FOOTBALL
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Noel Spencer was simply outstanding in his final match as a player.
The Fury defender was far and away the best player on the field in Sunday's Illawarra Premier League grand final and thoroughly deserved picking up the man of the match award for his performance.
His towering presence at the back was the driving force behind his team's surprise 2-0 grand final win over Bulli and was a great way for one of Wollongong's finest products to finish his career.
Throughout the match he was well supported by an assured display from Fury keeper Mitchell Blowes and, at right-back, David Hartas was also fantastic subduing Bulli star Dean Heffernan.
For a man under an injury cloud heading into the match, Hartas kept his former A-League opponent pretty quiet throughout the afternoon.
Heffernan had his moments but his League Championship winning side failed to ever really reach the heights that people have come to expect from them this year.
It seemed they may have lost a bit of momentum from having their week off and could have been a tad overawed by the occasion.
The week off seemed to hamper several sides across the weekend of finals with no team which qualified for the decider first going on to lift the title to finish the season.
Yet, while the local competition will take a break, there is still plenty happening during the off-season for locals to get their football fix.
Summer Football will again be on offer around the Illawarra and the futsal seasons will continue for the coming months.
Add in the early rounds of Beach Soccer in the coming weeks and there is no shortage of things to do.
Meanwhile, after discussion with the club, I've decided not to play for the South Coast Wolves in 2015.
Next year will be a big one both personally and professionally and we felt it was best for me to part ways with the club for the time being.
The South Coast Wolves organisation will remain a huge part of my life and I look forward to assisting the club in any way I can in the new year.