Kilmore secured a finals berth in the Northern Football Netball League’s Division 3 final home-and-away round with a three-point triumph over Kinglake at Kinglake Memorial Oval.
Trailing by eight points heading into time on of the last quarter, Paul Derrick’s men kicked two late goals to seal the 9.7 (61) to 8.10 (58) triumph over the Lakers.
KINGLAKE: 0.3 4.6 7.6 8.10 (58)
GOALS: Ethan Robinson 3, Bailey Robinson 2, Dylan Hoysted, Damian Pywell, Adam Wiseman.
BEST: Bailey Caldow, Bailey Robinson, Will Graf, Michael Florance, Ethan Robinson, Ben White.
KILMORE: 2.3 5.3 6.5 9.7 (61)
GOALS: Jake Hibbs-Hall 3, Jaden Smith 2, Bailey Derrick, Zack Ferguson, Ryan Johnson, Caleb Newport.
BEST: Bailey Derrick, Marcus Lacorica, Jake Hibbs-Hall, Grant Paxton, Benjamin Barton, Mitchell Portoglou.
The result not only means Derrick’s tenure as Kilmore senior coach extends, but also confirms a return to finals for the Two Blues, having not played post regular season since 2022.
They’ll face the Lakers for a second consecutive weekend, who return to the finals having also missed out last season when Kinglake and Kilmore meet next Sunday, August 17, at Thomastown’s Main Street Reserve for an elimination final.
Jaden Smith was the hero for Kilmore, kicking the first and last goals of the game, both from similar spots on the ground.
Bailey Derrick had a solid game in defence for the Blues alongside Marcus Lacorica, Mitchell Portoglou and Grant Paxton, with Portoglou and Lacorica restricting Kinglake key forwards Damian Pywell and Dylan Hoysted to one goal each.
Jake Hibbs-Hall led the way in attack with three goals and was solid alongside fellow tall Ryan Johnson, who fought hard in ruck and attack alongside Joshua Coe.
Contrastingly Kinglake were well led by the two Bailey’s, Caldow and Robinson, with Robinson providing a spark through midfield alongside the hard-working Mason McAllister.
Ethan Robinson provided a spark in attack with three goals while Will Graf had a terrific game in defence, often repelling any Kilmore foray forward that headed in his direction.
The Blues had the first chance on goal in the opening minute of the game before the Lakers started to get the game on their terms.
It was Kilmore who struck the first blow through Smith, which then led to the Blues gaining some forward momentum but failing to capitalise.
Kinglake then started to regain the ascendancy but failed to capitalise, with Hibbs-Hall kicking the last goal of the quarter to put Kilmore up by 12 points at the first break.
Caleb Newport then extended that advantage to 18 points in the opening two minutes of the second quarter.
Newport’s goal clicked Kinglake into gear, though, gaining the territory and kicking the next three goals to hit the front at the 16-minute mark of the second.
Kilmore then kicked two of the last three goals, with Ryan Johnson’s goal after the halftime siren seeing the Two Blues lead by three points at the main break.
The away side then looked to build on the momentum they’d gained late to start the third term, but were unable to do so.
Kinglake then turned up the heat midway through the third, kicking three goals in two minutes to take the lead by 14 points.
Paul Derrick’s men once again responded with the last goal of the third quarter through Hibbs-Hall, which reduced their deficit to seven points.
As Kilmore looked to get themselves back into the top five, the Lakers’ midfield got on top and created opportunities in attack early in the last quarter.
Hibbs-Hall was the one to kick the first goal of the period, though before Ethan Robinson responded with his third goal, pushing the Lakers’ lead back out to 10 points.
As Kilmore started to press, the Lakers held firm and continued to create opportunities for themselves as time on loomed.
The damn wall eventually broke in favour of Kilmore, with clutch goals from Bailey Derrick and Smith in time to secure a famous victory for the Kilmore Football Netball Club.
