SYDNEY AFL PRELIMINARY FINAL 2014
Article and Premier Division Photos by Michael Shillito
With Manly having already qualified for next week’s Grand Final, Pennant Hills met St George at Blacktown on Sunday afternoon for the other spot on Sydney footy’s biggest stage. The Demons and Dragons had played off a fortnight ago in the Qualifying Final, in what was a cracker of a contest. This time round the quality of football wasn’t anywhere near as high; but the end result was the same. A Pennant Hills win.
The weather in Sydney lately hasn’t been great, but Sunday was the best day we’ve had for weeks. The first sign of spring, with the sun shining and the mercury hitting 24 degrees, with a slight wind picking up at unpredictable intervals. Blacktown International Sportspark was looking a treat. Great conditions for footy.
The stakes were high and the pressure was intense in a first quarter in which scoring shots were hard to come by. Tom Angel got one early for Pennant Hills, and Tom Green had a reply for the Dragons. But for much of the quarter the ball was closer to the boundary lines on the wing than to the goal squares; and those goals would be the only ones to be scored in a low-scoring and evenly-matched first quarter.
The Dragons held a two-point lead at quarter time; but the Demons emerged from the quarter time huddle full of running and wasted no time in getting on top in general play. Kicking to the railway end in the second term, the midfield pumped the ball forward with regularity, with the defenders pushing forward to prevent the Dragons from getting anywhere near their scoring zone. So dominant were the Demons around the ground that the Dragons would not get an inside 50 until the 17 minute mark of the quarter.
Peter Barnes found the big sticks early in the quarter to give the Demons the lead. But for all their dominance around the ground, the Demons struggled to find the goals that the run of play suggested they should. Although the St George midfield was badly beaten, the defenders stood tall and repelled Demon attacks time and time again. And the Demons let themselves down with some wasteful finishing on the forward line. 
Finally the Demons achieved some reward for effort as Aaron Crisfield sharked a boundary throw-in and snapped truly. And with the clock in time-on, Tim Angel was ridden in the back 40 metres from goal. Although Angel’s feet may have slipped, his goal-kicking wings hadn’t as he steered the ball through the big sticks.
The Demons may not have achieved as much scoring as the run of play suggested they should; but the Dragons were unable to get close. Their best chance came in the dying seconds, Dom Killworth going for a run and two bounces before the siren sounded. The Dragons had been held score-less in the second quarter; and the Demons’ lead was 21 points at the long break.
After taking 17 minutes to get inside 50 in the second quarter, the Dragons got the centre break to start the third and were within the circle within 17 seconds; but the Demons had the numbers back to clear the ball out of danger.
Already more than three goals ahead, the Demons searched through the quarter for a decisive further blow; but it would take a while in coming. Not for a lack of chances. Marks within striking distance weren’t paid, shots sailed across the face of goal or didn’t make the distance. But eventually, with the clock not far short of time-on, Sam Zikman marked in the pocket under the shadow of the behind post. It was a tight angle, but running around, Zikman landed the goal and struck a key blow in the race for the Grand Final berth.
Zikman’s goal was the only major score in the third term, and the Demons enjoyed a 25-point lead at the last change. The Dragons only had one goal on the board, having been comprehensively outplayed for the last two quarters.
But early in the last quarter, suddenly the Dragons had a lifeline. Tensions had boiled over with some push and shove in the early moments of the final term. And when another bout broke out when Nick Shaw had the ball in the forward pocket, a 50 metre penalty turned a tough shot into a certainty. Suddenly the margin was back to 22 points, and a minute later Bryce Addison found himself with a free kick 20 metres from home and for a fleeting moment the prospect of an unlikely comeback was raised. 
As quickly as the idea of a comeback appeared, it was gone. Addison’s shot missed. The Demons went coast to coast. And Damian Dell’Aquila played on, 25 metres from home, and the ball found the target to deliver the knockout blow.
The Demons’ place in the Grand Final was assured. They would continue to create chances, missing most of them; sometimes due to the wind, but more often because of pressure and poor finishing. Tom Angel landed his third goal to put icing on the victory cake; and a 50 metre penalty gave Daniel Napper a consolation goal in the dying seconds.
But when the final siren sounded, it was the Demons who would enjoy the spoils of victory. Their fourth win over the Dragons in 2014, and just the second time in 12 seasons that the team that lost the Second Semi has bounced back to win the Prelim Final. But it was a subdued victory song back in the rooms after the game. The toughest test is yet to come, and the Demons will need to put in a much stronger performance next week if they are to challenge the Manly juggernaut.
The final margin was 29 points. Tom Angel, Ranga Ediriwickrama and Ben Urwin made pivotal contributions to the Demon success. Bryce Addison, Nick Shaw and Michael Milner were St George’s best.
It’s a sense of déjà vu. Last year Manly were the first to qualify for the Grand Final and then Pennant Hills beat St George in the Prelim Final. And this year, the same.
Will history repeat and the maroon and white reign supreme? Or will the team of the red and the blue raise the grand old flag? All will be revealed at Blacktown next Saturday as we reach the culmination of this season’s Sydney AFL season.
Last Modified on 15/09/2014 10:16
