Another Grand Final, another loss. It’s a semi-regular theme in the Beers history books.

Going down by a point after having a couple of chances to win is never fun, but it was good to see the Cyclones get a win after we edged them out last time.

We thought we had done well before the game when one of the best referees in town suited up to whistle the game, but unfortunately the dreaded blond mullet man was with him, one of the few “Beer Haters” in existence. We’re not sure if he’s painfully incompetent, or just hates us - probably both.

He had been sucking down his pre-game Hatorade and stunk up an otherwise great game with his usual barrage of missed calls and puzzling decisions. Swallowing his whistle on potential game winning shots was the final straw even for the Cyclones, who apologised after the final buzzer because they felt bad about winning under such circumstances, proving they’re good guys and worthy champs.

But the Beers were the first to admit that we didn’t want it as badly as the 11 deep Cyclones. They out hustled the 7 Shades all night and played defense at an intensity about 10x what the Beers franchise could manage. So congrats Cyclones, we’ll get you next time!

Post game was spent at Georgie’s bar, sampling some of our favorite sponsor’s beverages until Georgie closed up and kicked us out.

Then it was onto Smokey’s ‘Corporate Box’ and Big Fortune at New Farm, where we experienced the wonders of Lucky Beer. It’s shaped like a Buddha - how can it not be good! As you can see from the photo, the Beers were still deeply devastated by the loss… It was then onto the Alibi for cocktails and de-briefing and the rest of a night is a blur. All we know is that Smokey had another adventure and all he could manage to say the next day was ‘Oh Wow’.

The Beers would like to thank their fans, sponsors, and even blond mullet ref for putting up with us. We may have lost the grand final, but we found Lucky Beer - making it a very successful season indeed.