"IT was just a dream ... it's still a dream."
Deer Park Football Club president Mark McGoldrick admits the thrill of winning the Western Region Football League's division 2 premiership last Sunday week is still sinking in.
The Lions are the talk of the town after dismantling unbackable flag favourite Parkside in the second half of the grand final to grab the ultimate glory at Chirnside Park, Werribee.
They ran the Magpies off their feet to win by 21 points after trailing by 21 at half-time.
It's being hailed as one of the biggest grand final upsets in the history of the WRFL (formerly the Footscray District Football League), which dates back to 1931.
Parkside, without losing a game, was a red-hot fancy to bag the flag, while Deer Park was a rank outsider after scraping into the finals and having to fight it out from the elimination final.
"Dreams do come true sometimes; it's a great story," McGoldrick said.
Not surprisingly, 'Goldy' couldn't be prouder of coach Jamie Madigan and his players.
"They've been dedicated all year. They've been rewarded for their hard work and love of their footy club. They play for nothing."
McGoldrick's heart beats true for the Lions.
He coached the club's senior side to the premiership in the old FDFL A1 competition back in 1994.
In fact, Madigan played a blinder across half-forward in the comfortable win over Spotswood in the grand final, which was played at the Yarraville Oval.
McGoldrick nominates this year's premiership as a greater triumph. "There's no comparison. This is a much better feeling than when I coached that premiership. We were expected to win it in '94; we'd lost one game for the year, by one point.
"This year, our boys were lucky to make the finals. We had to win our last three games (during the home and away rounds) to get there. Then they had to do it coming from the elimination final.
"They've been playing for their footy lives for the past seven weeks, knowing any slip-up and it was all over for us.
"It's a great story."
Sunday, September 6, 2009 (Father's Day) - it's a date to cherish for anyone with a bit of Deer Park in their hearts.
The Lions refused to be intimidated or overawed by Parkside. The Magpies kicked a goal in the opening 30 seconds, but the Lions hit back with successive goals to Chris Robertson, Shaun Buttigieg-Clarke and Adam Fenton.
Deer Park held a one-point lead at quarter-time but struggled in the second quarter as Parkside added 5.5 to 2.1.
Madigan kept the faith and during his half-time speech implored his players to run and run and run.
That's exactly what they did as speedy midfielder Shaun Harrison started winning a stack of possessions as the Magpies simply ran out of puff.
The Lions piled on 7.7 to 3.0 in the third quarter to storm to a 10-point lead at three-quarter-time. They went on with the job in the last quarter, addding 3.2 to 1.3.
Experienced centre half-back Wayne Duggan was pumped to the max after kicking a superb goal on the run from 45 metres early in the last quarter.
Then it was party time.
It was no surprise to see Harrison awarded the Rex Swann Medal after being adjudged best-on-ground by the umpires.
McGoldrick loves his style and predicts a big future for Harrison.
"He'll play Werribee seniors (in the Victorian Football League) next year," he said.
"He'll make it. He's only 19."
Ruckman-forward Paul Mackie was a tower of strength and capped an outstanding game with three goals.
"He was inspirational, he was the backbone of our win," McGoldrick added.
Other key players were Duggan, full-back Craig Prior and half-back flankers Lance Grogan and Bosko Micevski.
Captain and onballer Luke Summers kept attacking the footy as if his life depended on it.
The final siren prompted emotion-charged scenes among players, family and friends out on the ground.
McGoldrick found Madigan to give him a big hug.
"I said, 'We've done it, mate' and I can't remember what he said.
"He was crying. He was all emotional. We all were."
Meanwhile, Deer Park won't seek promotion to the WRFL's Tracy Group Cup (division 1) in 2010.
McGoldrick has informed WRFL chiefs of the decision.
"We can't go up," he said. "We're not ready for it.
"We're all very humbled by our premiership win. But we acknowledge Parkside was clearly the best team during the year and that we were the best team on the day.
"We just happened to get them on a ground that suited our boys more than it suited them.
"They were a lot bigger than us, but we had more run in our legs. We gave ourselves a real good chance because of our ability to run."
Meanwhile, the Lions are celebrating the selection of four players in the WRFL's coveted division 2 team of the year.
They are: Chris Robertson (wing), Wayne Duggan (centre half-back), Luke Summers (rover) and Mark Gillman (interchange).
The line-up was announced before the grand final, so Jamie Madigan can consider himself unlucky not to have been named as coach.
WRFL division 2 team of the year:
Backs: David Cavanagh (Albanvale), Chris Carrasselli (North Footscray), Craig Wells (Laverton Magpies).
Half-backs: Nathan Richardson (North Footscray), Sedat Sir (Parkside), Luke Dennerley (Wyndham Vale Falcons) vice captain.
Centres: Chris Robertson (Deer Park), Peter Kruger (Parkside), Jamie Zerafa (Laverton Magpies).
Half-forwards: Chris Endres (Albanvale), Wayne Duggan (Deer Park), Andrew Willis (Yarraville-Seddon Eagles) captain.
Forwards: Marc Sophoulis (Braybrook), Patrick Davis (Parkside), Cain Mansbridge (Yarraville-Seddon Eagles).
Rucks: Michael Kennedy (Laverton Magpies), Nathan Juegan (Parkside) coach.
Rover: Luke Summers (Deer Park).
Interchange: Mark Gillman (Deer Park), Joe Cali (Coburg Districts), Ali Taleb (Parkside), David Azzopardi (Albanvale).
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