Bundoora have gone through to a fourth grand final in 10 completed seasons after defeating Montmorency by 45 points in Sunday’s Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 preliminary final.
The Bulls had the Magpies in their grasp for the entire afternoon, kicking eight goals to four after quarter time to prevail 10.16 (76) to 4.7 (31) at Preston City Oval.
Hamish Shepheard was immense in the ruck contests getting the better of opponent Liam Wale-Buxton by winning his own clearances and taking some important contested marks around the ground.
Jackson Davies, Scott Dowell and Neville Jetta proved to be a dominant trio in the defensive half, with their constant rebound 50s allowing Bundoora to transition from defence to attack quickly.
Sam Lloyd excelled again in midfield meanwhile Brendan Carlyon played his best match of the season, becoming an influential figure in the Bulls’ triumph.
The Magpies couldn’t repeat last week’s efforts as they finish the season without defeating Bundoora in four attempts.
The synergy between Jesse Donaldson and Patrick Fitzgerald was on show when Montmorency attempted to fight back, with the duo combining for three shots on goal in which Fitzgerald converted two of them.
Stephen McCallum and Jai Robinson also stood out for Garry Ramsay’s men.
Fitzgerald almost had the opening goal within minutes of the first bounce, but just rushed his kick to register a behind.
The first goal of the game didn’t come until the 19th minute mark when Daniel Younan was able to put it through the big sticks. Jackson Bowne followed up five minutes later to open up a 14-point quarter time lead for Bundoora.
With the game still well and truly in the balance, Sam Binion attempted to kickstart Montmorency’s charge with a goal inside the opening five minutes of the second quarter.
But the Bulls would quickly regain control, kicking the next three majors within a six-minute period to burst out to a 27-point advantage.
A late goal from Marcus Lentini gave the Magpies some momentum at the main break.
Montmorency had a massive opportunity to put the pressure on Bundoora in the first minute of the second half after Brock Binion had a shot on goal 20 metres out. But the forward missed and in transition, Ryan Sturgess made the Magpies pay, kicking his first goal of the preliminary final.
The Bulls would kick the next two goals to put the margin out to an almost unreachable 41 points.
Patrick Fitzgerald led a Montmorency surge when these two teams met a fortnight ago, kicking five goals to get his side back in the game and while the competition leading goalkicker was almost unsighted early, the key forward took some big marks and converted two set shots late in the third term to bring the margin back to 30 points at the final change.
The Magpies needed goals quickly at the start of the last quarter and while the contest was strong, they couldn’t keep the ball in their attacking half, allowing the Bulls to force stoppages and run down the clock.
Two late majors from Sam Lloyd and Nathan Thomas sealed a comfortable victory for Bundoora as they prepare to face Heidelberg in a decider for the first time in 11 years.
