BUNDOORA, VIC. (NFNL HQ). — A hotly contested preliminary final between South Morang and Old Paradians saw the Raiders win a thriller to march into the Northern Football Netball League’s Division 2 Grand Final.
It was fairly even all afternoon; the Lions kicked the first two of the game, with the Raiders managing to get one back before quarter time. It was the Raiders’ inaccuracy that was keeping them behind at half time.
In the second quarter, South Morang kicked 2.0 to the Raiders’ 1.5, giving South Morang a 4.1-25 to 2.8-20 lead at half time.
The Raiders were able to fix up their goalkicking in the third quarter but couldn’t make a dent in the lead. Both sides kicked 3.2 in that term, with Joshua Lansfield kicking one towards the end of the term to give South Morang that slender five-point lead at three-quarter time. All of the breaks saw the Lions hold the lead by less than a goal.
Lachie Kerr kicked the first goal of the last quarter from a tough set shot from distance. South Morang were able to bag the next two, with classy finishes from Tyson Gresham and skipper Bailey Brown giving the Lions a 13-point lead in the fourth.
The Raiders then broke the shackles, stormed home and kicked the last four goals of the game to take home the 11-point victory. Joshua Iacobaccio kicked the first of the bunch; Kerr again slotted the next.
Then Kyle O’Sullivan’s classy close-range finish from the boundary put the Raiders up by five. Kerr put them in a bit of breathing space, slotting his fifth and third of the last quarter to put them to their final margin. They were able to see out the last couple of minutes with no score going either way.
Old Paradians outscored South Morang 30-14 in the last quarter and evened out their goalkicking ledger in the second half, going 8.2 to finish 10.10 on the day.
Kerr was indeed the star of the show, slotting five goals, three of them being in the final term and proving pivotal in their efforts. He also picked up 14 disposals and nine marks on the afternoon.
As expected, the big names in the middle got the job done for the Raiders. Skipper Kyle O’Sullivan had 28 disposals, 15 contested possessions, eight marks, 12 tackles, seven clearances, one goal and 165 ranking points. Joshua Iacobaccio had 31 disposals, 10 contested possessions, 7 marks, 7 inside 50s, one goal and 146 ranking points. Star ruckman Connor McDonald had 20 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 30 hit-outs, 7 hit-outs to advantage, 6 inside 50s, 12 clearances and 126 ranking points.
Their finals series has been a strong three weeks; they defeated in-form Whittlesea in the Elimination Final, then Northcote Park in the Semi Final and now minor Premier South Morang in the Preliminary Final. They now move on to the Grand Final next week against St Mary’s.
The Raiders entered the NFNL in 2024 and were able to win the Division 3 Grand Final that season, but last year they finished eighth in Division 2, and now see themselves coming up to the NFNL Division 2 Grand Final and are playing for a spot in Division 1.
On the other side of the ground, it is an unfortunate result for the minor premier South Morang; they had a great finish to the home and away season, but will be disappointed with their two tight finals losses, leading to a straight-sets exit out of the finals.
They would have been looking to try and reach promotion back up to Division 1. They won the Division 2 premiership in 2024, but finished bottom in Division 1 in 2025 and got relegated back down to Division 2 for this season.
On the day, Ben Power (21 disposals, 11 contested possessions, six marks and 125 ranking points), Davin Cameron (19 disposals, eight contested possessions, 11 tackles and 107 ranking points) and star ruck Nathan Stefanile (15 disposals, 54 hit-outs, 6 hit-outs to advantage, 11 clearances and 107 ranking points) were all very good for the Lions. James Hewson and Ben Paterson both kicked two majors on the afternoon as well.
The Lions should hold their heads up high after this season, finishing on top of the ladder in a very closely contested MC Labour Division 2.
This one was a preliminary final to go down in the history books, with the Raiders booking themselves a clash with St Mary’s at Preston City Oval on Saturday. On the line is not only the 2026 premiership, but also promotion to the NFNL’s top-flight competition, which would be a remarkable story for either side.
