Finals Wrap | The Courier | September 10, 2023
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00:00 Welcome to our Sunday night wrap of everything football
00:02 in the Central Highlands and Ballarat Leagues.
00:04 I'm David Breome and I'm joined by Edward Holland
00:08 and Edward, a massive weekend in both competitions,
00:11 some huge results today, close games
00:14 and football at its best.
00:16 - Yeah, it's gone to another level,
00:17 this final series in the Ballarat Football Napa League
00:19 and also yours in the Central Highlands Free League.
00:22 East Point with a big one point win over Melton,
00:25 it's probably the upset of the season.
00:26 - Yeah.
00:27 - We only really had maybe two or three upsets
00:29 in the season and now East Point have had two in a row
00:31 in the final, so.
00:32 - And Melton, well there, Gonski.
00:34 - Yeah, reigning premiers.
00:35 - Just like that, dang.
00:36 So yeah, we'll talk more about that in a moment
00:39 because it's a bit like the Ballarat League
00:42 in the Central Highlands, the excitement
00:44 of our Sunday preliminary final almost fades
00:49 into insignificance.
00:51 The game yesterday is important as that was
00:53 because there were two preliminary finals
00:55 but this afternoon at Bunningong,
00:58 it was a thriller and Gordon, the reigning premier,
01:00 falling in and that's all it was,
01:02 they fell in by six points against a brave Bungaree
01:05 and that came on the top of yesterday's
01:08 preliminary final win at Learmonth
01:10 by Springbank, 16 points over Hepburn,
01:14 the second year in a row the Tigers have put out
01:17 the Burroughs in the preliminary final.
01:18 So, in the Central Highlands next week,
01:21 in the Seniors, we'll mention more
01:22 about the others later on.
01:24 It's a rematch of last year,
01:26 the teams we saw going head to head,
01:28 at Marr Stadium, it'll be the same place,
01:31 same time virtually and the same teams.
01:34 So, the reigning premier, Gordon,
01:35 up against Springbank.
01:38 On this occasion, Springbank is the favourite,
01:41 they're the one to beat but Gordon,
01:43 they'll take that as a chance for a second premiership.
01:47 Before we delve a little bit more
01:49 into the Central Highlands, let's go to that
01:51 fantastic result for the Roos,
01:56 East Point at the City Oval on Sunday afternoon.
02:01 And, well, did anyone see this coming?
02:04 - Don't think so, I think East Point's just playing
02:06 with nothing to lose at the moment.
02:08 - I thought you said they were playing with us,
02:09 they've just been kidding all year, what's going on?
02:11 - With one quarter to go on the home and away season,
02:14 the Roos was seventh on the ladder.
02:16 - And nearly gone.
02:17 - Yeah, and they were basically gone
02:19 and now all of a sudden they're one of three teams
02:21 remaining in the premiership race.
02:23 So, it was an awesome contest out at City Oval today,
02:27 a back and forth game, Melton broke away early
02:30 and then East Point fought back and then
02:33 Melton did what they always do in the third quarter
02:35 and ran away again but then the two sides
02:37 just kept trading blows and it was edgy as heat stuff
02:41 in the dying minutes, Braden Kite, the Melton skipper,
02:44 had a snap over his shoulder to win the game
02:47 but it was touched off the boot and just faded to the left.
02:50 - He loves the spectacular,
02:52 has he taken any scrambles this year?
02:53 - He's taken plenty.
02:54 - Yeah, so that would have been right in his alley
02:57 sort of thing, wouldn't it, a goal like that?
02:59 - Yeah, well he kicked the one to four
03:00 to trim the eight point margin to two
03:01 so he almost pulled off a miracle
03:04 but Bryce McDougall was the talk of the town
03:07 on Sunday with six goals.
03:09 So, he's had some big bags this year,
03:12 only got five against--
03:13 - So, what are they calling him now, the Big Mac?
03:15 - The Big Mac, that's a--
03:17 - That's a good one, isn't it?
03:17 I like that one.
