Rebels complete the rare 3 Peat with another outstanding season in 2025.

The Rebels historic run of success continued this past weekend where we made it to our 4th Grand Final in a row and completed the very rare feat of 3 Premierships on the trot. This is the first time the Rebels have achieved this in 35 years of footy, and they are only the 3rd club in OAFL history to do so and the first since 2005.

Coming into the 2025 season there was a lot of unknowns for the club with a change in coaches, executives and several players either moving on or retiring. There was some thought early on that this might be a rebuilding or retooling year but with a strong foundation in place and some key recruiting, that messaging changed very early on in the pre-season.

New head coach Macca came in with plenty of footy experience but only 1 year at the club, he quickly found his feet and got to work on defending the previous Back-to-Back premierships. Joining him on the leadership side were Disco, Fabs and Captain Kid.

The regular season started strongly with an away win in Guelph, but things came crashing down a bit in Rd 2 when the perennial premiership rival the Dingos got the better of this new look Rebels squad. As the season progressed it became clear that the Rebels were chasing down the Dingos and after a couple tight games in the mid-season, including a last-minute win on the road vs the Ottawa Swans. The Rebels only other blemish for the season was when we were soundly beaten by the Dingos in the 2nd last regular season game. After all was set and done, the Rebels managed an 8-2 record to finish an impressive 2nd place behind the undefeated and premiership favorite Dingos.

This is where new Head Coach Macca went to work and devised a brilliant plan to counter the Dingos strengths and give the Rebels the best chance to win when it counted in Finals. The qualifying final was the first chance to implement this new plan and a less than full strength Rebels squad brought it, knowing that a week off and a spot in the Grand Final was awaiting the winner. The boys showed the fight that has been the standard of the league by leading from start to finish rocking their cross-town rivals and handing them their first defeat of the season. Job one now completed, the lads could focus on prepping for their 4th Grand Final in as many years and 6 of the last 9 (Covid adjusted).

Unsurprisingly the Dingos did what they needed to do in the Pre-Lim final, booking a 3rd straight Grand Final re-match with the Rebels. The Rebels now full of belief that the 3 peat was a possibility welcomed back some big inclusions into the Grand Final team. Namely 2-time GF Best on Ground Alex Colborne, key forward William (Deamboat) Hack and the experienced Sean (Shorty) Goedheer. Only missing Chris (Smokesy) Stokes after sustaining a knee injury in the first final and CHB Sammy Brunswick who dressed but was hobbled with a nasty ankle sprain.

Switch to Grand Final day on September 20th, it was beautiful for Footy and with an earlier start time than usual the heat was not a factor. With a 2-3 goal wind favoring the west end goals, the Dingos winning the coin toss quickly became a factor. But the Rebels were ready for this early challenge and managed to get the first goal on the board through Captain Kid. The Dingos to their credit had come with a plan as well and a large part of the quarter was spent in their forward half, with relentless defending and pressure that we saw from our defence all year long this prevented the Dingos taking a lead into the first break. The ever ageless and consistent Woz was doing his thing; Pete had his man on lockdown and Mahi and Alex were giving plenty of drive off half back. It was six scoring shots to 3 for the quarter but the Rebels made the most of their chances and held a critical 2-point lead at the first break. Charlie and Disco were the other goal kickers for the quarter.

Q1: Rebels 3.0.18 to Dingos 2.4.16

With the first quarter’s nerves gone and the Rebels now kicking with the breeze it was always going to be pivotal 20 minutes of footy. It was an extremely well-played quarter by both teams with a combined 7 goals being kicked and plenty of end-to-end play. Big Charlie up front was showing why he won the league Best & Fairest, the Cowboy/Duffy Ruck combo was proving pivotal and the Irish wingmen, Conor and Tinty were everywhere across the middle of the park. At the halftime break the Rebels had managed to stretch their slender lead to 10 points and set up a huge second half of footy. Shorty, Charlie and Dreamy all kicking majors.

Q2: Rebels 7.3.45 to Dingos 5.5.35

A well-known adage in Aussie Rules is the Premiership quarter in the 3rd, and this couldn’t have been truer on this day. The Dingos went for broke kicking with the wind and loaded up their forward half with talent, the Rebels were able to adjust on the fly with Alex being moved onto their most dangerous player and our entire defensive core dug in. It was a seesawing quarter with 4 goals being traded back and forth, Jedi was showing why he is one of the best Canadians in the game and a switch of Mahi into the middle and Dalbo to defence ended up being a pivotal momentum shaper. After 20 minutes the margin remained the same at 10 points, setting up an exciting finish to season 2025. Disco and Shorty on the board again with goals.

Q3: Rebels 9.3.57 to Dingos 7.5.47

With the premiership now in reach the Rebels put their foot down in the last quarter and controlled a large majority of the play. Dreamy, Kid and Shorty were wreaking havoc and Conor was racking up the possessions on the wing. Young Bonesy came on for coach Macca who was cramping and showed he would be a Rebel stalwart like his dad was and Udai after a short break was competing for everything. The game could have been put away earlier but for inaccurate kicking which came to a tally of 1 goal 6 behinds for the quarter, but with so much of the ball in our territory the Dingos couldn’t counter and only managed 2 points. The last quarter truly epitomized the Rebels Brand we have built over several seasons now and that culture of winning the moments when it counts. No one showed this more than Dav, who got clobbered several times throughout the game and just kept getting up and winning the footy like a true old school centreman. The siren sounded and the Rebels ran out convincing 20-point winners for a 3rd Premiership on the trot, a superb effort in any level of sport. This year 11 players out of the starting 24 won their first Premiership with Club, further highlighting the culture of success we have built.

Rebels are OAFL Premiers!

FINAL SCORE: Rebels 10.9.69 to Dingos 7.7.49
Goals: Charlie 3, Disco 2, Shorty, 2, Dreamy 2, Kid 1

Grand Final Best on Ground: Conor Finnegan
League B&F & Rebels Finals B&F: Charlie Summers
Rebels B&F: James Dalbosco
Rebels Canadian B&F: Warren Drysdale

The Rebels would like to thank all the supporters that came out, especially our Alumni. It was noticeable and inspiring how much support the lads had.
We would also like to thank all the boys that didn’t get a game but still came out to support by running water and getting around the 24 that played on the day, you are all a massive part of this year’s success.
Last, a massive recognition to our main sponsors, Hemingway’s, Sneaky Dees, 5.11 Tactical, Insideout Physiotherapy, Stoner & Company and Amsterdam Brewing Company.
And a special mention to Cesar at Pro Evolution Wellness who sacrifices his weekends every year to make sure we are looked after at games. You are as big a part of club as anyone.

We couldn’t run the club without all this amazing support.