Westlawn Jaguars made the best of the unexpected snap lockdown – having a drink to celebrate being premiers of the men’s 2nd Division North competition.
But the get-together came earlier than expected as the team were all-set for battle against clubmates Westlawn Tigers.
“No one had looked at their phones after 2 o’clock. Everyone was warmed up, the referee was ready,” Westlawn coach Balla Traore said.
Then someone saw the announcement of a lockdown for all of regional NSW – and the game was scuttled before it started.
But Saturdays, as they say, are for the boys – and the lads made the most of a regrettable situation.
“They’d actually claimed it (the premiership) way before,” Balla said, as the Jaguars finished 10 points clear of nearest rivals Yuraygir in the regular season competition.
The Westlawn senior men’s plan at the start of the year had been to form teams based on chemistry – who wanted to play with whom.
For the Jaguars, it worked a treat – and their stellar squad includes three sets of brothers.
“The key to their success was probably their consistency in training. Oh, and they scored a lot of goals (41),” Balla said.
“My only thought was how are you going to go when things go bad?”
But matters never turned south for the tight-knit and talented Jaguars, who Balla said had a quiet confidence about them.
