A partnership between Henwood Park Hawks’ faithfuls Kyle and Brad Ingram was crucial in the squad’s 1-0 victory over Tolland, to claim the Gardiner Shield premiership for the second year running on Sunday. 30 minutes in, man of the match, Brad Ingram, found himself alone in the midfield with the ball at his feet, and set up the match-winner, scored by his brother, Kyle.
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“Kyle Ingram was outstanding,” coach Jamie Potter said.
“The combination he had with his brother and a few other guys upfront was exceptional.”
The Ingram brothers won a premiership together in 2008, a common thread among players on the squad.
“A lot of them played together through juniors, have gone their separate ways, and come back to play together now,” he said.
“The culture in this team is better than what I’ve seen in my life. The mate-ship is what makes it so good, everyone’s so close-knit.”
The Hawks grinded out a win, under extreme pressure, particularly early on.
Defensively, Josh Obst, Jake Cassimatis, Nathan Underwood and Josh Nosworthy were hard to fault. It was a tense second half for right back, Cassimatis, who watched from the sidelines after re-injuring his broken ankle.
“He’s our rock in defence,” Potter said.
After great success in reserve-grade will players, who haven’t yet risen through the ranks into first grade, do so next season?
“Yeah, they’re more than capable of making the step up, they’ve proven that throughout year,” Potter said.