A jam-packed weekend of Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 finals football is upon us, with the top four teams set to play off for premiership glory.
It took until the last round of the home and away season, but Old Eltham Collegians finally confirmed their spot in the finals after defeating Kilmore at Eltham College by 80 points.
Heidelberg West matched up against Lalor at Lalor Reserve and got the job done to the tune of 209 points, with Alex Williamson booting a personal best of eight majors. The victory however saw the Hawks miss out on finals by percentage and have now recorded back-to-back fifth placings.
“The loss against Kilmore early in the season ultimately proved very costly,” Heidelberg West coach Michael Missen said.
“Having defeated the Turtles twice, Kinglake once and leading Mernda by almost three goals late in the third quarter recently, it leaves me feeling this season has been a waste by not qualifying.”
The Bloods were well served by Jai Bennett who played his best game for the season.
The final round also saw the two second semi-final teams tune up for the finals with wins in their respective games.
Mernda travelled to Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval to take on the Fitzroy Stars, with a five goal to one second term propelling the visitors to a 53-point victory. Joel Harris continued his recent good form to be named best for the Demons.
Tackling Mernda’s Billy Morrison in the ruck is never easy and when Stars ruck Allan Norris was injured, Hayden Welsh stepped up to the plate and acquitted himself well.
“We came to compete and make it hard for them,” Fitzroy Stars coach Lionel Proctor said.
Proctor liked the work of James Trajkovski in defence, while Jai Burns once again impressed.
Laurimar hosted Reservoir at Laurimar Reserve and came away with a 161-point win. A 12.7 to 1.0 first term set the tone of the day for the Power, with Kaiden Arthur being named best, booting five majors.
Samual Heurtau was best for the Mustangs and has finished the season in fine form, meanwhile Aaron Jenner and Tom Holloway also contributed well.
“Totally dominated by a side that was too big, fast, strong and talented for us and well coached as well,” Reservoir coach Justin George said.
“We were blown off the park early but fought hard after that to limit the damage.”
Laurimar’s win meant that they, along with Mernda and Kinglake all went through the entire season undefeated at home.
“The boys had a good hit-out and are looking forward to next week,” Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins said.
It’s all set up for a crucial finals weekend at the Whittlesea Showgrounds and tipping a winner won’t be easy. To further illustrate this point, the top three teams all share a 1-1 record in matches this season against each other.
Saturday’s second semi-final pits top team Mernda against second placed Laurimar. While most people expected the Power to be there when the whips were cracking, few outside of the Demon camp were talking up Robert Fletcher’s men prior to the season.
But the Demons ended the regular season with only two losses, rising from sixth place last season. Star recruit Billy Morrison has been a dominant ruckman this year and has shown his versatility with his strong marking and an ability to hit the scoreboard.
There have been other imports who have contributed well, but a lot of the improvement has come from a strong junior focus at the club.
The Round 2 clash between these teams at Waterview Recreation Reserve was a pulsating affair. The Demons jumped out to a big lead at half time, then had to withstand a mighty comeback by the Power to prevail by eight points.
Laurimar comfortably won the return match by 32 points at Laurimar Reserve in Round 11, with one of the Coaches MVP Award favourites in Luke Wilson doing some great work in the midfield.
Mernda goes into the finals series on an impressive six-game winning streak since that loss to Laurimar.
The Power has been unbeaten since the bye barring a loss at the hands of Old Eltham Collegians in Round 14 at Eltham College. If anything, Laurimar’s form in August has been superior to that of the Demons, but it’s a close call, so both sets of fans should head to the game with a degree of confidence.
Mernda has shown an ability to score quickly when threatened, while Jimmy Atkins’ team have delighted their fans with slick ball movement and a focus on spreading the ball effectively.
With a spot in the grand final up for grabs, it shapes as being a game worth going to see.
An intriguing first semi-final occurs on Sunday at the Whittlesea Showgrounds, when third placed Kinglake takes on Old Eltham Collegians, who finished in fourth spot.
The lead-in to this elimination final could not have been more different for the combatants. The Turtles had to win their Round 18 clash to qualify and despite recording a big win in the end, it was a high-pressure scenario due to the consequences had they have gone down.
Conversely, the Lakers played a virtual dead rubber game in their final home and away match of the season in Round 17 and come into this clash off the bye.
A case could be made for either team having the more ideal lead-in to this game.
Like the other finals match-up, the ledger is square at one game apiece for these teams in the regular season.
The Lakers went into the Round 6 match at Eltham College with a 5-0 record but were no match for Matt Sleeman’s men when going down by 40 points. However, they were able to exact revenge in Round 15 at Kinglake Memorial Oval to the tune of eight points.
Despite the recent loss to the Lakers, many pundits will be tipping the Turtles to prevail, but Kinglake has shown an ability this year to bounce back when least expected.
An example of this was when they followed up their 40-point loss to the Turtles by inflicting on Laurimar their biggest loss of the season.
The midfield battle will be critical, with Bailey Robinson leading the way for the Lakers and Sebastian Francis-Perkins having a big year for Old Eltham Collegians.
This will no doubt be a match of great interest also.
