Mark Ricciuto leads Waikerie Magpies to Riverland flag

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Grim Reaper
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Mark Ricciuto leads Waikerie Magpies to Riverland flag

Post by Grim Reaper »

MARK Ricciuto delivered four goals to take out the Riverland premiership by beating Renmark by four points in a cliffhanger at Berri today.

The former Crows captain, multiple All-Australian, premiership player and Brownlow medallist cooly slotted the Waikerie Magpies 12th goal in time on in the final quarter to take the lead - one they held onto to claim their second flag in succession.

He admitted to feeling a bit jittery as he nailed it with a strong northerly on his back - "I went through my routine and hoped for the best," he said - as he celebrated with childhood mates in the rooms after the 12.9 (81) to 11.11 (77) win over Renmark .

Ricciuto was one of the Crows most influential players, blending his forward line presence with the occasional run on the ball, but had some hurdles to overcome on the day.

For the first time in his celebrated his career, he suffered a hamstring strain he had to carry throughout the second half and wife Sarah told the Sunday Mail of how important the game had been for him.

It was 17 years since he last won a flag with Waikerie, then as a 16-year-old lining up alongside brother Craig for the club's first win in 17 years. The coincidence in numbers was one of the first thing that came to mind to Craig afterwards.

Ricciuto celebrated with Sarah and children Nick, three months, and Sophie, 22 months, on the ground after the match. In the rooms afterwards, his teammates - to a man - said it had been an inspiration to have shared the premiership with "Roo", who spoke passionately about the Riverland and its plight
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