House’s 10-goal haul delivers Gnowangerup their third Ongerup Football Association premiership in the past six years

Gnowangerup produced a stunning 77-point turnaround to claim their third Ongerup Football Association premiership in the past six years after beating Boxwood Hill by 55 points in Saturday’s grand final at Gnowangerup. Star key forward Timm House was named best on ground in the victory after his brilliant 10-goal second half. He kicked four goals in the third term before adding six in the last quarter to ensure his side won the 2020 premiership. The Bulldogs victory was set up in the third term when they kicked seven goals to one to turn a 22-point half-time deficit into a two-goal advantage going into the last term. House booted the first goal of the third term before Boxwood star Matt Campbell was awarded a 50m penalty and converted his shot to push the margin back to 23 points midway through the third term, but it was all the home side from there on. James Mulcahy took a strong pack mark and converted from an angle before House added a second to reduce the margin to 11 points. House then hit captain Scott Anderson lace out, who slotted the Bulldogs fourth of the term. A long-range bomb into a strong breeze from James Dewar handed the Bulldogs the lead for the first time in the match with under 10 minutes left in the term. House sprung into action in the dying minutes of the third term, adding two more goals to give the home side a 12-point lead. What transpired in the final term was simply breathtaking as House booted the final six goals of the match to ensure they ran out comfortable 15.11 (101) to 7.4 (46) victors. The hometown hero kicked his 10th goal after the final siren and was mobbed by his teammates. Boxwood sprung out of the blocks in search of their third successive premiership, kicking four goals to one with the breeze to hold a 14-point lead at the first change. Brock Ramsay and Hayden Richter both kicked second-term goals to have two each as their side led a wasteful Bulldogs outfit by 22 points at the main break. But it was all the Bulldogs from then on, with 14 goals to one in the second half to record the memorable win. James Culleton worked tirelessly across the four quarters in the middle along with captain Scott Anderson, while the move to put Fraser House to half-back and Campbell Floyd into the middle in the second half paid dividends. Bulldogs coach Roy Addis said it was a great comeback from his team. “In the first half we were winning the ball but we weren’t capitalising, we were in the game,” he said. “My main message at half-time was I believe in you, you believe in yourself and believe in each other. “The mids started winning the ball in the second half and the delivery to Timm was a lot better. “For the people that were there watching, they won’t forget that second-half comeback anytime soon. “It’s magnificent to win a premiership in my first year coaching at Gnowangerup.” Ruckman Jeremy Walker was terrific for Boxwood, while tough midfielders Tom Bertola and Matt Campbell won plenty of the ball and were joined in the best by Matt Bowen. Boxwood coach Rick Carpenter said the second half from the Bulldogs was unbelievable. “That second half is as good of a half in country footy as I have seen, they were phenomenal,” he said. “Their mids use of the ball was brilliant in the second half, they took control in the middle and hunted the ball more. “I thought they took control in the second term but were turning the ball over. “In that third term we couldn’t stem the bleeding.”