After a fortuitous promotion from Division 4 after 2009, Kew would finally be on the verge of turning it around. The arrival of Ian ‘Beaser’ Aitken in 2011 was the start of the club’s recovery. Aitken had playing experience at Carlton and St Kilda, as well as suburban coaching appointments to hone his skills, and the recovery and boom for Kew FC were about to start. Despite modest returns in the first two seasons, including a semi-final exit in 2012, the building blocks were in place, and the club was ready to break through the following year.
In 2013, the club fielded an Under 18s side (nicknamed the Kew ‘Giants’) made up of Year 10, 11 and 12 students from Box Hill Senior Secondary College, where Ian Aitken was head coach of the football program, injecting considerable young talent into the club. With the core of the senior team in place, a pathway of good young talent, and strong depth in the reserves, the mighty Kew Football Club would taste premiership success for the first time in 34 years, finishing on top of the ladder before defeating Elsternwick in the Division 3 Grand Final by 35 points. Kew Giants product Liam Kinsella, aged just 16, would win the best-on-ground medal.
It wasn’t just the senior side, either, as the Reserves would finish on top of the ladder, too, and win a nail-biting Grand Final classic over La Trobe University by one point. The U18 Giants capped their undefeated premiership season with a 78-point thrashing of Werribee Districts. It was a special day at Ted Ajani Reserve, with three sides winning premierships, sending the club to Division 2 in the strongest position it had been in for over a decade.
The 2014 Division 2 season would see the Bears win their first 10 games of the season, announcing themselves as premiership contenders, and ultimately finish the home-and-away season on top of the ladder. A poor loss to premiership threats St Mary’s Salesian in the semi-final meant a sudden-death preliminary final against Eltham Old Collegians. Despite trailing at three-quarter time, Kew would overrun the Turtles with a famous come-from-behind victory by 14 points, spearheaded by seven goals from Andrew Brazzale. If the preliminary final wasn’t close enough, the Grand Final the following week would test the collective heart rates of Kew supporters even more.
Having been outplayed by St Mary’s in the second semi-final, coach Aitken knew that something special needed to change to give the boys the edge. As such, the game plan to be ‘Brutal’ – a play on the historic Kew moniker and line in our club song, the Brutal Browns/Bears – was concocted. The Bears were to play brutal, physical and unsociable football in order to gain the advantage, to which the players acquiesced with aplomb, and it would prove decisive. A dominant first quarter saw the scoreline read 6.5 to 0.3 in favour of Kew. The Saints would not be denied, though, as they clawed their way back over the ensuing two-and-a-half quarters. Halfway through the last quarter, the margin was five points in favour of Kew as the season came to its thrilling crescendo. A final act of desperation from the Bears would see the ball land in the hands of youngster Kyle Margaritas, who would run in and slot the premiership-sealing goal to put Kew in front by 11 points with just nine seconds left.
Kew became back-to-back premiers for the first time in over 80 years. Margaritas was fittingly awarded the best-on-ground medal.
Not to be satisfied with the success of back-to-back flags, the venture into Division 1 started with another 12 straight victories. The most memorable of those was the Round 10 clash with Ormond. Both clubs had started the season 9–0 and met in one of the most anticipated Division 1 matches of all time. An enormous crowd flocked to E.E. Gunn Reserve to see Kew demolish the Monders by 63 points. A late-season fade-out would see Kew finish second on the ladder behind Ormond, with champion full-forward Andrew Brazzale leading the competition goal-kicking with 68 goals, as well as earning Big V representative honours.
Disaster would strike on the eve of finals, however, as Brazzale and young key forward Rob Maibaum would both be coward-punched by an opposition player in Round 17, suffering a broken nose and jaw respectively. Given the loss of over 100 goals in the form of those two players, Kew were written off heading into the second semi-final against Ormond at Elsternwick Park. The spirit of the group shone through, as without its two spearheads, Kew would defeat the Monders by 27 points in a sodden affair, qualifying for the 2015 Grand Final and, with it, earning promotion to Premier C for 2016. Ormond would atone for its loss by winning the preliminary final, setting the scene for a final showdown between the two district clubs, who had clearly been the best two sides in the competition.
Despite their injuries, stars Brazzale and Maibaum would return for the Grand Final, providing an added boost to a team already brimming with confidence. With a strong northerly blowing at Coburg City Oval, Ormond won the toss and kicked with it. The first quarter was a masterclass in defensive football, as the Bears restricted Ormond to 1.5 and kicked 1.0 themselves, the goal coming from none other than Andrew Brazzale himself – an astounding 45-metre drop punt from the boundary into the breeze!
Kew took control in the second quarter on the back of Jack Delbridge, Liam Kinsella and Zac Jones, slamming on six goals to none to open up a 32-point half-time lead. With the memories of St Mary’s comeback 12 months earlier squarely front of mind, the Bears defended for their lives in the third quarter and, despite six goals from Ormond, added a crucial 2.3 into the howling gale to hold a 10-point lead at three-quarter time. After a tight opening 10 minutes in the last, the Monders’ resistance was broken, as a procession of Kew goals put the result beyond doubt.
The premiership win was punctuated by an iconic goal from back-pocket Michael Henderson, who collected an errant ball at half-forward, danced around an Ormond opponent with a baulk and slotted the sealer. The final siren sounded with Kew 30 points in front. An historic three-peat had been achieved, climbing the grades from Division 3 to Premier C in just three seasons. Captain and centre half-back Michael Cochrane was sublime, completely blanketing his opposing number, whilst Kyle Margaritas would make it back-to-back best-on-ground medals with a vintage performance on the wing, having been inexplicably left alone to roam free.
And so, Kew’s most successful period in 50 years (since the three premierships between 1962 and 1966) had been achieved. The club had been lifted from the doldrums by Aitken and his men, whilst making VAFA history in the process.
