Friday 23 September 2010
Morningside’s stirring come-from-behind victory over Labrador in the 2010 grand final has little relevance to two years prior, when the Panthers let slip a 22-point lead 10 minutes into the fourth quarter against Southport, according to master coach John Blair.
Parallels were drawn between the two grand finals in the aftermath of the Panthers’ last quarter surge on Sunday, but Blair said the manner of victory was not a consolation for 2008.
Blair was adamant the Panthers had few reasons other than the normal ones to lament what happened two years ago, the first of his side’s three grand finals in a row.
“What people don’t realise is how great that achievement was in ’08,” Blair said.
“We only had 15 games into (Jack) Lawler, 18 games into (Damien) Bonney. A lot of those guys were still immature young footballers and we came from the clouds in the last eight or nine weeks to get there (the grand final) with a totally rebuilt team.
“It was never a disgrace to us. It hurts and it will always be in your memory but to these guys credit they’ve now got the ledger 2-1, so that’s good.”
As for Blair, the fact his four premierships make him the most successful coach in the 60-year history of Morningside is nothing more than a nice little aside.
“Not a real lot,” he said when asked what it meant to have broken a tie with triple premiership coach Marty King.
“I hadn’t even thought about it until I shook hands with Marty before the game. It’s never been an issue. Eras are different.
“At the end of the day I’m happier to see the players get their just reward. They do all the hard physical work.”
