Kildare had to survive a brave Mater Dei fightback but held their nerve to reclaim the Cup, 6.5 (41) to 4.5 (29) in front of a big crowd at Robertson Oval.

Kildare stamped their authority on the contest in the first half, determined to ensure there was not going to be a repeat of previous years, where Mater Dei have upstaged them in the final.

Kildare asserted themselves physically, but most importantly on the scoreboard, as they kept Mater Dei goalless to half-time and opened up a 31-point lead.

With nothing to lose, Mater Dei, minus star midfielder Brendan Myers as a late withdrawal, took the game on in the second half and got on top. They had their chances in the third term but could not hit the scoreboard and went into the final change 33 points down.

Mater Dei did not stop trying, and dominated possession and territory in the final term. Three goals from Corey Toole got them back within two goals with five minutes to play.

But it was not a repeat of Kildare’s nightmare of two years ago, as they held on gallantly to claim the title.

Long-time Kildare coach Peter Gaffney was relieved to have the Carroll Cup home.

“It’s a big relief. The last two years have been so close. I’m just delighted for the kids,” Gaffney said.

“It’s fantastic. You can just see the delight in the boys’ faces and what it means to them. These guys have never seen our school win it.

“Hopefully it will set a bit of a tone and we’ll back up again next year and see how we go.”

With losses of previous years haunting him, Gaffney admitted he got concerned when Mater Dei drew within two goals late in the last quarter.

“I had a look at the scoreboard and saw it was three goals, then it was two goals, then I was just making sure it was two goals, not 11 points,” he said.

“We just had to stick it out and they did that. It was pretty scrappy the second half but they stuck it out, and they set it up really well in the first half.

“Our defence in the first half was excellent. To Mater Dei’s credit, the second half they changed their tactics and started to switch it, they started to run and we knew they would do that, and that’s when it got ugly.”

Jack Sase led Kildare’s defensive effort with a strong game at centre-half-back. Riley Corbett played a big game, and stood tall in the second half when Mater Dei began to rally.

Ryan Allen, a year 10 student, was awarded the Mark Gooden Memorial Medal for best-on-ground and was the pick of Kildare’s midfield.

Mater Dei were left to rue their slow start and were well served by Jake Hodge, Steven Hoffman, Elliott Winter and Corey Toole.

Full-time

KILDARE (41)

3.1 5.2 6.4 6.5

MATER DEI (29)

0.1 0.1 1.1 4.5

Goals: (Kildare) R Allen 2, J Mascini, M Bloomfield, L Nilsen, T Morriss; (Mater Dei) C Toole 3, H Templeton.

Best: (Kildare) R Corbett, J Sase, R Allen, A Cumming, T Anderson, S Driscoll; (Mater Dei) J Hodge, E Winter, M Wadley, M Foster, J Carey, R Mooney.

Mark Gooden Memorial Medal: Ryan Allen (Kildare)

Player of the Series: Jake Hodge (Mater Dei) and Sam McGowan (Wagga High)

Carroll Cup play-off for third

TRAC (90)

4.1 7.5 10.10 13.12

KOORINGAL HIGH (23)

1.4 2.4 2.5 3.5

Goals: (TRAC) L Delahunty 2, L Nicholas 2, H Lane 2, S Bradley 2, C Krebser, X Mamo, J Jenkins, A Brissenden, C Bischard; (Kooringal) B Lloyd, A McLay, N McCorry.​

Best: (TRAC) L Nicholas, L Delahunty, W de Jong, C Krebser, L Wakefield, D Cain; (Kooringal) A McLay, B Lloyd, K Schmetzer, N McCorry, J Hughes, J Bryce.