Albanvale booked its place in the Western Region Football League’s division 3 grand final with a 15-point win against Braybrook on Saturday.
The two sides met in the final round of the home-and-away season just seven days earlier. On that occasion, the Bombers walked away with the four points.
But with a place in the biggest game of the season on the line, the Cobras produced some of their best football to secure a 12.15 (87) to 10.12 (72) win.
Albanvale coach John Thrush was impressed with his team’s efforts against quality opposition.
“Braybrook are a very good side,” he said. “They rolled us earlier in the year and they punched us up the week before.
‘‘We got them [on Sunday], but it could have quite easily gone the other way. It was a tricky ground.”
In what was a tight affair from the opening bounce, the Cobras’ lead hovered between one and two goals throughout the match.
Albanvale took a 10-point advantage into the final term. Only one goal was scored in the last quarter, which was enough to extend the Cobras’ lead and put the win beyond doubt.
Goals weren’t hard to come by for everyone, though, with John Sirianni standing up for Albanvale. The gun forward booted five of them and was one of the key differences between the sides.
Albanvale will enjoy a week’s rest ahead of the grand final. The Cobras play the winner of Braybrook and Sanctuary Lakes, who will meet in the preliminary final on Sunday.
