By ADEM SARICAOGLU
THE Western Crusaders Gridiron Club has never quite had a day like it.
Last weekend the Footscray-based club provided for a clean sweep of Vic Bowl titles – claiming both the Junior and Women’s Vic Bowl championships in dominant fashion.
“It was a massive day for the club,” Crusaders president Scott Hayden said.
“To win two grand finals in one day – it was an amazing day for the club, and both teams did their club proud.”
First up the Western Foxes women’s team, coached by Hayden, cruised to a comfortable 32-8 win over the Northern Lady Raiders.
Then later in the day in front of a very healthy and vocal crowd at Croydon’s Ranger Field, the Crusaders’ junior team completed the club double with a comprehensive 38-0 shutout of the Monash Warriors.
“The juniors have been dominant all year,” Hayden said.
“They had one blip on their radar when they dropped their last game of the season.
“But then they rebounded strongly in the semi-final and won 60-0 and then came back in the grand final and just killed it.”
In one day of football the club almost doubled its trophy count – adding to the Crusaders’ three senior men’s titles.
Hayden told Star these latest triumphs provided for one of the most significant days in the club’s history.
“It’s right up there,” he said.
“When you talk the biggest days for the club, you’re talking like 1999, when we won our first senior men’s grand final, 2000 when we went back-to-back and then in 2007 where we went undefeated.
“But this day is right up there with those three, I reckon.”
The Crusaders’ senior men’s team finished fifth earlier in the year with a 7-5 record under coach Kriss Guidotti, and will be looking to improve on that record when the 2014 season kicks off next year.
Pre-season training will commence in late January at the club’s Henry Turner Reserve base.
