Two time defending premiers Terrigal Avoca were defeated by 2016 season powerhouse Newcastle City in the BDAFL Black Diamond Cup Grand Final at the No.1 Sports Ground on September 3, in a disappointing end to a season plagued by injuries.
Newcastle City Blues veteran, Courtney Knight, kicked seven goals in what could be his last game for the club and tireless onballer, Aaron Seen, was best on ground as the Blues won 14.13 (97) to 5.6 (36) to claim a record seventh Black Diamond Cup Premiership and their fi rst title since 2013. City player-coach, Mr Mitchell Knight, praised his side for wresting back the Black Diamond Cup from the Terrigal Avoca Panthers after the disappointment of losing last year’s Grand Final. “Absolutely thrilled with their effort,” Mr Knight said. “We deserved it this year.
“We’ve worked really hard since the pre-season. “Coming off a loss last year, the hunger was there, the same core group of players, we worked and worked, and it’s an awesome feeling,” he added. Terrigal-Avoca, who were the only team to beat City this year, had fi rst use of the strong westerly wind, but struggled to take advantage. “The fi rst quarter was a big one,” Mr Knight said. “They had the breeze and we held them to two goals, one apiece, and we knew that next quarter was important to capitalise,” he continued. City kicked three goals to none with the wind at their backs in the second term, held the Panthers again in the third quarter and kicked clear down the stretch.
Panthers Coach, Mr Chris Bishop, said Newcastle City were deserving premiers, but he was disappointed his side had not played to their potential. “I’m proud of the boys to get here after the injuries we’ve had, but we wanted to perform better than that,” he said. “We’ve been here the last fi ve years and we’ve been lucky enough to win two. “They deserve it. “Hopefully we can be here next year and get some buzz back. “We lost six blokes from our back line early on in the year. “We had three under- 18s out there today and a couple of guys over 30, so it was a real good mix,” Mr Bishop said. The Panthers were once again hit by injuries early with Jack Grimmond (teeth) and Mitch Betson (calf) out of the game prior to halftime.
Media release, Sep 4, 2016 Garry Burkinshaw, Black Diamond AFL