WHILE the result may not have gone the way the Yeoval Eagles might have wanted, Saturday’s 26 to 10 loss to the Blayney Bears in the Olisplus North Cup First Grade grand final has its silver linings.
After an evenly matched first 40 minutes, the Eagles suffered a five-minute lapse that resulted in Blayney running in three tries before John Amey was able to get one back.
“After the first half, everyone was definitely very excited,” said club president and full-back Damian Doherty, who also crossed for a try.
“We believed that we could do it if we could put another full 40 minutes of footy together.
“And then for five minutes there, they scored three tries on us, and that kind of brought us down a little bit.”
Yet despite the rush of scoring by the Bears, Yeoval kept up the pressure.
“I wouldn’t say it brought us down too much. Everyone on the field was still very glad to be there. We actually fought back really hard and got another tri,” Doherty said.
“I reckon we went extremely well, even after the game, we were upset, but definitely very happy that we did make it that far from where our season began, and where we’ve been for the last 10 years.
“I think that’s just like what we’ve been about all year. No matter what we got, who we had there, or whatever it was, we never dropped our heads.
“We just always try and lift each other up, and keep on going.
“The boys did that really well on the weekend. They got that third try, we got in our huddle again, and all lifted each other, and there was no negativity at all.”
While Doherty said a win would have been great, being in contention was also good, as were the post-game celebrations.
“Everyone was over the moon,” he said. “Everyone in the bowling club when we got back to Yeoval was incredibly impressed with us, and how well we did on the day, and for the whole entire season.”
And it wasn’t just the Saturday night that saw the players and supporters party on, with the sides cartoon-themed “Silly Sunday” taking place a day after the grand final.
“Yeah, the boys do love that,” said Doherty. “We’re a very very social bunch, most of us are there for the beers after the game, and the fun that can be had off the field as much as on the field.”
With the Eagles having seen success in season 2026 – as well as the First Grade grand final run, the female team also made the finals in the Women’s North Cup – Doherty said it set solid groundwork for growth next year.
“There’ll be a reset,” he said. “But I think going off Saturday night, there was a lot of talk that the boys aren’t finishing on that note, and they know that they can get there, and we’ll be a very handy football team if we stick to it.
“A lot of the boys are actually very excited for next year, and trying to bring a few more mates along and really have a good crack.
“We’d love to be doing well in the competitions and winning premierships, but at the end of the day, it’s definitely more that we just want to have a very good social club and a good attitude with the community, and really get along and bring mates together, bring the community together, and all have a good time.”