In a battle for the double chance in the finals, it was Bundoora who came out on top with a comprehensive 41-point victory over Northcote Park in Round 18.
After a slow start to the game for the Bulls, a much improved effort after quarter time led them to the 20.14 (134) to 14.9 (93) victory at Yulong Reserve, on a day where they honoured the loss of club legend Victor Vogels.
12 goals between Gary Moorcroft (seven) and Cameron Cloke (five) proved too much for the Cougars backline to handle. The only sour note from the win was the knee injury suffered by Cloke.
After going down midway through the first quarter, Cloke was unable to run let alone walk without a limp for the rest of the game. To his credit, he added another four goals after sustaining the injury but will no doubt be in doubt for the Bulls’ upcoming qualifying final against Heidelberg.
The Cougars got off to a blistering start in the first quarter, kicking seven goals to the Bulls’ two at quarter time. Pat O’Connell had three of those seven goals and teammate Koden Colman had two goals of his own.
Bronik Davies and Matt Deledio were doing most of the damage through the centre of the ground for the Cougars, while Brock McLennan’s efforts as a small forward were remarkable as he ran around with the ball on a string.
When McLennan kicked the first goal of the second quarter the lead had opened up to 35 points and it appeared that it would take something special from Bundoora to work its way back into the game.
What then followed was the Bulls at their best, with fast-paced movement through the midfield, quick efficient ball carry out of defence and plenty of goals.
The two leading goal kickers in Division 1, Cloke and Moorcroft, teamed up to kick five unanswered goals between them to bring the margin back to two points at half time.
The Cougars desperately needed the first of the second half to re-discover the dominance they had in the first quarter. When Julian Violato kicked his first of three goals in the third quarter from 50m out, it appeared the belief was back.
But after a tough five-minute period, where both teams were deadlocked to find a goal, Bulls midfielder turned goal-sneak David Mitchell provided the spark – kicking three goals for the term to open up a 17-point lead for Bundoora heading into the final quarter.
When Moorcroft kicked his fifth for the game at the start of the fourth quarter the margin became too great for Northcote Park to chase down.
Moorcroft was sensational all day, along with Mitchell, Matty Dennis – who spent large portions of the game on the wing – and defenders Kent Delbridge and Trent Barbero. The latter continues to play consistently good football in one of the toughest positions on the ground.
After such an impressive start, the Cougars will be disappointed they were only able to add seven more goals over three quarters after kicking seven in the first quarter.
Davies, McLennan, Shaun Lorenzini, O’Connell, Deledio and Joel Donaldson all were among the Cougars best. Ultimately, this was a game they will look to quickly move on from if they are to have a chance of going back-to-back for this year’s flag, beginning with Eltham in the elimination final this week.
Final score: Bundoora 20.14 (134) def Northcote Park 14.9 (93)
