Ivanhoe kept its perfect 2026 record intact and took the short way to the grand final after defeating Laurimar by 34 points at Lalor Reserve.
The Hoers absolutely flew out of the blocks with the breeze and had seven goals on the board at the ten-minute mark before the Power had scored. As a rule, when a team kicks two or three quick goals, the other team takes the opportunity to play tempo footy by chipping the ball around after a mark or free. Trouble is, Laurimar had one only mark in this time. That was by Joel Lawson just outside fifty. He rightfully looked for an option closer to goal. His team did get one free kick in that time frame, but advantage was paid.
The ability of Ivanhoe to blow teams away with a series of goals in quick time has been a common theme in the regular season. The Power settled late in the quarter with a couple of majors but trailed 49-13 at the first break. Their second goal came after Ethan Jones showed great closing speed to lay a tackle, wining a free. He then slotted the shot from a tight angle.
From that time onwards, Laurimar gradually worked their way back into the game. Joel Lawson kicked a long goal from a free, then Patrick Fitzgerald got on the board soon after.
The Hoers answered with a goal to Daniel Horsfield which came as a result of persistence and the determination to keep the ball inside the forward fifty. Matt Keys soon goaled from a free for the Power.
After a thirteen-minute goalless period, a handball by Laurimar captain Luke Wilson from heavy to space saw Lawson kick another. And when his teammate Ethan Bateman goaled soon after, the deficit was a mere ten points.
Brilliant roving from Horsfield for his second major took the lead out to 16 points at the main break.
Ivanhoe made it three unanswered goals either side of half time with goals to Della Rocca and Horsfield. It took until the middle of the term for the Power to goal when Jones kicked his second. Loton had the quick reply for the Hoers, but Laurimar took the ball forward from the next centre bounce for Fitzgerald to mark and convert. Then Lawson went the left foot banana from the boundary line for the last goal of the term.
The Power were 15 points adrift at three quarter time. They worked their way back into the contest by stopping Ivanhoe’s run and spread. They were winning inside the packs in the middle stages of the game. Coach Jimmy Atkins urged them to get the ball in deep in the last term without totally ignoring the good short options. He also urged them to use their long-standing mateship to work together for the win.
The Power attacked relentlessly early in the final term. Smooth movement of the ball led to a Fitzgerald mark and goal. Then they managed four behinds when goals were necessary. A big mark and a sixth goal by Della Rocca steadied Ivanhoe. It began a run of five majors to run away in the latter part of the term.
“It’s special to have three teams in the grand final”, said Ivanhoe coach Wayne Schultz. “But the hardest game to win is in front of us.”
Schultz praised Della Rocca for his sure hands and good finishing, while Daniel Horsfield got a special mention for his work in the middle and hitting the scoreboard. Michael Doyle didn’t see out the game due to a leg injury, but the club is hopeful that he will be good to go in two weeks.
There was disappointment in the Power camp, but they escaped relatively unscathed. “If you give a good team seven goals start, you aren’t going to win too often”, said Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins. He liked the work of Josh Leather in the ruck as well as the effort of Josh Campbell going against fellow number 14 in Riley Loton. Joel Lawson also impressed the coach.
While the Hoers go straight to the grand final, Laurimar gets another chance when contesting the preliminary final next Saturday.
Watsonia finished strongly to run away for a 62-point victory over Mernda in the Heidelberg Gold Club Division 3 2026 elimination final at Lalor Reserve.
Booting 16.11 to 4.5 after quarter time kept the Saints premiership hopes alive in the 18.12-120 to 8.10-58 win.
The Demons looked the better side in the first term with the breeze but were errant in the kicking for goal. They had five behinds on the board before slotting one through the big sticks. In that time, The Saints had already kicked two. One was on a fast break for Bailey White to finish off the work. The other came from a kick to a dangerous spot where Cameron Cloke received a free at point blank range.
From then on, it was all Mernda and they began to kick truly at goal. Majors to Christian “Billy” Evans, Jett Phillips, Josh Caputo and Jayden Bell took them to a handy 16-point lead at quarter time. Bell’s goal immediately after Caputo kicked a major, with Bell receiving a free 40 metres out before the ball was bounced in the centre.
Coach Brent Marshall was happy with almost every aspect of the Demons’ first term. They were winning all the key stats but failing to capitalise on the scoreboard. The team’s early wastefulness would come back to bite them before half time.
Watsonia flew out of the blocks in the second quarter. Goals to Jai Bartzis, Luke Stone and a second to Cloke saw them hit the front. Seb Tarczon and Cloke slotted another two to take the lead out to 17 points.
Mernda could not find an avenue to goal at all until very late in the first half. Beau Moorcroft showed great composure to nail a tricky set shot on the siren to bring back the deficit to a manageable 11 points.
While the Demons had a chance to use the breeze in the third term to get back into the match, the Saints seemed to have gained enough momentum and energy to run away with it.
The pattern of goals in the third quarter bore some resemblance to the first term. But this time, Watsonia was running riot and Mernda wasn’t looking likely to score. The Saints kicked 4:4 before their opposition troubled the scorers.
Watsonia ran away to a 39-point lead by the 20-minute mark. But then the Demons lifted. Inclusion Kyle Green kicked two in quick time and then Evans slotted his second. It reduced the gap to 19 points, but the Saints were going to come home with the breeze.
There was a mixture of calmness and excitement, if such a thing is possible, in the Watsonia huddle at the last change. Coach Anthony McGregor told his charges that Mernda would throw everything at them. They will need to absorb that and give it back with interest. He praised the forward pressure and asked them to take it to the next level to finish off the game and not to play safe.
Demons fans were hoping for the first goal to give them a spark, but Tarczon kicked the first at the other end. From then on, it was a procession. Luke Stone finished the game well with two to make it four for the afternoon. Cloke also kicked four, while White managed three and Tarczon kicked his third late in the game to put icing on the cake.
There was a highlight at the ten-minute mark of the final term. Cloke was the ruck for a forward fifty boundary throw in. In scenes reminiscent of the David Schwarz tap to Andrew Leoncelli for Melbourne against Adelaide in 2001, Cloke belted the ball forward into open space where White ran onto the ball and kicked truly.
A seven goal to nil final term turned a likely victory into a blowout triumph. Luke Lowry impressed for the Saints in the midfield, while Declan Pearse arguably played his best game for the season.
The Watsonia rooms was a happy place after the game. “I’ve never seen a greater 22-man effort,” said a proud coach in Anthony McGregor. While the pressure was on them early, they were able to soak up that pressure and the game opened up once his team was able to get their style of game going. The team’s ability to close down the time and space of the opposition was first class.
Conversely, the pain could be felt in the air in the other change rooms. “We are disappointed with the outcome,” said Mernda coach Brent Marshall. It felt like the entire season’s effort in fighting tooth and nail to grab third spot had been thrown away in one afternoon. The Demons were desperate to have another crack at Laurimar but were not able to perform on the day.
Marshall loved the way Jacob Russell competed in the ruck. Russell will be eligible to play in the reserves preliminary final after being in the reserves team for the entire regular season. Zach Ciacia was also praised for his performance on the wing.
While Mernda’s season is done as far as the senior team is concerned, the Saints will play Laurimar in the preliminary final, with the winner earning the right to take on Ivanhoe in the grand final.
