Under 19 - Finals Week 1 Review

By Britt Goldsmith

QUALIFYING FINAL 1

St Kilda City 4.15-39 def Dingley 1.2-8

Reigning premiers St Kilda City have fast tracked their premiership pursuit in a comfortable defeat over a disappointing Dingley.

After an impressive win over St Pauls in Round 18, a lack of scoreboard pressure saw the Dingoes unable to back up their efforts against September specialists City.

Early inaccuracies from City in the first term (1.6) prevented what could have been an almost instant nail in the coffin for their opponents. The Dingoes trailed by six points at the first break, with Luke Simmonds kicking what no one knew would be Dingley’s only goal for the game.

Dingley required spark in the second term, but any hope of such was quickly fizzled by an opening goal from City’s Jackson Vargas. The leading side piled on another two goals in a damaging quarter for the Dingoes, who with one point scored, trailed by 19 at the main break.

A formidable City defence restricted Dingley to another single-point quarter in the third. Led by best on ground Shai Wood, City began to break away and extend the margin to 31 points late in the third term before an injury to a Saints player brought an early ending to the contest. The win was subsequently awarded to St Kilda City.

Despite the unfortunate conclusion to the match, City were ultimately too strong on the day for the Dingoes, however, a second chance for Dingley this week leaves a rematch on the cards.

Loch O’Halloran was Dingley’s best, followed by Taj Lewis. Oliver Woods was a standout for a powerful City side that, despite inaccuracies, set a top example of what their next challengers will face in the coming weeks.

 

QUALIFYING FINAL 2

Hallam 10.10-70 def Cheltenham 5.14-44

A comeback match from Hallam has sent Cheltenham to a knock out final this week, taking the win by 26 points at Power Reserve.

Tom Davis and Ben Clark-Henry opened the game with a goal each for the Rosellas, and kicked off a convincing a 15-point lead to Hallam’s one point going into the first break.

The second term saw Hallam with their first goal of the game and five behinds, and Alex Molyneux was impressive for Cheltenham. A score of 1.3 for the Rosellas maintained their lead, with Hallam trailing by 12 points approaching the main break.

A massive third quarter unleashed a firing Hallam outfit, who stunned the previously leading Rosellas with a five-goal haul, effectively swinging momentum their way. Four points up going into the last quarter, Hallam looked threatening as Cheltenham needed to regroup to avoid a loss and elimination round.

The final term saw no stopping from Hallam, as they preceded to run down the Rosellas with another four goals. Led by best on ground Samuel Delosa, and an unforgiving Jordan Cowling with four goals to his name, Hallam were at their finest here and Cheltenham were simply unable to provide a response.

A 26-point victory guarantees Hallam with a rest this week, and sends Cheltenham to the chopping block as they utilise their second chance.

 

ELIMINATION FINAL 1

Oakleigh District 19.15-129 def Skye 2.3-16

Skye suffered from a tough ending to their finals series, going down by 113 points at the hands of Oakleigh District.

Dylan Duffield starred for Oakleigh in their triumphant win, which saw Skye scoreless in the first term in contrast to Oakleigh’s score of 3.5.

Skye managed to get their first goal on the board in the second term, but their efforts were no match for a determined Oakleigh, who booted another 3.2, extending their lead to 36 points at the main break.

Oakleigh put on a show in the third term with eight goals to one, and despite best efforts from Skye’s Ryan Dawson and Taylor Hughes, continued to put their foot down with a damaging run home in the final term.

Liam McCabe, Daniel West and Nathan Peddle were nightmares for Skye with a combined effort of ten goals, in a deserving victory bringing Oakleigh one step further towards finals glory.

 

ELIMINATION FINAL 2

Parkmore/Springvale Districts 5.14-44 def St Pauls 2.1-13

Parkmore/Springvale have scored their seat in the Semi Finals following a 31-point victory over St Pauls.

Ben Ekeroma and Robert Lega Frost were no friends of St Pauls, who struggled in attack with a finishing score of just 13 points. With only three goals scored between the teams at half time, the game was seemingly up for grabs by any side as Parkmore / Springvale led 19-7.

However, it was in the third quarter where Parkmore / Springvale gained a considerable margin, booting 3.3 to St Pauls’ 1.0. With Parkmore / Springvale leading 40 to 13 at three quarter time, a low scoring final term failed to impact the result, with St Pauls’ season being effectively cut short and going down by 31.

Jack Lewis-Smith was impactful in the forward line with three goals for Parkmore / Springvale, and Ryan Kreymborg was a highlight for St Pauls.