IT HAS to be the VAFA's feel-good story of the year. Chadstone, which has taken out the association's ugliest wooden spoon (for the seventh and lowest-ranked section) for the past four years, has broken a run of 70 consecutive losses.
It was one week short of going four years without a victory, but on the weekend it defeated eighth-placed Mount Lilydale 10.8 (68) to 7.6 (48).
Coach for the past two years, Dave Cafarella said that when he arrived there was a suggestion the club, which has a successful heritage, was looking at fielding only a Club XVIII side (the VAFA's kick 'n' giggle section).
''That's not what I, or the president Steve Allsopp, were about,'' he said. ''The players were like sponges as I set about educating them on basic zone defences and structures.''
A trickle of players were drawn to the serious Synners (the nickname from its Syndal Baptist history). Then last month a fringe player, Steve Mann, posted a training-attendance list as a hurdle for selection.
It helped turn some Synners into saints with their work ethic.
In Premier B, AJAX and Werribee Districts had a peculiar score line.
The Jackas won 16.1 (97) to 6.16 (52) and they couldn't explain it.