03:19 - I've heard good reviews from some of your nicknames
03:21 on livestream so--
03:22 - I like the Big Mac and we haven't even got sponsorship
03:24 from, but you know, perhaps we can get some.
03:27 - Oh, they do sponsor the Ballarat Football Neville League.
03:29 - Well, there you go, he should be the Big Mac.
03:30 He can become the new ambassador.
03:33 - There you go, nice little segue there.
03:34 - Sorry.
03:36 - Brad Whittaker with a caught calf in the first quarter
03:38 so he is actually, Jackson Merritt was a little bit
03:40 concerned with that so he could miss the prelim final
03:43 but he had just an incredible result for East Point.
03:46 They had a three goal win against Sebastopol
03:48 which no one saw coming in week one
03:50 and now a one point win against the reigning premiers
03:52 which does bring an end to the Aaron Timms era at Melbourne.
03:56 - Interestingly, both these sides had their coaches
03:59 put their hands up before the end of the home and away season
04:01 saying, at the end of the year we're done, different reasons.
04:04 - Yep.
04:05 - 'Cause Aaron Timms already leaned into a flag
04:07 so he'd been to the top and achieved what he wanted to do.
04:10 A couple of grand finals at premiership.
04:12 And I think there was a bit of hope that by announcing
04:15 it early, he could spur the boys on and,
04:17 'cause at that point, they were probably,
04:20 well they were favourites, weren't they?
04:21 - Yeah, 100%. - At that point.
04:22 - Yeah, that's basically the main reason he's here now.
04:25 So he didn't want any speculation in the finals
04:28 and he wanted to give the boys a little boost.
04:30 - But there was none of that, I don't think, with Merritt.
04:32 I think he just made the call, let the club know early
04:35 and of course right now, well it's got nothing to do
04:37 with this year and a preliminary final.
04:41 Tell you what, Joe Carpenter, he must be rubbing
04:42 his hands together or he's realising,
04:45 well there's gonna be more pressure on me
04:47 than I thought there would be because I'm now
04:49 gonna have a side that's gonna finish somewhere
04:52 in the top three and pressure's on next year
04:55 to carry on the job.
04:56 - Yeah, well I know East Point's really excited
04:57 because with Joe Carmody, as a few players,
05:00 we've put their hand up saying they wanna play under him.
05:02 - Okay. - We have the same
05:03 paths connection and I guess just his connection
05:06 in general, so at the start of final series,
05:09 that was really exciting, but now all of a sudden,
05:10 they're a top three team.
05:12 - Yeah, and of course they've done it without.
05:15 - Yeah, no Jordan Johnson still, so.
05:17 - Can he come back?
05:19 - I did ask him at the end of the game.
05:23 He's probably unlikely to play against North Ballarat,
05:25 but you can guarantee if there's a--
05:27 - Grand final. - If there's a grand final,
05:29 he'll put his one good arm up and line up.
05:32 But yeah, it was East Point's first win
05:34 against Melton this year.
05:35 They had an eight point loss earlier in the season
05:37 and Jackson Merritt said he took a lot out of that game
05:40 and it showed with, yeah, just,
05:42 well definitely the game of the year.
05:44 - That was an upset, but on Saturday, no upset
05:47 and a conclusive win for the premiership favourite.
05:49 - Yeah, Daly, that's the only thing.
05:52 I think Melton will probably be the team
05:54 that matches up best with Daly,
05:56 so it's probably Daly and Daylight at the moment.
05:58 A 61 point win against North Ballarat down at,
06:02 controversially down at Daly Park on Saturday,
06:04 but yeah, they were just in the box seat from the get go.
06:08 The Devils, a clinical performance.
06:10 It was 50 points to margin at three quarter time
06:13 and a bit of party time in the final term
06:16 as they booked a place in the grand final,
06:19 the first side through.
06:20 So some things to take out of that game.
06:23 Mace Cousins, who's a Geelong BFL listed player,
06:26 returned for his first game since a broken leg in July
06:31 and he returned with three goals.
06:32 So a very nice performance from him.
