The SFL Record scribes get to work in predicting which teams will come up trumps this weekend...
DIVISION 1 SENIORS - with Ben Pollard
EAST BRIGHTON VS CHELSEA HEIGHTS
ROUND 8: East Brighton 12.13 (85) def Chelsea Heights 7.8 (50)
ROUND 17: Chelsea Heights 11.7 (73) def East Brighton 4.8 (32)
SEMI FINAL: East Brighton 8.6 (54) def Chelsea Heights 6.9 (45)
The big one is all about redemption for East Brighton. After finishing on top at the end of the 2011 home-and-away season, the Vampires defeated St Pauls in a semi final, only to fall to the Doggies in the decider.
2012 has thrown up an eerily similar scenario, with top-placed East Brighton needing to knock off the team it beat in a semi final two weeks ago. Chelsea Heights will be hoping those bad memories and a return to their own Round 17 form combine to bring the Vampires undone.
Five weeks ago, the Heighters turned the premiership race on its head with a 41-point demolition of the flag favourites, but East Brighton soon re-established order with a tough nine-point victory in their semi final. That day, it was the Vampires who brought an aggressive, uncompromising attack on the footy. Their hard style was similar to what Chelsea brought to the table in their scintillating qualifying final win against St Pauls, but the Heighters haven’t been the same since.
Firstly, they’ll need to bring the intensity we’ve seen them show at their best. Secondly, Chelsea needs to improve its ball use from the preliminary final. Lastly, they’ll need to shut down a bevy of East Brighton stars. Whether it’s Williamson, Douthie, Dillon, Reid or Fitzpatrick around the ball, Peter Larsen down back, Dean Francis up forward or Andrew Jansen anywhere, the Heighters will be worried about the match-ups.
The mission for East Brighton is clear – rectify the mistakes of 2011. See their club notes from last week: “There is a window of opportunity open that may not ever be there for this group of players again, so don’t waste it.”
Folks, this one has the potential to go down to the wire... The perfect game to end a ripping season of Southern Footy!
DIVISION 2 SENIORS - with Zibba
EAST MALVERN VS OAKLEIGH DISTRICT
ROUND 5: East Malvern 12.10 (82) def by Oakleigh District 13.9 (87)
ROUND 14: Oakleigh District 8.8 (58) def by East Malvern 11.7 (73)
The top two sides from the regular season will meet in today’s decider with no clear favourite between them. Both sides have claims to be the number one performing side, however their two previous meetings this year suggest this game will go down to the wire.
After winning their semi-final, East Malvern will come into today’s match fresh, having only played one match in the past month. On that occasion they were red hot, dismantling Skye to the tune of 42 points. Simon Hart was the hero on that day, booting seven goals.
Oakleigh District may come into today’s match a little weary after last week, but they have the belief that they can go all the way after overcoming Skye and Bentleigh. It will be interesting to see where Trent Hotton lines up. Hotton starred when these two sides last met, booting six goals and setting up a 17 point win in Hart’s absence.
Hart booted five in a one dimensional forward line in round five. On that occasion the Panthers went down by five points. Hotton has been playing an important role up the ground, however the tantalising prospect of the two power forwards inside 50 could be too hard for the coaching staff to resist.
At the other end of the ground, Will Sadler has finished the season in strong form and is a chance for the East Malvern best and fairest. He has been the General across half back and has been repelling attacks like a brick wall.
Key Stat – Oakleigh District - #1 Points for, East Malvern #4 defence.
The match will be won or lost in Oakleigh District’s forward line. They have scored heavily at times this year and are more than capable of blowing sides away in quick bursts. Alimovski was the star last week but don’t look for a repeat performance today. Oakleigh District’s strength is the depth in their goal kicking. Placing an emphasis on shutting down one target will only open up the scoring opportunities for Paul Fermanis, Joseph Sibilia and Sasha Danilovic.
East Malvern’s defence has been tight-fisted all year, conceding an average of only 56 points per game. Their half back flankers, Sadler and Ryan De Visser, are the best in the league and will play a key role today. If these two get on top and Hart is accurate in front of goal, the Panthers could get over the line.
