Whittlesea overcame a tardy start to record a comfortable victory over St Mary’s in the Division 2 under-19s Grand Final at Preston City Oval.
A dominant second half gave the Eagles the 11.12 (78) to 6.12 (48) win – the first of two premiership victories for the club on the day.
The Burra settled by far the better and led by 10 points at the first break. They found players in space and looked the more likely in attack. Daniel Dober curved in a great goal after receiving a free kick 30 metres out on the boundary.
The dangerous John Desmond was minded by a tag team of Paul Higgins and Jake Cullen. While this ploy was successful and Desmond was not a major contributor, he managed to take an absolute speccie early in the game.
The Eagles began to hit their straps in the second term, booting the first three goals. The best of these was when Joel Bramble marked at 50 on the boundary, dodged his opponent and nailed a goal.
But St Mary’s fought back late in the term. A goal by Nathan Winchcombe on the half time siren reduced the margin to a point.
Whittlesea coach Jarrad Carey was happier at half time, and asked his forwards to play in front and not to get drawn too far up the ground.
During the third term, the Eagles threatened to break away, but St Mary’s managed two goals at vital stages to keep within range of their rivals.
The quarter was littered with errors by both teams. The Eagles gave away a set shot at goal when a free kick was reversed.
Meanwhile, St Mary’s was missing easy shots, while making wrong decisions at other time when goals looked to be there for the taking.
An Eagle error cost a goal when St Mary’s Patrick Korda received a free in the goal square. Korda had been effective in blanketing Joshua Stroud.
The Eagles appeared to be gradually getting on top, but only led by eight point at the last change.
Burra coach Paul Millett reminded his team that they had come from behind to win against good teams in 2013.
But the Eagles dominated in the early minutes of the last quarter. Goals to Higgins and Jake Barnes made the margin a seemingly unassailable 22 points.
The Burra, however, had a period of dominance midway through the term. But they booted 1.4 during this time, including missing a sitter.
The Eagles rarely went forward during this period, but Luke Fowles ran hard to mark a long kick into a dangerous spot. His goal began celebrations for both players and fans.
Luke Carroll’s two goals were the last two scores of the game. The first of these was a memorable 50 metre kick from a 45 degree angle that split the middle goal post high.
No Eagle forward dominated, but they had a plethora of forwards who played cameo roles.
Eagle Kieran Sheehan was awarded the medal for best on ground, but his team mates Higgins, Matthew Gersh or Nicholas Pupillo would also have been worthy winners, while Mitchell Mundie was their best down back.
After the game, St Mary’s coach Millett noted that it was a good, contested game, but Whittlesea’s disposal was cleaner – and his team paid the price as a result.
An elated Eagles coach Carey was very proud of his boys. “It is easy to coach a group of players who are as talented and hard wording as they are,” he said. “Their win was well deserved after all their effort during the year.”
Final score: St Mary’s 6.12 (48) def by Whittlesea 11.12 (78)