06:35 Should make a quick note,
06:38 we chucked something up on our Facebook
06:39 'cause Zach Butters,
06:42 the way his finals campaign is going,
06:44 he could be playing Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night.
06:48 - I say that because I couldn't work it out.
06:50 I thought they're playing a preliminary final that weekend.
06:53 They're not out, Edward.
06:54 - No, no, no.
06:55 - They're still alive.
06:56 It's the scheduling that gives him the chance.
06:59 - I've heard from the Daly boys
07:00 that he said he would do whatever it takes to be there
07:03 if Daly makes the grand final.
07:05 - Well, he was a member of their last premiership side.
07:08 - Yep, so it's all falling to his favor, unfortunately.
07:12 I know he didn't want to lose on Saturday night,
07:14 but it's looking like a Collingwood prelim for Porter
07:17 if they keep going.
07:18 So yeah, just a little fun note there.
07:21 But North will go head to head with East Point,
07:23 who they actually have not beaten.
07:24 - Yeah, that's interesting.
07:25 So, gee, wow, it's gonna be a great story
07:28 if East Point can go on and play in the grand final.
07:33 And if they did, who's it against?
07:35 - Sorry?
07:37 - Who's it against?
07:38 - East Point and Daly.
07:39 - Yeah, what's the significance of that?
07:42 The Daly coach.
07:43 - Oh yeah, it's Ann Jordan.
07:44 Yeah, of course.
07:45 - The man, the man that made East Point in an era.
07:49 - Yeah, the Bear Fennell Hall of Famer.
07:50 - Hadn't thought about that one, had you?
07:51 - No, I'm still in shock that East Point's still alive,
07:54 to be honest.
07:55 - But there would be a twist, fancy, yeah,
07:57 to see him coaching against the side
08:00 that brought him into the Ballarat League
08:02 and put him in that legendary status,
08:05 that Hall of Fame status.
08:07 - I was thinking before how he's already a Hall of Famer
08:10 and he's looking like he's gonna--
08:11 - Could be a premiership coach.
08:12 - Add a premiership coach.
08:13 - Or he could lose to his old side if they got through.
08:16 - Oh, well, depends.
08:17 - Long way to go yet.
08:18 - Yeah, we'll see.
08:19 - And before we finish up, of course,
08:21 at the end of last week,
08:24 after our newspaper went to print,
08:28 the news came through that big change
08:31 for the venue of the Ballarat Football League
08:36 Senior and Junior Grand Final Days.
08:39 - Yes, so Mars Stadium, they're no longer hosting.
08:41 It's been moved to both Junior and Senior Grand Final Days
08:44 to City Oval, so.
08:46 - That's interesting, and down to the comment
08:47 that was made to me today,
08:49 I hope they have a bit of siren there
08:51 because it's not very strong
08:54 and wouldn't we hate to see a siren gate
08:56 in Grand Final Day?
08:57 - Actually, that's what I was thinking to say.
08:58 That's what I wanna hear, it sounded a bit central.
09:00 - Oh, you heard it?
09:01 It did, it was a bit of a whine.
09:02 And that was the first comment someone had
09:05 at the Central Islands Football League
09:07 preliminary final at Bunningham said today.
09:09 I hope they've got a new,
09:11 but that's just us being a little bit scurrilous,
09:14 you know, mischievous.
09:15 - On top of that, the scoreboard wasn't working
09:17 for the first quarter either, so.
09:18 - Okay, anyway, that doesn't matter.
09:20 - Two weeks to fix it.
09:21 - All right, anyway, fantastic news,
09:24 or as far as big news,
09:26 on several fronts out of the Ballarat Football League,
09:31 but let's now put a final wrap
09:33 on the preliminary final weekend in the Central Highlands.
09:36 And we'll go back to Saturday,
09:38 and it was Springbank by 16 points, 105 to 89 over Hepburn.
09:42 The same result as last year,
09:45 as far as the winners went,
09:47 and a disappointing end for Hepburn.
09:49 As I've said, there's no doubt they wish
09:52 nothing less than a grand final appearance
09:53 was gonna satisfy them, and so they bowed out.
