Lock wins first flag in 28 years

3 October 2025

By PETER ARGENT

The Lock Roos in the Great Flinders Football League etched their name in the history books, taking out their first flag in almost three decades.

Dual Sturt premiership forward Kory Beard, who moved back home to Lock in 2023, started his coaching duties from the beginning of the 2024 campaign.

In his first season, the affable Beard took his side to the Grand Final, but they endured a loss to competition yardstick, United Yeelanna.

In this year’s decider, Beard and the Lock Roos went one better, lifting the premiership shield for the first time this century.

No less than five members of the Beard clan played in the Grand Final winning side.

Kory played alongside his brother Casey Beard, while cousins Travis and Aaron Beard (sons of Peter) and Fletcher (son of Clint) also donned the Roo’s green and gold.

“In total, eight Beards played during the year,” Kory told SANFL.com.au.  

“We played Yeelanna both years in the deciders, and their record is phenomenal, playing in the past 13 grand finals, winning 10 of them.

“They defeated us by 18 points in the second semi-final, and we needed to go through the preliminary final, beating Elliston and Districts to have another crack at them.

“This year we got over the top of them by eight points at Cummins Oval in the decider.

“We needed to nullify their start, kicking five goals to three in the first quarter.

“In a game that had several momentum swings, we went from about a goal up at halftime to one goal down at three-quarter-time. It was an exciting game right to the end.

“Jed Durdin, who had come back from playing for Angaston (in the Barossa, Light and Gawler competition last year), kicked three pivotal majors in the last quarter and finished with a haul of five for the game.

‘Both he and his brother Luke Durdin, who played 40 games for South Adelaide, enjoyed this premiership success together as well.

“Tynan Keeley, a premiership team-mate of mine from Marble Range in the Port Lincoln Football League kicked the last goal of the game to get this win.”

The final scoreboard displayed Lock 12.7 (79) defeating United Yeelanna 11.5 (71) sparking riotous celebrations by the Roos’ faithful.

A-Grade captain Macaulay Glover collected Best on Ground honours and took home the club Best and Fairest in a premiership season.

“It was really important for the community, even bigger than I thought it would be,” Kory Beard reflected.

“Back in 1996 and 1997 Lock won back-to-back titles, with Dad, David – who has the nickname Dinosaur – and Uncle Peter played in that success.

“In ’24 we lost the Grand Final by 37 points at Ungarra Oval, so to grab this one was special.”

Kory Beard has enjoyed premiership success in three different competitions.

Across his SANFL career of 146 games, which included 76 with Port Adelaide, and another 70 with Sturt, Beard was a key part of the Double Blues triumph over the Woodville-West Torrens in 2016 and the “War of Attrition” contest against Port Adelaide in 2017, when in a tackle laden game, they held on by the smallest of margins.

In the Port Lincoln Football League, Beard was a member of the dominant Marble Range flag winning outfits of 2021 and 2022.