A mammoth MC Labour Division 2 preliminary final will see either Whittlesea bounce back and earn a Grand Final appearance to go with their minor premiership, or Diamond Creek get a second chance at redemption for last year’s Grand Final loss.
The Eagles, who looked certainties to reach the decider a month ago, will now have to go the long way around after falling short in the second semi-final to South Morang by just six points.
They booted the final two goals of the game and pushed hard to take the lead late, but couldn’t get over the line, now going down in two of their previous three matches after going the opening 16 rounds of the season unbeaten.
It was an uncharacteristic performance from Garry Ramsay’s men, particularly in the opening half, when they had just two goals to their name and trailed by 20 points at the main break. It’s a start they’ll need to avoid again if they want to advance in this finals series.
If they are to get back to their best, it starts with their stars. Jaron Murphy was lively in the side’s defeat last week alongside teammates Riley Carter and Matthew Coen.
But it will be the talented midfield duo of Taidgh Bland and Xavier Dimasi that will need to be on song to help Whittlesea return to the winners list. It’s no coincidence that a quiet opening half from Bland illustrated his team’s performance in the first two terms, but as he got into the match, so did the Eagles.
Bland was named in his side’s best in their Round 8 win over Diamond Creek, while skipper Dimasi has been named in his side’s best in six of his previous eight matches, including in Whittlesea’s loss to the Creekers in Round 17.
This pair can make a difference in their side’s chances of victory on Saturday, and with VFL listed star Blake Watson able to assist in this area also, Garry Ramsay’s men will be favoured to produce a telling response.
Speaking of telling responses, it’s exactly what Diamond Creek did in their first semi-final victory last Sunday, accounting for Lower Plenty to the tune of 71 points to book a third straight preliminary final appearance.
The Creekers kept the Bears to just two majors from nine scoring shots and produced a nine-goal second half to solidify the victory at Epping Recreational Reserve.
Brenton Keating and Matthew Lewis led the charge in the defensive end for Andrew Tranquilli’s men, with Keating now being named in his side’s best in three straight games, two of those being finals.
In would have been promising to see the defensive unit at its disciplined best, despite missing captain Nathan Searl again, who was injured in his side’s Round 17 win over Whittlesea and has been featured since. With his superb defensive traits and on field leadership, Diamond Creek would be hopeful to see him return and lead his side to another Grand Final berth.
Diamond Creek have also produced moments of brilliance in the forward half of the ground. That has been led again by midfielders Tyler Barnes and Jacob Booth, who have both hit the scoreboard in these finals series but have also been incredibly influential at stoppages to win multiple clearances for their side.
They’ll look to keep getting first use from ruck Nicholas Barro, who was best on ground when these two sides last met in Round 17. A repeat performance would go a long way towards the Creekers getting to the final game of the year.
Only 89 points combined were kicked between these two teams in that previous encounter in August, and with both sides being the only teams to concede under 1000 points in the home and away campaign in 2024, it could be the defensive work that sends one of these sides to a Grand Final meeting with South Morang next week.
