Officer’s red-hot form was brought to a screeching halt by Gembrook Cockatoo in round 14 of Outer East Premier Division.
The Kangaroos entered the match at Gembrook Reserve with two straight wins against quality sides and a potential finals push on the cards.
But a brilliant Brookers resistance stopped them in their tracks in less than subpar conditions.
The wind was extremely strong down the ground, so kicking to the Belgrave-Gembrook Road end was a significant challenge.
The hosts kicked with the breeze in the first term, opening the game with a 4.3(27) to 2.0(12) advantage at quarter time.
A solid stand against the gust saw Gembrook hold the lead into halftime, managing a pair of majors in the period, one from Chris Bourne and one from Frankie Trott.
Officer went goalless in the third, while the Brookers added 2.5 to lead 8.10(58) to 5.7(37) at the final change.
However, it seemed the Kangaroos would make up the deficit as the visitors booted the first two goals of the fourth to get within eight points.
Aaron Firrito then produced a moment of midfield magic when he played through an advantage in the middle, breaking a tackle before taking two bounces and slotting his running shot from 40 metres.
The goal was against the flow of play and completely shifted the momentum.
A few minutes later, the Officer backline was pinged for insufficient intent and Joseph Verna was awarded a free kick on the boundary.
Verna bent his snap home and guided Gembrook to a 10.12(72) to 7.10(52) triumph.
“We knew they were coming in with a bit of form under their belt, winning their last two against two finals-contending sides, so it was a really good win,” Gembrook senior playing coach Michael Firrito said.
“We were in front most of the day so it was probably handy to start with the breeze but we scored into the breeze as well.
“It was tough conditions and it was probably unfamiliar for both sides.
“It was a bit of a unique situation with a home ground advantage but it was unfamiliar to us as well.”
Verna booted three goals for the afternoon, Aaron Firrito bagged two and five other Brookers found the big sticks.
The club also welcomed back Marley Williams from suspension and Robin Nahas from being overseas.
“We had a range of goalkickers which was good,” Firrito said.
“The mids kicked goals in Josh Tilly and Aaron Firrito but the forwards chipped in as well.
“I thought our work rate into the breeze was super all day and it was a really consistent effort across the whole team.”
Williams had 27 disposals, seven marks and four tackles while Aaron Firrito had 22 touches and four marks to go along with his pair of majors.
“They were super for us,” Firrito said of the pair.
“Marley was super, he moved really well and it was his best game in the Gembrook jumper.
“Aaron, he’s been a great player, reigning best-and-fairest winner but he was super.
“He kicked some really pivotal goals including one in the last quarter into the breeze where he won the ball backward of centre and ran and carried the whole way and the boys blocked for him and put on shepherds.”
The win comes after a 73-point loss to Olinda Ferny Creek in round 13, the second time in the past month the Brookers have been able to rebound off a big defeat.
Firrito mentioned the lack of consistency as an area of improvement for the remaining four games on the calendar.
“Since the halfway mark we’re 3-2 but we’ve had two heavy losses,” he reflected.
“We want to bridge the gap between our best and worst, and at the moment it’s too big a gap, so we’re going to continue to work on that.
“It helps having our best side out on the park, with Marley Williams and Robin Nahas back really helped on the weekend.
“It’s still an area we need to improve on, which is bridging our best, which is highly-competitive, and our worst, which is not good enough at the moment.
“We played three under-18s kids on the weekend and they all looked really comfortable at the level.
“We just continued the growth of the Bourne twins, Brad Frater and Konner Allcott.
“Josh Tilly’s had a super season and just seeing their leadership and ability to perform consistently at senior level football is really encouraging for the guys coming through.
“We’ve got a month left after a week off this week, I’m really excited to see how we can finish off the season.”
AROUND THE GROUNDS
At Wandin North Reserve, the celebrations were jubilant for the Bulldogs as not only did Aaron Mullett kick his 100th goal for the season, but the hosts also got past second-placed Olinda Ferny Creek 10.12(72) to 6.8(44).
Taylor Gibson also provided plenty of goals, booting 10 in Woori Yallock’s big 14.7(91) to 22.4(136) away win at Upwey Tecoma.
