Premiership number ten for the Pioneers in a Grand Final boilover

By Ryan Long.

Against the odds, Whitehorse stunned ladder leaders Chirnside Park in the 2025 Division Four Grand Final with an eight-point victory.

Whitehorse 9.11 65 defeated Chirnside Park 8.9 57 in the decider at East Ringwood Reserve on Sunday afternoon.

The Pioneers had lost three of their four encounters to the Panthers, including a 58-point semi-final loss just two weeks ago.

They had their run game back in the Preliminary Final against Warrandyte in the Preliminary Final, which they were able to carry into the Grand Final decider.

The first half was always going to be key for the Pioneers if they were a genuine chance of finishing the game out as premiers. They did just that, four goals of their own, while keeping a very high-scoring Chirnside Park side to just one major.

Their prime movers all played their role; Eddie Sim, Jayson Fabris, and Patrick Carroll were all very effective through the midfield.

Andrew Haining proved how valuable his experience was to an overall young outfit. The playing coach was dominant in the ruck, particularly in that first half, owning the ruck battle and giving his midfielders first use of the ball.

The margin blew out to 31 points in the third term before Chirnside Park finally got its game going. The favourites kicked five third-term goals to bring the margin back to just six points.

Daniel Horvat’s first for the afternoon for the Pioneers on the stroke of the three-quarter time siren gave Whitehorse a little more breathing room.

It took ten minutes into the final quarter for the next goal, Tom Young increasing Whitehorse’s lead to 17 points.

Trent Castledine was a clear standout for Chirnside Park, booting four goals, two in the final quarter, as he tried to keep the Panthers alive.

The Pioneers' defensive structure held together as they held on for a famous eight-point Grand Final win.

Andrew Haining added two more medals to his collection, the premiership medal and the best-on-ground medal.

He highlighted Joel Savy’s performance, playing extremely well on Jake Cawsey, keeping him goalless for the afternoon.

Whitehorse now returns to Division Three, and after what Surrey Park and Scoresby have done in the last two years after winning Division Four premierships, there’s certainly going to be plenty of eyes on the Pioneers in 2026.

The final siren of the 2025 Division Four Grand Final at East Ringwood Reserve.