De La Salle yesterday ran University Blues off their legs in the A-section preliminary final at Elsternwick Park, overturning an eight-point deficit at half-time to score a 17-point victory. De La’s victory earned it the chance to avenge its 92-point second-semi-final loss to Old Xaverians in next Sunday’s grand final.
With the wind blowing across the ground in the first half, the Blues dominated before De La pegged them back in the shadow of half-time. The first part of the third quarter was an arm-wrestle but the match then ignited with six goals in seven minutes, including four goals to De La, as the wind shifted to the north-west.
De La’s flurry of goals was kicked at the non-scoring end. Hard-working midfielders Sam Pickett, David Lowe and Matt Fieldsend kicked one each while forward Ben Mannix, the club talisman, snapped the fourth after reading the play as the ball drifted over defenders’ heads in the goalsquare.
Mannix’s lively offsider Leigh Harrison kicked five goals and underlined a point of difference between the teams: the De La Salle forward line was more agile than the Blues’ big-marking targets.
The Dees had the match in hand when Pickett, who was best on ground, kicked a long, running goal from the dead pocket halfway through the last quarter. Harrison kicked the sealer when he took a handball from the busy Mick Duggan at the top of the goalsquare in time-on.
De La Salle is through to its first A-section grand final since it lost to Collegians in 1993. Old Xaverians are playing in their twelfth A-section grand final in fifteen years.
In yesterday’s D2-section grand final at Central Reserve, Waverley, Williamstown CYMS earned its second successive premiership when it upset Peninsula by 27 points. Peninsula had the wind in the last quarter but scored only eight behinds while Williamstown kicked 3.5, including two goals in time-on to seal a tense victory.
Williamstown onballer Ben Gray was awarded the medal for best on ground.
Old Scotch (Launceston, Tasmania) captain, Sam Tucker, listed the highlight of his footy career in the program for the recent grand final as his 7 premierships in seventy games at Old Zavs. Not a bad strike rate and he played in another one this year with OSCFC. Bit greedy.
Yep , that’d be right, De La in the GF. My year level co-ordinator is actually the assistant coach I think, and former player for the Old Collegians.
Steve,
Who is your teacher?
How does he think De La will go on Sunday?
Are you going?