It was the first time Moyston-Willaura lost to Hawkesdale-Macarthur during the 2016 season.

Coach John Vanderwaal said he was very disappointed with the result.

“To come to a game expecting to do well and to give up like we did was not great,” he said.

“Half of them have played in the past two grand finals, so they should know about the physical pressure and where it will come from.

“Most of them just could not deal with it today.

“It is more a matter of expressing that aggression in a controlled way.

“We can’t rest on what happened last year, you have to play the game on the day.

“They tried all game but in the end it’s a team game and we didn’t play as a team.

“Our captain Pat Higgins played one of his best games of the year today.

“He stood up when required and lead from the front.”

Ned Parsons and Will Pedersen both kicked two goals each.

Ben Skubnik also got his name on the scoreboard with one.