Gordon Central Highlands football premiership keeps small town soaring

The township was quieter than usual on Monday morning. Customer traffic into the post office, right in the centre of town, was sleepy but there was an undeniable buzz.

A Central Highlands Football League senior premiership had offered residents plenty to celebrate all weekend. It had been 34 years since the Eagles' last brought the cup home.

Long-time Eagles stalward Neil Eastwood said Gordon has grown and demographics had been fast changing the past few years, particularly since the start of the pandemic and a rising demand for regional living.

Mr Eastwood said that while not every new person in town was "bolted" to the football club, it was hard to avoid the 1500 people that home games drew to town as a major social outlet. He said young families were often introduced to the club via junior football and netball ranks. Auskick had been booming.

A senior premiership added a welcome boost to a town with balloons in club colours, yellow and green, decorating the town's streets and covering the post office verandah.

"Footy clubs have connections that go back decades. We had an informal get-together at the [North Ballarat] sports club before the game and there were people there from all different eras - it's important to keep those connections," Mr Eastwood said.

"A lot of people associated with the club are multi-generational, right back to the '40s. There is great history in the town."

Mr Eastwood pointed to the club's struggle to survive about a decade ago and how the Eagles had been building the past 10 years with consistent finals appearances to try and capture a break-through win.

He was interchange steward when victory finally occurred and relished about 10 minutes' calmness a strong lead offered before the celebration craziness that came with the final siren.

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Bob Petch, best known as co-owner of the Gordon Hat Shoppe, said the "real tragedy" was he had to work weekends. He has since enjoyed chatting to fellow Gordon locals. Mr Petch said the premiership was important for the whole town, not just the football club.

"Gordon is a sweet little town. We have a lovely cafe," Mr Petch said. "When my wife and I bought the old church diagonal to the pub, Gordon was quiet and quite depressed, the pub was not doing well.

"People are liking Gordon now for its rustic charm and the fact it cannot be heavily developed...There is a real sense of community. A little victory like this is always appreciated."

Moorabool Woodlands ward councillor Ally Munari enjoyed her hometown buzzing in the days leading up to the grand final.

"The thing about a Gordon versus Springbank final is that they are pretty much neighbouring towns. Going to these games, people get to catch up with people they know in the next town."

So after a 34-year drought, does Cr Munari believe the Gordon Eagles were on a roll?

"I hope so. They've obviously worked very hard and they deserve this," Cr Munari said. "I'm really proud of them."

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