would shape South Mandurah's club history.

Sanders rolled in to take the game-winning shot, but Wood lunged into the air, and fully-outstretched his hands connected with the footy, sending it back into play.

From there it was a frantic frenzy of Falcons bodies keeping the ball pinned to the ground, and South Mandurah would eventually waste enough time to run the game out 8.15 (63) to 9.7 (61) winners.

Supporters flooded the ground, rushing to the spot where Wood's smother had connected to belt out an emphatic rendition of their club song.

The win earned the Falcons a week off, after which they would go on to win the 2015 premiership with a victory over Waroona, who had bested Halls Head in the preliminary round.

"Honestly, thinking about it still puts me on the edge of my seat," Barnard said.

"We'll forever remember our kiwi brother with the match-winning smother."

Ironically, Sanders would eventually go on to taste premiership success with South Mandurah, as part of their inaugural second division flag-winning team in 2019.