One division down, two to go. Yep that’s right finals football is finally here as the AFL Outer East Division Two season wrapped up on the weekend, with Gembrook-Cockatoo busting its way to fourth spot on the table.
The Brookers saved their best for last in 2019 as on the weekend as they surged into the finals with massive 77 point win over Yarra Glen on a picture perfect day on their home deck.
At half time, just seven points up, it would not have been shameful for the Brookers to wobble and allow their more experienced, bigger bodied and – at times throughout the season – much more fancied opponents to take up the fifth spot in the finals.
Rather than that, the Brookers blew Yarra Glen out of the water with a 13 goal second half as they pummelled the River Pigs on their route to the elimination final.
The day saw Gembrook-Cockatoo’s more experienced players come to the fore.
Ex AFL stars Michael Firrito and Tarkyn Lockyer starred with nine goals between them, as the two Scotts, Leigh and Dylan, went one-two to be the best pair of players on the ground.
But the shining light for the Brookers will be the performance of young gun Joshua Tilly.
The red haired forward has played just a handful of senior games for the Brookers, with his season split between the Gembrook-Cockatoo senior side, under 18 side and the Eastern Ranges.
In just his sixth senior game Tilly booted four majors – his second four goal game for the year – to help his side dismantle the RiverPigs and book their place in finals.
Tilly is just one of the bright prospects wearing green this season, but his performance on the weekend will no doubt please the faithful watching on, as the future continues to look promising for the Brookers.
The near future, better known as this weekend, sees the Brookers take on Powelltown, a side they’ve beaten twice already this year. If they make it thrice, they might just dare to dream.
