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About the 1991 Game

1991: Merrivale Tigers and Old Collegian Warriors both reached the Grand Final of the 10 - team Warrnambool District Football League (WDFL).

Entering the Grand Final, the Old Collegian Warriors had enjoyed the better of the Merrivale Tigers during the season, beating them three times. The games had all been tight as the teams were quite evenly matched, each with different strengths: the Warriors could rely on finals experience and speed while Merrivale had size and hunger as it had been 12 years since their last premiership.

Old Collegians were young, fast and skillful and also enjoying the strong leadership of Captain-Coach Leigh McCluskey. Merrivale had always battled their way out of the doldrums and benefited from David Cassidy's recruiting during the second half of the season: his best mate and cousin Bernard 'George' Mulraney and his younger brother Shane, fresh out from a try-out at Geelong. The trio of the Cassidy clan dominated the midfield corridor and added an arm of strength and air of confidence to the Tigers.

Old Collegians did not have a good start to the finals. They were trumped on the scoreboard in the first quarter and lost a key defender. Andrew Watts to a knee injury. Fighting tough in the second quarter, the Warriors went on to kick 10 goals and were in the lead at half time as Merrivale missed some excellent chances.

The Warriors held their lead in the last quarter, then came a moment remembered widely by the WDFL: Peter 'Rat' Day missed from point-blank range which changed the momentum of the game to Merrivale's favour, going on to kick two quick goals to take the lead and never look back.


Quarter by Quarter scores

                                  1           2           3        Final Score
    Merrivale        -     5.5       5.10      9.16     16.16 (112)
Old Collegians   -     1.0      11.5      12.7       14.9   (93)