A look ahead to this weekend’s 2014 Northern Football League junior grand finals.
The Under 18 Girls premiership decider will be played out by South Morang and Darebin Falcons. The Lions have enjoyed a week’s break heading into the encounter following an unbeaten season, including a comfortable win over Diamond Creek Women’s in the second semi final.
The Falcons have progressed through to another Grand Final on the back of two finals victories, following a third placed finish in the home and away season. Last weekend they proved 11 points too good for Diamond Creek Women’s in a tight battle. Danielle Iacobucci was best afield, while Rechelle McSwain booted three goals.
Montmorency and Diamond Creek clash in the Under 17 Blue Grand Final, where both sides will be putting in giving their all for their final match of the season and with the prized premiership cup up for grabs.
Diamond Creek is coming off an encouraging 54-point win over Research in last week’s preliminary final, where Charlie Dunbar put in a dominant showing with seven of his side’s 11 goals.
Meanwhile, Montmorency is coming off a week’s rest after beating the Creekers in the second semi final two weeks ago by 13 points in a very tight contest. Expect nothing more than a tight one for this match as it could go either way.
The Under 17 Red Grand Final pits Hurstbridge and Eltham together for one final time. The Panthers are coming off a nail-biting win over Whittlesea last weekend, where they trailed at the three-quarter time break but were able to rally to claim a three-point win, with Luke Russell and Cameron McCormick leading the way.
The Bridges will be going into this match with great confidence, knowing that they have beaten the Panthers in their most recent match – that being a three-point win in the second semi final a fortnight ago.
In the Grand Final of the Under 16 Blue competition, South Morang pits itself against Mill Park in the premiership decider. The Lions head into the big dance undefeated and enjoyed a week’s rest after a big win over the Stallions in the second semi final two weeks ago. They will be looking to repeat those heroics come this weekend.
Despite that big loss a fortnight ago, the Stallions got back on their feet quickly, beating Montmorency in last week’s preliminary final by 39 points. Competition best and fairest winner Anthony Cardamone was best afield last weekend, where the Stallions raced to a five-goal lead at half time and never looked back.
Greensborough and Thomastown clash in the Under 16 Red Grand Final. The Bears are coming off a solid win over South Morang last weekend by 32 points, and will be high on confidence. That will stem not only on the back of last week’s win, but also from the fact that they only just went down to the Boro in the second semi final two weeks ago.
The Boro meanwhile are coming off a week’s rest on the back of just one loss in season 2014. James Delacca, Leidan Dye and Thomas Brindlay were all instrumental in their win over the Bears a fortnight ago.
In the Under 15 Blue Grand Final, South Morang and Epping will lock horns in one of the most intriguing Grand Final clashes of the junior competition. The new and improved South Morang side has risen to expectations this year, taking it up to the might if Epping in all clashes this season, beating them in four of five outings.
But don’t count out the Pingers who are proven performers on Grand Final day, having claimed a string of premierships in recent years. They will have plenty of motivation heading into this decider after the Lions beat them in the second semi final and their Round 14 clash a week prior.
Yarrambat and Diamond Creek take on each other in the Under 15 Red Grand Final. After finishing atop the ladder at the end of the regular season, the Creekers were defeated by the Bats in the second semi final two weeks ago which saw the Bats move straight into this week’s final.
However the Creekers were good enough to bounce back last week, beating Eltham by 13 points in a thrilling encounter. Robert Noble was sensational in that win, as were Max Mitchell and Marcus Lentini as the Creekers held out a fast finishing Panther outfit in the last quarter.
Whittlesea and Bundoora Park will lock horns in the Under 15 Green Grand Final. Both sides finished in the top two and it was only fitting that they meet each other again in the big dance.
The Eagles will be coming in with a lot of confidence, having comfortably beaten the Bolts in their last two encounters, including their most recent meeting in the second semi final two weeks ago by 37 points.
The Bolts however will be coming into the game with good form after putting in a solid win over Keon Park last weekend by 47 points, with inaccurate kicking certainly costing them over Whittlesea the week before. Last weekend it was competition best and fairest winner Liam McLeod who led the way with a game-high six goals.
The top two sides in the Under 15 Girls competition meet in the Grand Final, when Montmorency meets Diamond Creek Women’s. The Magpies are still undefeated this year, winning all 14 regular season games, before accounting for this week’s opponent by 41 points in the second semi final to take the short route into the premiership decider.
Diamond Creek Women’s responded in emphatic fashion last weekend, recording 17 scoring shots to four in a 28-point win over West Preston. Neve O’Connor and Ebony Jane Ozimek both played great games in the preliminary final triumph.
In the Under 14 Blue Grand Final, South Morang and Montmorency clash to take home the coveted premiership cup. The Magpies are coming off a morale boosting win over Laurimar Black last weekend, beating them by 22 points to move into this week’s Grand Final.
Meanwhile, the Lions are coming off a week’s rest after beating the Magpies two weeks ago in the second semi final by 15 points to keep their unbeaten streak intact. Jarrod Camilleri and Lucas Vasilevski both had big outings in the 17-point win in the second semi final and their side will now look to win this week’s game to be crowned premiers and champions.
The Under 14 Red competition pits Mill Park against Wallan in the Grand Final. Mill Park was a big winner when the sides last met, beating the Magpies by 90 points in late June. That win is sure to give the Stallions great confidence heading into this week’s decider.
However, Wallan has been in great form ever since and has now deservingly progressed to the last game of the season after a fourth-place finish on the ladder. After beating Greensborough in the first week of the finals, the Magpies last week beat Research by 16 points and will be looking for a third upset win in succession.
In the Under 14 Green competition, South Morang Gold and Lalor lock horns in the Grand Final. The Lions are coming off a week’s rest after beating first-placed Diamond Creek in the second semi final two weeks ago.
The Bloods meanwhile are also coming off an upset 39-point win over the Creekers last week, following on from a win over West Preston in the first semi final. Mahmoud Abbas and Hayden Stewart both played great games in last week’s win over Diamond Creek, where the Bloods broke the game open with a five-goal to zero second quarter.
Good luck to all sides competing in this weekend’s grand finals!
