With the wind absolutely blowing a gale, the first quarter was a scrappy affair as both sides fought to come to terms with the conditions and finals pressure.
The Saints had a slow start, headlined by a difficulty to convert in front of goal.
At half-time, the Saints trailed by 34 points and looked to the second half to improve their efforts and comeback from behind.
The second half was much improved, with Berrigan starting to mount a comeback.
In the final quarter, the Saints controlled much of the play but kicking against the wind made it hard to impact on the scoreboard.
Unfortunately for the Berrigan supporters, the Saints couldn’t turn the game around and fell to Deniliquin.
Final score: Berrigan 8.17 (65) def by Deniliquin 13.10 (88).
This eliminated the Saints from the finals.
Although disappointing, many Saints starred for the day.
Jake Dalgliesh dominated the air for the Saints taking massive, contested marks and intercept grabs all game.
Fraser Haintz was again in red hot form with his relentless effort giving plenty of Deniliquin players sore bodies.
Mitch Reilly burst through stoppages all day and willed the Saints forward at countless stages in the game.
Harley Middleton also deserves a mention as he was impressive up forward kicking four goals for the match.
A sad ending to a terrific year for the Berrigan seniors, which saw them rise up the ladder and doubling their number of wins from the 2024 season.
A terrific effort by all players and both coaches - Nick Manley and Mitch Reilly.
The Berrigan Saints will now look to reload to go again for a hopefully even better year in 2026.
Thirds
The Berrigan thirds also bowed out of finals contention on Sunday, in Tungamah, losing the semi final to Strathmerton.
The Berrigan football community congratulate the thirds on an amazing season.
Last year, Berrigan did not field a thirds side.
So this year, under the guidance of Jacob Bartlett, a team was pulled together to ensure a thirds team would take the field each week.
No-one expected the predominantly young team to be so competitive and dominate some games, ensuring they were in contention for the ‘Big Dance’ in September.
Under Jacob and captian Jeremy Packer - and many helpers including Brett Bartlett and Lochie Conboy - the team gelled together to produce some crowd-pleasing football.
On Sunday, the team was right in the game for the first half, matching the pressure on the field and on the scoreboard with Strathmerton.
However with only 17 players and no fresh legs to help rotate through the middle, the Berrigan thirds were unable to maintain the high work rate demanded by a strong Strathmerton team.
Best for the day were Packer, Ayden Good, Kaleb Litchfield, Jack Magill, Nick Arnold and Hudson Ware.
Final score: Berrigan 7.5 (47) def by Strathmerton 19.13 (127).
Still in contention for the preliminary finals this weekend are the fourths footballers and under-17s netballers. We wish them luck.
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