09:58 They were chasing their tail,
10:00 or chasing Springbank for a large part of the game.
10:03 They had their opportunities,
10:05 but there were a couple of times in the second quarter,
10:08 Springbank jumped away to a 33-point lead.
10:12 It was 20 minutes into the quarter,
10:13 and everyone's at the ground thinking,
10:15 "Oh, this game's gone, it's done and dusted."
10:18 But as quickly as they got to 33 points up,
10:21 Hepburn rallied, and they had a bit of a breeze
10:24 at their back, so they finally got things going,
10:27 and they got back within a couple of kicks at half-time.
10:30 And they actually made it to the half-time break,
10:32 I think with more spring in their step.
10:34 But unfortunately, they couldn't keep it going,
10:36 and again in that last quarter,
10:37 it was Springbank.
10:40 They got away, they got away by six goals,
10:41 looked all over, and then some quick goals by Hepburn again,
10:48 just created a little bit of nervousness.
10:50 I don't think they were ever gonna get there,
10:51 but it got a little bit tighter than they'd hoped.
10:54 But in the end, it was Springbank,
10:57 comfortably enough, getting home
10:59 and into a second consecutive grand final.
11:02 And they now got the chance of making up
11:04 for the loss of last year.
11:06 And then, of course, today, an absolute thriller
11:09 at Bunnyong, Gordon.
11:10 I said they fell in, and that was all they did.
11:12 They fell in by six points.
11:15 It was Bungaree that got the early jump,
11:17 three goals on the board before Gordon had scored.
11:21 John Butler, he was on fire.
11:23 He couldn't miss. He kicked the first three goals.
11:26 And but then there was a free kick downfield.
11:30 Ty Murphy gets a free kick, 15 metres out,
11:33 he kicks the goal, and that sparked Gordon.
11:35 They finally found their feet.
11:36 They got going, they kicked the next four.
11:39 At halftime, it was Bungaree by a couple of kicks again.
11:44 You know, they were holding sway,
11:46 but just in that second half,
11:47 Gordon just kept chipping away, chipping away.
11:49 Scores leveled for 10 minutes in the last quarter.
11:51 I thought, "Let's go, extra time here for sure."
11:54 But it was Gordon that just managed
11:56 to create a couple of opportunities late.
11:59 They kicked two goals.
12:00 Isaac Quick, who kicked that controversial goal
12:04 that you might remember against Bunyong right on the death,
12:08 he kicked a goal, late goal for Bungaree,
12:11 got back within six points.
12:13 Again, it looked like extra time,
12:14 but the ball back to the centre and the siren basically went.
12:18 So a win to Gordon, heartbreak, nothing less for Bungaree.
12:21 What a job they've done.
12:24 They won't be satisfied.
12:25 I know when you get that close to a grand final, six points,
12:28 you're going to think about everything that you could have done
12:30 that you didn't do on the day.
12:32 But it comes down to the bounce of a ball,
12:34 you know, a bad handball, a bad kick and all, plenty of those.
12:37 So it's pretty hard to pinpoint really what went wrong.
12:40 But in the end, just Gordon had just that little bit too much
12:42 poise and finalist experience.
12:44 So they're through.
12:47 I suppose the big important news on the injury front,
12:51 no injuries for either of the grand finalists this weekend.
12:57 Adam Toohey played as expected, got through with his shoulder,
13:01 which looks terrible, but he got through.
13:04 Gerard Clifford played and defended,
13:06 he was one of their best players with a hamstring.
13:08 He got through.
13:10 So all good there.
13:12 James Gorman was a late withdrawal through illness.
13:15 So he'll be putting his hand up to get back on the side next week.
13:18 For Springbank, all clear.
13:20 They went in with an unchanged, well, you know, the selected side.
13:25 So everyone, there was a little bit of a scare with Kieran Ma,
13:29 did his ankle, still probably,
13:31 still a bit of a limp at the end of the day,
13:33 but everyone thinks he will be right.
