There is always satisfaction in winning.
For the Green Island football club, there is a bit to make this year’s triumph that little bit sweeter.
When the club’s premiers arrived at Sunnyvale on Saturday, it had been 32 years since the local premier football trophy last graced its clubrooms.
The team returned with the silverware following its 4-0 win over Mosgiel on Saturday, winning all 11 games and clinching the title with three weeks to go.
It was a team familiar to the Green Island faithful.
The core of the squad has played for the club since they were juniors, and were joined by a handful of students this year.
The result was a - so far - unbeatable team. It has conceded just nine goals in 11 matches. That has set the platform for it to launch its attack and rack up the goals.
Club president Nathan de Clifford said it was still sinking in.
"It’s all still a bit of a shock," he said.
"We’ve still got three games to go, but to win it unbeaten is something pretty special. It’s never been achieved by our club before, that sort of run.
"It’s an amazing feat."
Both de Clifford and head coach Shane Carvell said the success was built on the team being a unit.
There are names already familiar on the local football scene in this squad - Matt Brazier, Tom and Matt Milton, Blake Porteous, the list goes on.
A handful of students bolstered those ranks this year, Eddie Wilkinson being one to draw regular plaudits.
But Carvell did not want to single out any individuals over others. The way it had worked as a unit, particularly defensively, had been crucial.
"One of the first things I worked on with the lads was shape," Carvell said.
"If you can have that strong defensive understanding, everyone knows what they’re doing and as much as possible where they should be, it’s very hard for other teams to break you down.
"A lot of our success has been built on that defensive shape we have.
"Having a couple of lads that are sharp up front helps as well. Being able to turn that defence into an attacking weapon has been important as well."
He added there was plenty of room to grow - the team’s average age was just 21.
Alongside the way the players combined, the culture in the group had been a key part of the side’s success.
"The camaraderie and friendship in the team is fantastic. I haven’t seen that in years," de Clifford said.
"That’s gone a long way to winning the league.
"Several coaches have commented that they’re just a great team of mates who just want to play for each other and win for each other. It shows on the field."
He said Carvell had been similarly important to the team, having stepped into the role this year to continue to work Richard Kerr-Bell had done in winning the championship title last year.
The side was not going into its final three games expecting results.
Perhaps that ability to not get ahead of itself was key. Maybe the long dry spell contributed, too.
The last time Green Island won a title was in 1988 - although the top three Otago teams were playing in a full South Island league.
A year later it finished fourth in the South Island league when the three teams ahead of it were all from Christchurch.
The format has changed several times since then. But the intervening years have been dominated by Caversham and Dunedin Technical, winning 18 titles between them since the turn of the century.
Last year, Mosgiel broke that stranglehold, while this year neither of the two traditional powers made the top four.
Green Island continued that trend this year, one it hopes to keep. Numbers in the club were strong.
Carvell said there was talent coming through the youth grades, which it would continue to bring through for its senior sides.
