By: Matt Fotia
It’s finally finals time! Okay albeit only in Division 3 and 4, but nonetheless it is finals time. Whilst 13 sides from Division 3 and 4 are spending their Monday reflecting on their 2018 season, the rest of us continue to look forward. Here’s five things from the weekend’s action.
Lions ruffle the nest
After a poor fortnight of footy, the Lilydale Football Club had everything set for a momentum building day on Saturday. Past players day, two premiership reunions and the top side coming for a visit. The match truly delivered as we saw a sneaky finals preview for Division 2, with the high-octane handball game of the Falcons eventually falling two points short of the powerful Lions.
Steve Buckle will be scratching his head at his slow starting charges. Once again the Lions looked well off the pace conceding a large proportion of possession and territory in the first half, with the Falcons’ poor conversion keeping the margin at just 15 points at half time. In a whirlwind start to the third term the Lions kicked six goals whilst the Falcons were still limbering up.
Whilst the Lions’ tactician will be pleased that his side was able to come from behind once again and find that extra something late in the game to hold on, he will be increasingly worried about this pattern that is forming. Despite being the best side in the division, the Lions cannot afford to give sides a head start in the finals as eventually the deficit will become too much to reel in. We can all recall their incredible second half comeback in last season’s grand final, where the fell just short. I’m sure they’d much rather start well and kick away then be desperately clawing their way back into it.
Their opponents will take something away from the contest despite losing, as they put in a much-improved performance, however they’ll be spending a fair bit more time on goal kicking at training this week, as they once again kicked more behinds than goals. They seem to be one big man short across the ground, with the impressive Drosseler having to swing from attack to defence throughout the game. Skipper Brad Lowe has spent a lot of time on ball this season, but could be used as a deep forward in finals where his strength and marking ability would be at a premium.
Both sides have things to sort out, but both are definitely in the race for ultimate glory. September is going to be fun.
Sharks beginning to circle
With almost all of the attention in Division 1 focused on Vermont and South Croydon doing battle, Doncaster was able to swim under the radar and all but lock up the double chance in the first division for the first time in its history, as it suffocated Norwood allowing the Norsemen just three goals for the afternoon, winning by 66 points.
The Sharks now find themselves in second place, and with Rowville losing to Noble Park that leaves only Blackburn capable of grabbing the double chance from them and South Croydon, however with the Sharks playing Knox you’d suggest they’ll remain in the top three.
The Sharks have been in great form, especially in defence as Tranquilli’s men become more and more cohesive with their transition going both forwards and back. Their last five games have seen them concede just 69 (v. South Croydon), 67(v.Vermont), 36 (v. North Ringwood), 61 (v. Noble Park) and 26 against Norwood on the weekend. If you combine their defensive solidity with their spread of goalkickers and you have to wonder why the Sharks aren’t being spoken about as real genuine contenders.
James Munks leads the way with 30 goals, whilst Annakis has 28 from the midfield, Jake Kalanj has 26 and Harry Conway has 16. All four of those men hit the scoreboard on the weekend.
In summation, to beat the Sharks, you have to lock their tight-knit defence and whilst you’re doing that, you’ve got to lock down their multiple attacking options. Good luck.
The Mulgrave miracle remains alive, Kings grab double chance
It’s still on! That’s right the Mulgrave miracle remains a very distinct possibility. Heading into the final round everything is laid out for it. Mooroolbark (who is 1-5 since Round 11) is hosting Park Orchards, who despite being out of the finals race will be desperate to finish the season on a high, whilst the in-form Lions (4-2 since Round 11) host the Falcons,(2-4 since Round 11, 0-3 in the last three weeks), a side that they have had a very good record against in recent seasons. Win and Mooroolbark lose, the miracle will be complete.
The Lions have been utterly incredible in the last six weeks. Two of their victories have been against sides whom at the turning point of the season were looking at top four. One of those victories was against a side who will finish second. With an even spread of performances from their whole list, the Lions are showcasing exactly what momentum can do. Despite their awfully slow start to the season, you could easily argue that Mulgrave deserve to stay up in division much more than Mooroolbark, based on who their victories have been against, and how they’ve handled the challenges thrown in front of them.
Another side whose form has been incredible in the past six weeks is the Upper Ferntree Gully Kings. The Kings are 5-1 since Round 11 and their only loss came against the aforementioned Mulgrave Football Club. They’ve defeated Mooroolbark, Doncaster East, Wantirna South, Lilydale and now Bayswater in that period of time, meaning the Kings enter the finals with a double chance and victories against all three of their finals counterparts.
Doncaster East defender Rami Ayoubi said post-game on Saturday that the side the Lions are most worried about is the Kings, and after looking at their form it’s not hard to see why.
Redbacks rein it in again
Ringwood has finished the home and away season undefeated, but the danger signs are beginning to appear again. For the second time in a month, the Redbacks had to come from behind in the final term to reel in a likely finals opponent.
The Hawks had led all afternoon before managing just one behind in the final term to four goals two, as the Mitch Brereton-inspired Redbacks got the points once again. The Ringwood number four slammed home six majors for the afternoon, once again proving the Redbacks are not a one-man forward line. It’s a timely reminder to the coaching staff because he and the other Redbacks forwards will have to stand up over the next month of footy with the skipper Trent Farmer reportedly breaking his arm. Barring a medical miracle, you’d expect the Redbacks star goal kicker to miss the rest of the season.
Whilst Brett Rowe has been adamant the Redbacks can cover Farmer this season, there is no doubt that this will brighten the outlook of the other sides in the finals, especially Boronia and Scoresby who seem the most likely. However both of those sides will have to figure out how to finish off the top side, having both had great opportunities in recent weeks, but both failed to hit the scoreboard when it counted.
Silvan inspiration
I think Trent Martin might be getting a few phone calls from opposition clubs this weekend. Perhaps they’ll be congratulating him on his first season at the helm with Silvan. Perhaps they’ll be ringing him to ask about the snow at the Cattery this weekend. But it’s more than likely they’ll be asking how in the world did you get so close to defeat Glen Waverley?
The Hawks snuck over the line but just one point against Silvan on the weekend to finish the year with a 16-2 record and an impressive winning streak of 16 games. However the three Daniels down at Silvan might have unlocked their weaknesses. Daniel Dickson kicked three goals in a best on ground performance, Daniel Begley snared three majors in an impressive performance and Silvan best and fairest monty, Daniel Lemon kicked one from the midfield, whilst they also managed to keep Adam Amin goalless.
Whitehorse Pioneers will be the first on the line to Martin, after they won the right to the double chance and first crack at the Hawks, completing their second victory for the year over East Burwood. This time it was Charles Thorn and Matthew Mariani who put the Rams to the sword. Players such as Mariani will be important for the Pioneers with years of finals experience as well as being a mature and strong body.
The tightness of Walker Park in Mitcham will suit the Pioneers, whose home ground is a lot more similar to their finals venue than that of the Hawks who play on the wide-open spaces of Central Reserve. Expect congestion and low scoring if the Pioneers get on top, or a big bag from Ferguson or Amin if the Hawks get it on the outside.
All views expressed in this article remain those of the author and not of the Eastern Football League or its affiliated clubs.