BUNDOORA, VIC. (NFNL HQ). — Eltham Central hosted two brilliant Northern Football Netball League (NFNL) Division 2 finals across the weekend, with St Mary’s being the first side to earn a spot in the Division 2 Grand Final after a heart-stopping victory over South Morang, while the Old Paradians brought Northcote Park’s season to an end.
St Mary’s has earned its spot in the Division 2 Grand Final, after just scraping home against minor premiers South Morang by two points.
The Burra were phenomenal early, kicking five goals to one in the first term. Jack Cicitta slotted the first major of the day, pouncing on a sharp inside 50 entry from Lachlan Read, then converting from directly in front on the run. His goals were followed by Harry Butterworth and Cicitta’s second, which came in quick succession, meaning the Burra had an 18-point lead 11 minutes into the match.
The Lions found the much-needed response through Joshua Lansfield, who had no trouble slotting his set shot from 45 meters out directly in front. St Mary’s closed out the opening period with the next two goals, resulting in a 24-point lead at the first change.
Like the first term, the Burra had the better of the Lions around the ground in the second quarter. St Mary’s won the inside-50 count 15-7 in the period, but only managed three goals from eight scoring shots. Despite the limited forward half entries, the Lions found two goals and went into the main break facing a 33-point deficit.
The Burra had more than enough chances to seal the game during the second half, but remarkably they failed to register another goal despite adding 11 behinds from 23 inside 50’s.
The premiership quarter was more of an arm wrestle, but the Lions were more clinical in front of goal, finding three goals to close the gap on the scoreboard. The first goal of the second half came off the back of an intercept mark from Jesse John Christidis, who sent a long bomb from outside 50 straight over the goal umpire’s cap.
All of a sudden the minor premiers found their spark. They won the next centre clearance and Sebastian Latina read the flight better than anyone, getting out the back and dribbling it through from the top of the goal square. It took no more than 60 seconds for them to find their next goal; this time Alex Kirkopoulos roved on a loose ball and finished under severe pressure, bringing the margin back to 18 points.
The Lions continued the charge early in the final quarter. They found the opening two majors through Chris Petoro and Kobe Van Swienen in the first five minutes, meaning the difference was just seven points, the first time since the 10-minute mark of the first term the margin was under 12 points.
St Mary’s had ample opportunities during the final 10 minutes of play to put the game to bed, but a run of four consecutive behinds kept their opponents within reach. However, Teague Van Swienen made the most of his opportunity in the pocket, with his checkside kick splitting the middle and bringing the margin to under a goal with less than two minutes to play.
The Lions kept peppering the Burra defence, but Dom Akuei took a courageous mark going back with the flight to deny another strong opportunity. Joshua Lansfield had the chance to give the Lions the lead with just over 30 seconds left, but his attempt was never on target and was rushed through for a behind, all but guaranteeing the Burra a win from that point.
Joshua Carelli was the most prominent ball winner on the ground, having 32 disposals. Will Dean and Akuei were also instrumental, with the former having 27 disposals as well and a goal, while the latter was massive down back with five intercept marks.
Ruckman Nathan Stefanile won the highly anticipated ruck battle, winning 44 hit-outs plus having 20 disposals and 13 clearances. Tyson Gresham accumulated the most disposals for his side, with 28 disposals and applied strong defensive pressure with eight tackles.
On Sunday, a dominant six-goal term was the catalyst for Old Paradians in their 46-point victory over Northcote Park.
Scoring was scarce early, with the Raiders managing the only two goals in the opening quarter. The same can’t be said for the following quarter, with the first of six majors in the term coming in the opening minute thanks to perfect roving from Marcus Nolan out of a forward 50 stoppage before snapping it home.
The Raiders went on to pile on the next five goals through Tom Cooper with two, Mitch Kane, Noah Whittle and Jack Nicolo. Nicolo pounced on a loopy kick from the Cougars in their defensive 50, bringing it to ground and finishing on the run to make the scoreboard read 51-3 in favour of his side 23 minutes into the second term.
James McArdle got the Cougars’ first major of the day at the 28-minute mark of the period, being on the end of a handball receive inside 50 and kicking true. The Cougars threatened to make it back-to-back goals, winning the next centre clearance and just before Jye Stevens could pounce on a loose ball inside 50, the siren to end the first half sounded.
A comeback was on the cards for Northcote Park as they found the first three goals of the second half, reducing the deficit to 26 points. The hope of a miraculous victory was diminished significantly, with the Raiders finding the next three goals in a five-minute period.
Facing a mammoth 38-point deficit at three-quarter-time, the Cougars failed to score at all in the last period of play. Old Paradians only added a further eight points to their total, but they had the game on their terms, taking 22 uncontested marks before the final siren.
Raiders big man Connor McDonald was once again among the best for his side, winning 59 hit-outs to go with his 19 disposals. Skipper Kyle O’Sullivan was brilliant in the heat of the contest, having 22 disposals alongside 11 tackles and 10 clearances. Liam McVeigh, Cooper and Nolan were the leading goalkickers for the victorious side, all managing two goals each.
Cougars captain Dan Tallariti can hold his head high after a strong performance, which included 23 disposals and seven intercept possessions. Leo Amad was also potent during the day, having 17 disposals, 10 marks and a goal.
The weekend results mean we are set for a fascinating battle between South Morang and Old Paradians in a Preliminary Final, a must-watch contest at Eltham Central on Saturday, September 5.
