by Victoria Halkias (Twitter: 
@VictoriaMLH)
MELBOURNE turned on the sunshine today and the Eastern Suburbs were abuzz with finals fever.
And Vermont turned on its shine at Bayswater Oval, defeating Noble Park by 16 points, 9.18 (72) to the Bulls 7.14 (56), in the Division 1 ‘Choose Tap’ Qualifying Final.
The scene was set at Bayswater Oval for Division 1 rivals Vermont and Noble Park to take each other on in the qualifying final. There was no doubt that both teams felt the pressure as they battled it out to prove who the better side was.
It wasn’t long before Justin Van Unen, the Division 1 leading goal kicker, slotted the first goal through to hand Vermont a nice lead. Not liking the look of the scoreboard, Noble Park’s Luke Mann was quick to answer back with a goal from 40 metres out.
However Vermont made its presence felt throughout the first quarter, looking strong up forward while Dean Millhouse dominated the backline.
The wind proved to be a tricky obstacle for both teams, especially for Noble Park’s Brett Dore who missed two attempts at goal.
It wasn’t until the end of the first quarter where Noble Park’s game began to open up through the middle. However Vermont’s defence proved to be too good, ending the quarter four points down.
The Bulls came out running in the second quarter.
It took a mere 20 seconds for Sam Monaghan to slot through a goal to give the Bulls the lead for the first time.
Vermont edged its way back via behinds, but Dore, who had already booted three behinds, slotted his first for the Bulls to regain the lead.
Enter veteran Matt Greig, who answered back with a ripping goal for Vermont. Kris Bardon, who was swift to get his hands on the ball in the second term, found Van Unen inside 50. The forward slotted another one through, allowing the Eagles to end the first half with a bit of breathing space.
Chandler Medalist Nathan Henley set the Eagles up at the beginning of the third term, kicking a magnificent goal to give his side a 13-point lead over the Bulls.
A scrappy few minutes followed, until Luke Mann stepped up for Noble Park to goal and close the gap to just five points.
But once again, it was Greig who came to Vermont’s aid, kicking another ripping goal to give the Eagles back the lead.
Then Lachlan Johns sneakily stole the ball from Noble Park’s clutches and passed to Greig, who again booted it right through the posts. He was on fire!
Vermont really made it difficult for Noble Park in the third term, linking together well and stopping the Bulls at every angle.
Dore was able to kick a much-needed goal for the Bulls, then vice-captain Stewart Kemperman kicked another shortly after to bring the Bulls back into the game.
That was until Ash Froud marked the ball inside 50 and goaled after the siren to give the Eagles a 14-point lead at three-quarter time.
Things took a while to get going in the final term. It was evident that the pressure from the day was beginning to get to both teams.
Vermont’s Andrew Ellis stood up though, popping through a goal to extend the Eagles’ lead.
With the game slipping away from them, the Bulls managed to answer back through Andrew McConnell at the 20-minute mark of the fourth term.
Both Shayne Allan and McConnell made attempts to even out the score. However they proved to be unfruitful.
As the siren sounded, it was Vermont by 14 points in a very tight and challenging game.
‘They [Noble Park] made us earn it,’ Eagles coach Kris Barlow commented.
Next week, Vermont will go head-to-head with Balwyn in a rematch of the 2012 Division 1 Grand Final.
‘Balwyn are a good side. I think we’ve earned the right for another crack at them…It’s the first time they will see us at full strength,’ Barlow said.
