THE Peter Jackson VFL Legendairy finals series sees a number of familiar faces returning to September action. Essendon were part of the finals action in 2012 through their alignment with Bendigo, with Collingwood the only new addition in 2013, as Justin Jenvey reports.
Amazingly no team has played their opposition in a finals matchup in the past five years so there is bound to be some new rivalries born in week one.
Geelong will again be the team to beat after another dominant season. The reigning premiers have to this stage improved on last season’s effort by claiming this year’s minor premiership after losing only two games during the home and away season.
The Cats seem to be a step above the rest of the competition with their nearest rival, Box Hill Hawks finishing 12 points below them in second on the ladder.
Box Hill will this year go in to their finals campaign with a double chance, there first since 2003. The last time the Hawks finished the regular season in the top four they played off in a Grand Final however, they will be looking to go one step better this time round.
Box Hill’s opponent in that 2003 Grand Final, Williamstown will participate in finals for the eighth consecutive season. The Seagulls have been one of the more consistent clubs over the last decade and another premiership would be well deserved.
Like Williamstown, Casey Scorpions have also reached the finals for the seventh straight time and have once again secured a double chance in the process, the fourth successive season they have done so.
All involved with the club will be hoping to see their finals luck turn as they have only won one of their last nine matches in post season play while being bundled out of there last three finals campaigns without winning a game.
Werribee Tigers begin another finals campaign in some strong form. In the last five years the Tigers have participated in finals action three times, reaching a preliminary final in each of those seasons. Like a number of teams they would like to improve on recent history and play off in the final game of the year.
Collingwood is the only team in this year’s finals that wasn’t there last season as they return to September action for the first time since 2010. They finished in the bottom half of the eight in 6th place but will be looking for an extended run through September as they did in 2009 when they caused a couple of upsets on route to a Preliminary Final appearance.
A mainstay of the VFL finals in recent times, Port Melbourne faces the prospect of elimination in the first week after finishing the regular season seventh. The Borough has played off in three Grand Finals in the last five years, taking home the premiership in 2011 and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Essendon will begin their first finals series as a standalone club after ending their alignment with Bendigo at the end of last season. The Bendigo Bombers/Gold as they were previously, have lost in the first week of finals for the last three years however, that run of finals appearances is a huge improvement from where they were in 2009 and 2008 when the finished last and second last. They’ll be looking to try to get past the first week this year.
Last Modified on 29/08/2013 14:54