Prediction - Steve Wright’s boys have done it the hard way. After losing the first final, they haven’t put a foot wrong in the past two matches. They have built up some strong momentum and look poised to return to Division 1. Oakleigh District by 23 points.
DIVISION 3 SENIORS - with The Jibberer
SANDOWN VS MOORABBIN
Both Moorabbin and Sandown are proof of what you can do with solid administration and the right coaches. It is not that long ago that both these clubs were on their knees, but have fought back to be strong and successful members of the SFL.
Moorabbin has both their Senior and Reserve Grade teams competing in this week’s Grand Finals, whilst Sandown has their Firsts and Thirds playing off in the 'Grannie', and their Reserve Grade side were Minor Premiers, only losing one Home and Away match this year. One of these clubs will be rewarded with promotion to Division 2 next season!
Moorabbin start as slight favourites, mainly due to having the week off last week and Sandown playing their fourth Finals game in a row. With the extra time last week, Sandown has effectively played 12 1/2 quarters, as opposed to the 8 quarters of Finals footy played by the Kangas.
Both teams have strong back lines, great forward lines and good on-ballers. They match up well and this should be a classic Grand Final. We should see lots of hard hits, strong marks, fast play on football and 44 gladiators battling it out until the end. There can only be one winner, and as I stated last week, you only need to win by one point!
I’m tipping Moorabbin, but as I have said on many occasions this year, I will not be embarrassed if Sandown proves me wrong, as both teams will make worthy Premiers.
May the best side win!
COLTS - with Allen Riddle
BENTLEIGH VS MURRUMBEENA
Congratulations to both teams today as you play off for the 2012 premiership. Today’s game at Meade Reserve is a showcase of the young talent coming through as future senior players for their respective clubs.
Bentleigh and Murrumbeena have a 1-1 record this season, both times resulting in 11 point victories, but Bentleigh, with their one week break, will go into today’s match as favourites.
After a sluggish start Murrumbeena have hit this finals series running and are in great form, whilst Bentleigh’s backline is so disciplined, and links up to give their side plenty of run and drive off half back.
Bentleigh’s ability to win the ball in close, and move the ball fast into the forward line to a one-on-one contest will no doubt test the Beenas engine room. Murrumbeena will need to apply relentless pressure and win the contested ball and tackle rate to stop their opponents from peeling off and running to space.
Bentleigh’s high intensity and determination to force the ball forward under pressure enables the forwards to lock the ball inside the forward 50 and force mistakes. The Beena will have to control the tempo of the game if they are to have a chance against Bentleigh.
This game will be decided in the engine room and determined by who wins the contested ball and uses the corridor with precise kicking to targets in the forward 50.
Good luck to both teams today, and remember to give plenty of encouragement from the sidelines as your support your teams.
THIRDS - with Daffy
SANDOWN VS CHELSEA HEIGHTS
The ever-expanding Thirds competition, which this year grew to 16 teams, is down to two - Chelsea Heights and Sandown.
These two Grand Finalists are a great representation of what this competition is all about. Indeed, whilst on paper one might look at the Division 1-affiliated Chelsea Heights up against the Division 3-affiliated Sandown and form their own match predictions, it's Sandown that arguably goes into this Grand Final as favourite.
The Sandown Cobras, a burgeoning club that this year again featured two Thirds sides, has enjoyed significant on-field success this year, and its main Thirds side was no exception, dropping just the two matches this season and finishing on top of the ladder.
Chelsea Heights Thirds came from third on the ladder to make the Grand Final and has improved each week, culminating in a thrilling win over Dingley in last week's Preliminary Final.
When these two sides last met, Sandown won by 17 points, and their contrasting styles of play will again be interesting to watch. The big bodies of Chelsea Heights really showed out in last week's win over Dingley, but Sandown is a very quick team and link up through the middle extremely well.
Chelsea Heights need to avoid the slow stars that they have been prone to, and if they can do this, they may just match it with Sandown and kick-start what will be an epic day of Grand Finals at Cheltenham on Saturday!
Last Modified on 23/09/2012 21:29