13:35 So that should be OK.
13:37 Just out of interest, Hepburn did play Andy McKay,
13:41 bit of speculation, he was known in extended bench, he played.
13:44 Got through the game OK, but just didn't have an impact on the game.
13:48 It wasn't just his fault, it was the way it was delivered up forward.
13:51 But he got through OK, they had to roll the dice,
13:54 and they did that, as did Bungaree.
13:56 They went with Ben Dodd today, and he played a pretty good game.
13:59 So, you know, there was important things.
14:01 And just another highlight, just to wrap it up,
14:03 I know we've been speaking for a long time,
14:05 but it's an important time of the year.
14:07 It was interesting how key forwards
14:11 can reflect each other's performances.
14:15 Yesterday, it was in the first quarter,
14:17 it was Jackson Carrick for Hepburn and Todd Fenko for Springbank.
14:22 Three goals apiece in the first quarter,
14:24 and they each went on to kick five goals.
14:26 And today it was John Butler, three goals in the first quarter,
14:28 and he went on to kick five goals.
14:30 So, just to wrap things up, Gordon plays Springbank,
14:33 as we've mentioned in the seniors.
14:36 Springbank has a side in all four of the football grand finals.
14:41 The Tigers play Newham in the reserves,
14:44 and they play Roankewood in both the under-18s and under-15s.
14:49 And another thriller today in the A-grade netball,
14:54 we should mention that.
14:55 Yesterday, it was Learmonth continuing on their unbeaten run,
14:59 scraping home, again, use that word,
15:01 scraping home against Rugby Corinda.
15:04 And today it was Dalesford that got home.
15:08 And so after...
15:10 Gee, a couple of years ago, they didn't even have a team.
15:13 And now they're into a grand final, Dalesford.
15:15 So great excitement there against Learmonth.
15:17 So it's going to be a huge day at Mars Stadium next week.
15:22 You'll be joining us for the call,
15:23 dragging your way, I'm sorry about that,
15:26 from the Ballarat Football Netball League,
15:29 but you'll catch up on everything that's happening there,
15:30 you won't miss out.
15:32 But we'll be there, we'll have Brad McGowan,
15:34 a joint coach at Rugby Corinda,
15:37 joining us as he did last year with expert comments.
15:40 And so we're looking forward to a big coverage on grand final day.
15:44 We'll also be live streaming the netball,
15:47 A-grade netball grand final as well.
15:50 So that'll be good.
15:52 So, yeah, a lot to happen.
15:53 There's going to be a lot of coverage during the week,
15:55 both on the Ballarat League front as well as Central Highlands.
16:00 So I've had a lot to say. Anything to wrap up?
16:02 No, just looking forward to your grand final next weekend.
16:05 Don't have to learn too many new names after doing it last year.
16:08 No.
16:10 Gordon, I think, will have about 18 players from last year's grand final.
16:16 There you go.
16:17 Maybe 19, might be more than that.
16:20 So just a handful of changes.
16:22 And Springbank has about 15, I think, players that played yesterday
16:27 that were from that same game last year.
16:30 So, yeah, they've managed to keep their sides together.
16:33 And, yeah, a lot more there.
16:34 So I've got some interviews coming up during the week.
16:39 I had a chat with Harry Biggs, the big defender from Gordon,
16:44 at the end of the game today.
16:46 And yesterday, I called up with Andrew Chellis.
16:49 Had a good chat with him, the coach of Springbank,
16:52 and also Pat Glanford and Todd Finco.
16:55 So we'll have those on Facebook
16:58 and in some of our regular articles on the website.
17:03 So plenty coming up.
17:05 Yeah, it's been a long segment, but it's that time of year.
17:07 So, Edward, thanks very much for your contribution.
17:11 And I've just about talked myself out
17:15 after calling two games for the weekend.
17:17 Really enjoyed it.
17:18 And I will look forward to calling the grand final next week.
17:21 So until we catch up with you during the week,
17:23 thanks for joining us.
17:24 Hope you're still with us.
17:27 And we'll see you in a few days.