On Sunday the Uni Blues Clubbies defeated the Old Xavs Crocs in an extra time thriller to lift the Norm Nugent Cup for the first time. The Blues entered a Club XVIII team for the first time in Section-3 in 2004. That year they were Premiers and Champions and were elevated immediately into Section-1 where they have remained ever since. After being competitve for a few years the 2008 Blues Club XVIII have reached the pinnacle of social football.

The Xavs kicked with the aid of a slight breeze in the 1st quarter with the Blues doing well in preventing their opponents from getting off to a flyer. The Xavs kicked 2 first quarter goals with 'Uncle' Tom Hutchins in his 200th Blues game kicking the Blues solitary major into the wind. In the second term the Blues turned their tackling up a notch and began winning midfield possession. Andrew Larkin dominated in the ruck while Dan Strack, Jesse Brooke and Joel Kiteley began orchestrating a marvellous 15 minutes of football. The Blues slammed through 4 majors in the second quarter as Liam Quin and Tom Hutchins marked everything and kicked truly. Hutchins went down with a knock to his knee and the Blues were not to kick another major until the second period of extra time!

The second half was a battle of attrition. The Blues defence was in a word heroic. Captain-Coach Tommy Granleese led by example. He wasn't alone though with Anthony Stewart, Innes Macphail and Richard Citroen playing mighty games. At 3/4 time the Blues had one hand on the cup, but with the Crocs playing in their 17th consecutive Grand Final, they knew the Xavs would come again. And they came kicking 2 goals 2 behinds for the quarter to tie the game at 36 points each. Both sides had their chances to win the cup in regulation time, none more than Chris Pike, who played with pain killing injections in both ankles, sunk his numb right foot into the Sherrin from the 45m arc only for a match saving Croc mark on the goal line. The Xavs kept pushing forward, however after leaking 2 goals early in the quarter, the Blues defence held firm. Ryan Key and Troy Auld took mark after mark and the experience of Steve Jarrott saved the Blues on numerous occasions. The siren sounded with the scoreboard reading Uni Blues 5.6-36, Old Xavs 5.6-36. The PA announced that the game would proceed immediately to extra time - 5 minutes each way. Although players from both teams were going down with cramp and injury, the Blues were confident that their younger legs would prove the difference.

The first half of extra time saw the Blues increase their lead by 1 point - a rushed behind.

After not kicking a goal for what seemed like an eternity, Chris 'numb foot' Pike soccered through a goal and the Blues faithful (who had outlasted their opposing supporters behind the goals) went ape droppings. Liam Quin marked strongly a minute later and goaled. Another minute passed before Will McLachlan found himself with pill in hand and running into an open goal - he kicked truely and ran up to the crowd with his hand to his ear as if to ask them for more support. It was an odd scene and one reminiscent of the early days of WWF when Macho Man Randy Savage jumped atop the turnbuckle before engaging the crowd. When asked late last night why he did what he did, McLachlan said he had no idea. It was the emotion of winning his first premiership.

Andrew 'Rowdy' Larkin was a worthy winner of the Best On Ground medal and as his name suggests, when invited to say a few words and with a grin from ear to ear, Larks shook his head as if to say 'thanks but no thanks'.

Captain-Coach Tommy Granleese and Blues President Bob Girdwood lifted the Premiership Cup to the delight of all Blues supporters and the celebrations began. This lot look like they might enjoy the next few days.

This was a great team effort. To win this flag the Blues needed every one fo the 26 players who lined up on the day. They also needed the guys who got them there but who unfortunately missed out on a game in the Grand Final. The Blues needed the best medical team in the VAFA to manage the huge number of injuries suffered on the day - Belle and Snowy played a major part in the victory (expecially seeing that our Doc spent the majority of the day treating a badly injured Xavs player). This left Belle with a lot of work to do. The Blues needed vocal supporters and almost every Senior & Reserves player was at the game behind the goals supporting the team. And with Captain-Coach Granleese battling his heart out in the Blues defence, Blues needed Tim Giles, John Kanis and Damien Guengerich to pull the string from up high. Their rotations and moves, especially in extra time might have been the difference too. When you think about it, everyone made the difference. This was a flag for the whole club.

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University Blues     1.2        5.3        5.6        5.6        8.8-56 (After extra time)

Old Xaverians        2.3        3.3        3.4        5.6        5.7-37

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University Blues Goal Kickers: Hutchins 4, Quin 2, Pyke, McLachlan Best Players: Larkin, Brooke, Kiteley, Hardie-Grant, Macphail, Powney

Old Xaverians Goal Kickers: Silk 2, Hardwick, Ward, Barrett Best Players: Silk, Silk, Tehan, Hulett, Nolan, Barrett