It’s here, can you feel it? Finals football. September is upon us and spring is in the air. Ankles are strapped and hammies are tight.
Star Weekly sport reporters Daniel Paproth and Ewen McRae cast their eyes over the Essendon District Football League finals which begin on Saturday.
Let us know which team you think has what it takes. Leave a comment below or hit us up on Twitter @StarWeeklySport or Facebook.
QUALIFYING FINAL
Strathmore v Avondale Heights
Essendon Football Ground
Saturday, August 30, 2.15pm
Last time: Strathmore 9.14 (68) drew Avondale Heights 10.8 (68) at Canning Reserve, Round 15
It’s hard to split these two sides on paper, and they couldn’t be split on the field last time they played either. Only percentage separated the pair on the ladder at the end of the regular season, making this one of the most keenly anticipated finals in years. While both sides lost their last match, that will count for little on Saturday, with the battle between the Heights’ two key forward targets and the Mores’ plethora of goal kickers likely to decide who progresses straight through to the grand final.
KEY PLAYERS: Strathmore
Todd Grima – brother of North Melbourne’s Nathan, Todd has led the way up forward for the minor premiers this year, with a personal best of nine majors in a match highlighting how dangerous he can be. Gets great support from those around him, but quelling his influence will be the Heights backmen’s main priority.
Daniel Jones – the big ruckman has had a welcome return to the Mores this season, adding some potency to the table toppers ruck stocks. He has been listed in the best players 10 times this season, and is one of the most effective tap ruckmen in the competition.
KEY PLAYERS: Avondale Heights
Dean Galea/Patrick Rose – This forward pairing would send shivers down any back-line, with the former VFL stars forming one of the most formidable combinations in club football. With 78 goals each for the season to date, it’s a case of ‘if Galea doesn’t get you then Rose must’, and while the Heights can be predictable in going to them as often as they do, when you’re as effective as they are, there’s no reason not to.
Stephen Tiller – At the other end of the ground it’s been ex-AFL player Tiller who’s held the fort. An EDFL team of the year member last season, Tiller has again been a rock in defence, and listed in the best players nine times this year.
THE WORD FROM THE CLUB
Strathmore: “We’ve worked really hard to get to finals so there’s a good buzz around the club, hopefully we can go all the way. They (Avondale Heights) beat us fair and square the first time around, and a draw the last time was probably a fair result so it’ll be an interesting game on Saturday. I think we’re pretty close to full strength, so I’d be disappointed if we didn’t make a grand final but strange things happen in finals. In 2011 we were the underdogs and won by two points and in 2012 we were undefeated and lost by two points, so footy’s a fickle game, especially in finals.” – Strathmore president John Elliott.
Avondale Heights: “We’ve got a few guys to come back this week, Matty Cravino for one so that will certainly help us. We’ve beaten Strathmore once this year and we drew the other time so we come in with a lot of confidence. We can’t wait. We set ourselves up with the double chance, lost three games for the year and a tie so that’s outstanding. We wanted to make sure we made finals again; we’ve done that and now we want to have a fair dinkum crack at winning a flag.” – Avondale Heights coach Saade Ghazi.
ELIMINATION FINAL
Aberfeldie v Keilor
Essendon Football Ground
Sunday, August 31, 2.15pm
Last time: Aberfeldie 16.10 (106) d Keilor 6.12 (48) at Clifton Park, Round 15
Aberfeldie sat in the top-two for most of the first half of the season, and have only got themselves to blame for missing out on the double chance. They have beaten Keilor in both their meetings this year, but that means little in a cut-throat elimination final. If Keilor can break even at the stoppages it will be in with a shot, while for Aberfeldie it’s a case of taking the chance if it presents itself and keeping the foot on the pedal if it gets on top.
KEY PLAYERS: Aberfeldie
Kyle Reimers – The enigmatic Reimers has been a valuable pick-up for Abers this year, giving their already dominant forward line an extra dimension as shown with his 41 majors as a half forward. Can be brilliant, and when he gets on a roll the former Bomber is hard to stop. Has not been kept goalless since mid-June so is in top form for finals.
Mark Blake – An outstanding stoppage ruckman who sets up plenty of the play for Abers, allowing their bevy of midfielders first use of the ball to drive the ball forward. His strong body and footy smarts allows him to dictate the play, giving Abers a real edge in the centre square and around the ground.
KEY PLAYERS: Keilor
Rodney Van Riet – One of the most consistent players in the EDFL, Van Riet has played all 18 games and been listed in the best players 14 times. The fleet-footed midfielder has pace to burn, and can carve up the field for Keilor if allowed to get off the chain.
Andrew Browne – Aberfeldie coach Mal Michael believes the ruck dual will be pivotal to the outcome on Sunday, and in Browne, Keilor has one of the best in the business. Not only an adept ruckman, Browne also has potency up forward and 21 majors to his name. Mark Blake will have to be on his game to win this contest.
THE WORD FROM THE CLUB
Aberfeldie: “The boys are fairly confident, we’ve been in some pretty good form and the weather’s starting to get that finals-like atmosphere about it so we’re up and about. Most of our better players are returning, so now it’s a matter of can we include them without upsetting the current squad that got the job done last weekend. I think being on the edge is better for us, we have to compete and we have to play well or our campaign ends, so we’ll just focus on this week and hopefully continue our good form.” – Aberfeldie coach Mal Michael.
Keilor: “The boys are excited, it’s the first senior final for a lot of our boys so they’re really looking forward to the week. We got some valuable learnings out of that last game against them. They’ve got the better of us twice this year but finals footy’s a different ball game and there’s a lot riding on this one. We’ll just have to roll our sleeves up, get our hands dirty and really compete.” – Keilor coach Mick McGuane.
