St Mary’s confirmed its status as the team to beat in the 2018 Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 finals with an impressive win over South Morang in Round 18.
The Lions looked to be the better side for the first half and controlled the play, before the Burra got on top for a 13.17 (95) to 8.13 (61) victory at Whatmough Park.
Alex Colaidis was on fire early for the Lions and kicked three goals in the second quarter. A goal to Mathew Robinson, as a result of hard work, sent South Morang out to a lead of 30 points late in the second term – and it looked likely to increase even further.
But the Burra reduced the deficit with two late goals into the breeze to Jacob Yeomans and Nick Daisley. The goals came as a result of the St Mary’s players beginning to win the contested footy.
The Lions started the third term with a three-goal advantage and sat in second place on the live ladder, with Panton Hill trailing Mernda at half time of their match, but St Mary’s continued the momentum it gained just before the main break.
The ladder-leader dominated the term – restricting South Morang to just three behinds, but were wasteful with a return of 4.8 for the quarter.
Coach Fabian Carelli had swapped Nick Dean to defence after half time and Lee Minuz forward. The defence, led by Dean, was miserly and the Lions struggled to produce any meaningful forward forays late in the contest.
The game seemed evenly poised at the last break. South Morang was coming home with the wind and needed to overcome an 11-point deficit.
But the Burra showed why they are the number one team in the final stanza. They put the game beyond reach of their opponents with the first four goals of the term.
Yeomans and Adam Lucci both booted two for the quarter. Yeomans has played well late in games recently and finished with four for the day.
Lucci’s goals were both magnificent set shot kicks from wide out and near the scoreboard. The shots were made all the more difficult given that a cross breeze was against him.
With the lead out to an unassailable and game-high 36 points, the Lions were saved the embarrassment of going goalless after half time when Brody Bell slotted one.
Bell, who had been busy all day, showed composure beyond his years in kicking the major. He was running with the ball 35 metres out on a fairly tight angle. He had a look inside for better options, saw none and then coolly nailed the difficult shot.
“We outworked and outran them in the second half,” St Mary’s coach Fabian Carelli said in his summary of the game.
St Mary’s was well served by Dillan Ronalds and Jake Dambrauskas in midfield and had winners all over the ground late in the game.
A concern for the Burra was that Jordan Galea sustained an injury late in the day. The coaching staff would love to have him fully fit for the first week of finals.
“We need to sustain a four-quarter effort to win,” South Morang coach Gary Hall said.
James Mellerick was the best for South Morang – with numerous acrobatic intercept marks in defence. He was well supported down back by Reece Jones and Bailey Brown. Cory Giannone on the wing was the best midfielder for the Lions.
St Mary’s plays Panton Hill – the only team to beat the Burra in 2018 – in the second semi final for the first place in the grand final. South Morang faces off against Laurimar in the first semi final.
Final score: St Mary’s 13.17 (95) def South Morang 8.13 (61)
