Murchison-Toolamba backman Andrew Lloyd played a silky and smart game in the Kyabram District League grand final, cutting out a ton of ball with one flying intercept mark after the next during the 13.13 (91) to 6.8 (44) victory.
Against his old club in the biggest game of them all, the stakes were high.
When Lloyd plucked a stunning grab from Shepparton East’s opening inside 50 just 10 seconds into the game, the nerves settled and the rangy defender went on to play one of the finest games of his career.
When asked about his marking capabilities on the day, Lloyd was modest in his summation of his performance.
“I guess I just got lucky a few times,” he said.
“The ball just dropped into the right spot, but it felt good to be able to go back with the flight and just read the ball again, which I have been struggling with the past couple of weeks.
“So, to do it on the bigger stage, Jesus Christ, it's unbelievable.”
Heading into the game, most eyes were turned on another member of the Lloyd family.
James Lloyd - Andrew’s brother - had booted 133 goals for the season and had stamped his mark as the competition’s dynamite forward.
However, after no Eagle finished the day with multiple majors, the Hoppers’ defensive mettle in the grand final proved to be the most precious commodity of them all.
“It was a full team effort - there was absolutely not one passenger that we had on our team today and that sums it up,” Lloyd said.
“That last quarter could have gone either way - it was a tough game and we just kept that physicality going.
“We did lash out a couple of times and made some silly mistakes, but we fixed ourselves up in that second half and jeez, winning by however much it was, we reaped the rewards there. Unbelievable.”
