BUNDOORA, VIC. (NFNL HQ). — Laurimar won its way into the Northern Football Netball League’s Division 3 grand final with an impressive 56-point win over Watsonia in the preliminary final at Lalor Reserve in fine conditions.
The Power lost the previous week after being blown away early, and it appeared that they were determined to get a great start this time. They absolutely nailed that by kicking eight of the first nine goals. Joel Lawson and Micah Vecchio each slotted two in the first term.
LAURIMAR: 8.2 10.5 17.6 21.8 (134)
GOALS: Patrick Fitzgerald 8, Matt Keys 2, Joel Lawson 2, Micah Vecchio 2, Liam Waldon 2, Cooper Fitzpatrick, Josh Leather, Bailey Macleod, Stephen McCallum, Tyler Thomas.
BEST: Bailey Macleod, Joel Lawson, Patrick Fitzgerald, Stephen McCallum, Luke Wilson, Ethan Bateman.
WATSONIA: 3.1 6.3 8.4 12.6 (78)
GOALS: Cameron Cloke 8, Jai Bartzis, Nathan Hallyburton, Seb Tarczon, Bailey White.
BEST: Mason Grech, Cameron Cloke, Luke Lowry, Nathan Hallyburton, Lachlan Bowden, Jai Bartzis.
The Saints hit back late in the quarter with two goals to Cameron Cloke, who had already kicked their opening goal earlier.
Watsonia was fighting back pretty hard to begin the second term, and Cloke kicked the first major. By the middle of the quarter, goals to Seb Tarczon and Nathan Hallyburton had reduced the deficit to just 17 points.
Laurimar dominated the latter part of the half with lots of time in their forward half. But they only managed one goal in that time, courtesy of a long set shot from Matt Keys. It gave his team a 26-point lead going into the main break.
The third quarter should’ve been named “the Patrick Fitzgerald third term”, because he nailed seven goals in it and effectively slammed the door shut on the Saints.
Cloke and Jai Bartzis kicked one each for Watsonia, but the lead had blown out to 56 points at three-quarter time.
With the game done and dusted, there were games within the game to play out in the final term. Fitzgerald had seven goals and Cloke five when the final term began. Fitzgerald received a free kick early on and kicked it to make it eight. He was rested later in the match.
Not to be outdone, Cloke kicked another two in the middle of the term and then a third at the 25-minute mark to make it a draw at eight goals apiece. The wonderful forward craft spectacle brought back memories of Lockett at one end and Dunstall at the other, each kicking big bags.
Winning the final term was also a close thing. The Saints were winning the quarter until Josh Leather goaled from a free kick and made it yet another tie at 4:2 26 for each side.
The final siren yielded the Grand Final match-up that almost everyone had predicted from early in the season. Barring Ivanhoe, the Power looked to be better than the rest of the competition by some margin, and they delivered on that assessment on the day.
“I’m so happy for our entire club,” said Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins. “Glad to have another crack at it and there is something special about this group.”
While acknowledging that the Saints had hit back hard after quarter time, he was rapt with the midfield dominance due to the work of Bailey Macleod, Stephen McCallum and captain Luke Wilson.
As well as those three, Lawson and Fitzpatrick were a delight to watch. Another plus for the team was seeing the return of vice-captain Jesse Donaldson, who had not been seen since Round 14. A much-anticipated rematch with Ivanhoe awaits in next Saturday’s grand final.
While there was disappointment in the other rooms, very few of their fans would leave too downhearted. “Laurimar was too good for too long,” said Watsonia coach Anthony McGregor. “It was very well done by them.”
McGregor gave praise to Bailey White and Dean Talarico. And, while Cloke was their standout player on the day, Luke Lowry and Jai Bartzis also contributed well.
Despite the loss, McGregor should have woken up Sunday morning extremely proud of his players and the entire club after winning their way from an elimination final to a preliminary finals berth.
Laurimar faces Ivanhoe in the big dance this Saturday, September 5, at Lalor Reserve.
