Back to Back as the rise of Scoresby continues

By Ryan Long.

Scoresby celebrated back-to-back senior premierships on Saturday as they prepare to enter Division Two in 2026.

Last year, Scoresby ended an 18-year premiership drought with an 81-point thumping win over Whitehorse.

Twelve months later, the Magpies have done it again! On the big stage of Grand Final Day, Scoresby denied Donvale the flag and promotion to Division Two with a two-point victory.

Scoresby 9.16 70 def. Donvale 10.8 on Saturday afternoon at Jubilee Park.

They entered the game as the underdogs, progressing through to the big decider the hard way after initially going down to Knox in the Qualifying Final. The belief never left the group with three big finals performances in a row at Jubilee Park.

The win marked the club's tenth senior premiership.

For Donvale, it’s a case of deja vu, the second year in a row that the side has lost a Grand Final by two points to the side promoted from Division Four after entering the game as the premiership favourites.

It’s the third time in four years that the senior side has lost on Grand Final Day in Division Three by that exact same margin.

32 points down at the four-minute mark of the final quarter, Donvale kicked six goals in the final quarter, leading to a kick after the siren from 55 meters out that fell short.

Despite that final margin of two points, Scoresby were the far better side on the day. With ten extra scoring shots in the first half, the Magpies kept Donvale in the contest, unable to capitalise from their opportunities up forward, leading by just ten points at half-time.

Plenty of discussion heading into the game was about the strength of the experienced Donvale forward line. Scoresby, through the likes of Tom Wolnarek, Moomen Amin, and Tristan Brunning, had the better of the Donvale forwards.

Through the middle, their off-season recruiting proved to pay off once again with big performances through the middle from Jordan Camilleri and Matthew Traynor.

A third term saw Scoresby kick three goals to zip, and the first of the last term from Adam Amin on the boundary had the Scoresby faithful up and about.

Adam Amin and Jordan Camilleri celebrating the first goal of the final quarter.

The centre clearances late in the game were dominated by the Vales, who had the last seven of the game, led by Matthew Leardi.

A run of three consecutive goals was ended by Declan McBean’s second major of the day after a costly 25-meter penalty.

Two quick goals in the final minutes by Ethan Duncan and Kaleb Djordevic left the Vales with 30 seconds to try and steal the game. With one more roll of the dice, a clearing Scoresby kick from their back 50 landed in the lap of Jake McCormack as the siren sounded.

The kick fell short, a great relief for Scoresby as they secured their second consecutive premiership.

The word ‘belief’ has been a common theme coming out of the Scoresby camp. In a post-game interview after the game, key forward and star of the side Adam Amin summed up the mindset and belief that surrounds the group.

“We always had belief, “Amin said.

“That’s the biggest thing we’ve done as a group; we always believe, regardless of what situations we’re in. We saw what we did in our 100th year game, came back from five goals down to win by a couple of goals in the end.”

“This group is special, this group can go anywhere, like as I said last year, we had this conversation last year, why can’t we do it? And here we are.”

Thomas Wolnarek was presented with the Frank Bibby Medal, adjudged best on ground in the decider. A fantastic acknowledgement and recognition of the crucial role he plays for the club.

Heartbreak for the Donvale Football Club who were in this exact same position twelve months ago. How they set-up and prepare to go again in 2026 to a make a fifth straight Grand Final in Division Three will be the big question.

As for Scoresby, it’s exciting times as they get ready to take on and conquer a new division in 2026.

Senior coach Craig McKenzie, now a dual senior premiership coach for the Magpies, deserves a mammoth amount of credit for the club’s recent success.

A well-beloved member of the Scoresby Football Club, not only has he guided this group to back-to-back flags, but McKenzie has also set in motion the long-term success of the club.