Josh Bowe bounded into the Eaglehawk change rooms and jumped into the circle with his team-mates with the same passion and enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning.
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The Eaglehawk playing coach had run himself into the ground over the previous two hours, but the jubilation of defeating Strathfieldsaye by three points in the second semi-final and earning a grand final berth put spring back into his step.
“(To make the grand final) means everything to me,’’ Bowe, who is in his first year back at the Hawks, said.
“I lost two senior flags at Eaglehawk, so I’m really, really hungry to get a senior flag at home.
“It would mean so much to everyone at the club, particularly with all the local talent coming through.”
Bowe’s infectious personality and pride in the two blues jumper seems to be the perfect mix for the Hawks.
The young players seem to hang on every word Bowe says and, most importantly, play for him.
The experienced players have the upmost respect for Bowe having been in the trenches with him on the ground for most of the last decade.
The fighting spirit Bowe has instilled came to the fore in Saturday night’s second semi-final.
The Hawks looked in big trouble when the Storm raced to a 30-point lead, 20 minutes into the second quarter.
The Borough hadn’t kicked a goal to that point of the second quarter and it was hard to see where their next goal was coming from.
Five minutes later the Hawks were within a goal.
“There were a few games through the season where we were in a similar situation,’’ Bowe said.
“The fact we fought back in those games has instilled that belief that we can get back from anywhere.”
The same belief and determination was showed in the final minutes of the match.
The Borough didn’t score in the final 10 minutes of the match, but their defensive efforts and ability to put the Storm under pressure saw them hang on.
“We didn’t play pretty footy, so to just grind out a win like that was very pleasing,’’ Bowe said. “That’s what finals footy is all about.”
