GERRINGONG had a lot to celebrate on Saturday as they defeated Culburra 4-0 in the Shoalhaven Senior Football grand final.
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It was the first time the Breakers had been in a Shoalhaven first grade grand final and they didn't disappoint, playing a classier game of football that gave their fans something to cheer about and quickly silenced the typically vocal Culburra supporters.
As the two teams ran onto the field, it was evident they had equally talented players and that the winner would be the team with the most grit and the one who could handle the blustery conditions.
The wind had caused havoc with third and reserve grade games and picked up for the first grade contest.
It was so strong that players had trouble keeping the ball from the eastern sideline, with most of the action happening away from the spectators.
Gerringong slowly gained more and more possession, much to the credit of their strong middle and front line.
A few minutes before the half-time whistle, Gerringong's Dave Tanevski, who started on the field in lieu of Jesse Fenn-Lavington, managed to push the ball to the back of the net.
Culburra goalkeeper Scott Merivale had stepped away from his line to try and stop the cross, leaving an open goal for Tanevski to take advantage.
The start of the second half saw both teams lift their game.
However, with Fenn-Lavington now taking the field, Gerringong's offensive line were really giving Culburra's fullbacks a hard time.
Twenty minutes in, Gerringong's constant attack saw striker Ian Morris place a kick to Gary Vian, who made no mistake finding the back of the net.
With Culburra's heads down, Gerringong attacked again.
Fenn-Lavington scored two minutes later, much to the delight of his many supporters.
Culburra struggled to regain their composure as Gerringong continued to dominate.
Twenty minutes later, Vian made use of his younger teammate, crossing the ball to Fenn-Lavington, who took his second goal for the day with a well-placed kick past Merivale.
Gerringong coach Craig Farquhar was ecstatic at the team's win.
"We did not change anything at all," he said.
"Basically our game plan was to stick to our game plan and not worry too much about Culburra."
Farquhar said his team was fortunate to have had a bit of experience playing in strong winds, so they knew how to best play the game.
"We had similar conditions against Bomaderry when we defeated them in the semi-final, so that helped us decide what to do [in] the same conditions today," he said.