West Preston-Lakeside will face Macleod in the 2018 Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 grand final after a dominant 70-point victory over North Heidelberg in the preliminary final.
Despite injuries to Ahmed Saad and Ozgur Uysal in the first half, the Roosters put in one of their best performances of 2018 to run away 18.14 (122) to 7.10 (52) victors at Preston City Oval.
Matthew Vincitorio put in a dominant display, racking up plenty of the ball in the forward half and booting four goals in a best on ground performance.
Liam McVeigh booted three of his own, while Uysal, Alex Federico and James Tadd all chipped in with two goals apiece.
Shane Harvey kicked four second-half goals for North Heidelberg, while Liam Hunt, Kyle Green and Liam McLeod all slotted singles.
The match got off to a tight start, with neither side allowing clean possession, before Saad kicked the only goal of the first term after 17 minutes.
The Bulldogs had repeat forward 50 entries late in the quarter, however they were only able to put four behinds on the scoreboard to trail by five at the first change.
West Preston-Lakeside had some early injury concerns with Patrick Karnezis limping off early in the first term with a right ankle injury, before Saad came off on the stroke of quarter time with a hamstring injury that forced him to sit out for the rest of the day.
Vincitorio kicked his first in the opening minute of the second quarter, before the Bulldogs responded through McLeod.
The Roosters then blew the game open with a 15-minute purple patch midway through the second quarter, when they piled on five straight majors.
Hunt steadied with a goal for the Bulldogs, before Uysal responded quickly for the Roosters, before hobbling off for the second time in the quarter with persistent left hamstring troubles.
Goals to each side through James Tadd and Kyle Green saw the Roosters head into the main break 38 points ahead, however with only two fit players left on their bench.
As it had done throughout the finals series, North Heidelberg made a fantastic start to the third quarter, with Shane Harvey booting the first two goals of the term to cut the margin to just 25 points.
With the momentum going the way of the Bulldogs, West Preston-Lakeside managed to get the game back on its own terms and halt their opponent’s charge.
Carl Adams injected himself into the contest with a move up forward, taking multiple clean marks before slotting a goal to steady the Roosters, before McVeigh booted two more to extend the margin to 47 points.
Shane Harvey converted just before three quarter time to cut the deficit to 41 at the final change.
Although two men down on the bench and with multiple others carrying small niggles, West Preston-Lakeside continued its dominance throughout the fourth term to run away with the match.
Goals to Tadd, Vincitorio and Luke Lirosi put the game beyond doubt after 13 minutes in the final term.
Shane Harvey booted his fourth at the other end, but the Bulldogs were unable to stop West Preston-Lakeside’s dominance through the midfield – as the Roosters finished the game off in style.
Vincitorio booted his fourth, before Federico and McVeigh booted goals to cap off an incredible performance for their side.
West Preston-Lakeside will head into its first grand final since 2010 full of confidence after beating Macleod by 16 points in their most recent encounter.
For North Heidelberg, it was a tough way to end a stunning season after being the first team to play Division 1 finals the year after being promoted from Division 2
Final score: North Heidelberg 7.10 (52) def by West Preston-Lakeside 18.14 (122)
