The picturesque Yarra Ranges provided a gloomy backdrop to a piece of local football controversy on the weekend, as poor visibility halted the clash between the Emerald Bombers and the Alexandra Saints in the Outer Eastern Football League.
Alexandra was clinging to a four-point advantage five minutes into the last quarter when play was stopped due to fog. The game goes down as a victory to the Saints, who pinched one on the Bombers' home deck.
The Bombers had kicked five of the last six goals, including the last quarter's only major, when the match was called, leading to some deflation from the home side, who now face an uphill battle in attempting to qualify for September football.
Ornament of the club, in long-serving president Mark Pedder, whose son Jake captains the senior side, spoke to Zero Hanger on Monday, with the dust having settled on the result.
"I've been involved with the game for a long time, and it's one (set of circumstances) I've never come across," Pedder said.
"We still believe we could've played 10 or 15 (more) minutes.
"It was an interesting part of the game - you never know, we were coming back and momentum had swung our way, but you never know what the next 10-15 minutes would've looked like, but it was a frustrating way to finish.
"(I) spoke to the league and they said 'if the goal umpires can see each other waving the flags, then we're good to go'.
"We got through the first five minutes of the last quarter and the fog was rolling in, but we were of the opinion that you could still see both ends of the ground, but they decided to say 'let's give it half an hour or so'."
Pedder, siding with conventional wisdom, offered that the fog would only get worse in half an hour, rather than improving, and was proven correct.
"The boys walk off for half an hour, obviously the fog got worse (in that time), and we had to call it."
Pedder insisted he was not guaranteeing that his side would have completed the comeback, but would have liked the opportunity to find out.
Five of the league's nine sides feature in September, and the match had a significant bearing on what the race for finals now looks like.
"It was one (a result) that really puts some pressure on us to potentially not lose any (games) between now and the end of the season," Pedder said.
Also locked in the logjam of mid-table teams are the victors, Alexandra, who Pedder admits enjoyed the spoils of victory, and the subsequent safety blanket the four points provide.
"They're probably a bit safer than us; they're a couple of games clear of us, and they certainly enjoyed the win," Pedder joked.
"They're a ripping bunch of guys, and a ripping club. After all the dust had settled, they came up for a beer, and there was a bit of banter going on, which is always good fun.
"There are plenty of more important things than a game of footy; it's just frustrating at the time."
