McKenna basks in Gisborne's BFNL grand final win over Strathfieldsaye

The Bulldogs' skipper had just led the club to its first senior flag in 16 years as Gisborne defeated Strathfieldsaye 5.20 (50) to 2.10 (22) in heavy conditions at the QEO.

"It's an amazing feeling,'' McKenna said.

"When that final siren sounds you realise you're a premiership player.

"We worked really hard to get to this point, but premierships aren't given to you, so we had to execute today.

"To get the result is really pleasing for the club."

McKenna was part of Gisborne's 2019 team which lost the preliminary final by four points to Eaglehawk.

Quite rightly, the Dogs felt they were close to a flag.

Then COVID-19 hit. The 2020 season was cancelled, while the 2021 season was cut short.

The break made the Dogs hungrier.

They had a brilliant start to the home and away season, winning nine-straight games to set up the double-chance for the finals.

The Dogs were outplayed by the Storm in the second semi-final and looked down and out in the preliminary final against Golden Square before finding a way to win by two points.

READ MORE: BFNL grand final blog

READ MORE: Sandhurst crowned A-grade netball premiers

"Last year we thought we were building and in a good spot,'' McKenna said.

"This year came along, we hit our straps early and we were a couple of games clear on top.

"The expectation was on us and we probably felt that going into the first final.

"We weren't physically ready for that first final and Strathfieldsaye were. They showed us up that day.

"Looking back, the pleasing thing is we were able to respond.

"We had to grit our teeth against Golden Square last week and then we were able to get the game on our terms pretty early today.

"It wasn't a blowout, but it felt as though we were in control for most of the day."

Somewhat fittingly for Gisborne, grand final day at the QEO was cold, wet and muddy - conditions they've had to endure for the majority of the season.

The Dogs' home ground at Gardiner Reserve was closed for training for much of the second half of the season.

"We haven't trained at our home ground for more than a month,'' McKenna said.

"We've trained at Woodend, we've trained at Sunbury and the weather has been horrendous for three months.

"When it was cold and wet today it gave us a confidence boost. We've trained it all year and we're used to it.

"Strathfieldsaye play a contested brand of footy as well, but they're clean and classy on the outside and we felt as though the conditions might even that out.

"We thought we might be able to scrap it out and get the game on our terms and that's what we did."

It's unlikely we'll see another 16-year drought for a Gisborne flag.

The 2022 senior crop is young and the Bulldogs won the under-18 premiership on Saturday as well.

"The majority of the core group has trained since November, 2019, for this moment,'' McKenna said.

"The average age this year has been around 21 or 22 and it's a really tight group.

"It's been such an enjoyable year to have our footy and social events back on.

"I'm 26 and I was the oldest player in some of our games this year, so that's a great sign for the club going forward."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: