Sandringham is through to its first VFL grand final in four years after demolishing the Tassie Devils by 38 points at TEAC Oval on Sunday. The Zebras will meet rivals Port Melbourne in a much anticipated encounter after the Borough had an equally emphatic Preliminary Final victory against the Box Hill Hawks.
The weather and ground conditions were more akin to those of a Tasmanian midwinter than a Melbourne spring but Sandringham managed to conquer both the elements and the visitors from the Apple Isle who played with great determination early to hold down a four goal lead at one stage in the second quarter.
Sandy had the better of Tassie early, with a Peter Walsh snap hitting the post before a lovely tap from Mark Jamar to Steven Armstrong saw the Zebras snag the first goal of the day. From there however, the going got tough as the Devils pushed hard and used their strength to unsettle Sandringham. By quarter time, Tassie held a well deserved three goal lead and, when it scored the opening goal of the second term, there was some nervous frowns on the faces of the Zebra fans in the Norm Goss Stand.
However, you can never write off a Sandringham team. The Zebras worked their way back into the game thanks to their strong defence which tightened up considerably after conceding those first five goals. They were also getting first use of the ball thanks to some dominant ruckwork from Mark Jamar who also got the revival going by plucking the ball out of a pack and threading through a much needed goal. David Gallagher was in sparkling form with three second quarter goals from the midfield and suddenly it was Sandy that was on top. Two late goals gave it a 12 point lead and the team walked confidently into the rooms at half time having kicked six unanswered goals to turn the tide.
After the main break, Jamar continued to have a major impact in the ruck where he had a big height advantage over his Tassie counterparts. He was well backed up by former South Australian Aaron Bishop. As a result, the midfielders led by Gallagher (who was easily best on ground with 25 touches to go with those three goals), Sean O'Keeffe, Guy Rigoni and Colin Sylvia were given an armchair ride. They were simply too slick and too talented and had plenty of back up with Steven Armstrong, Toby Conroy and Adam Fisher all chiming in to provide plenty of cheek and run.
When the ball went into defence, Tassie faced an impenetrable wall of backmen led by Ryan Ferguson (who took on and beat Trent Bartlett), Chris Lamb and Nathan Carroll while at ground level Luke Williams, Chad Liddell, Daniel Bell and later Walsh kept things nice and tight. By the final break, the Zebras held a 20-point lead and they ground the Taswegians into the mud keeping them goalless in the last to win easily by 12.10.82 to 6.8.44.
The Sandringham forward line did it hard in the conditions. Leading goalkicker Nick Sautner managed three goals but was reasonably well held while Nick Smith was quiet at centre half forward on a day made for backmen. They should fare better next week at Optus Oval where ground conditions should be much better thanks to the removal of the cricket pitch a few years ago.
The Grand Final against Port Melbourne promises to be a classic. The teams last met in the big one in 1977 when the Borough recorded a big victory at the Junction Oval. Ironically, one of the young Zebras that day was a pony tailed Peter Giles who went on to top the club goalkicking in the following season and then crossed over to Melbourne where he played 124 games to 1987. The indications are that a few more will follow that pathway in years to come. Hopefully, they will take a VFL premiership medal with them into their careers at the top level.
Zebra coach Mark Williams was full of praise for his team's performance and was particularly pleased at the way the Demon listed players are blending in well with the VFL group which has stood up and acquitted itself well at the business end of the season. Much of the credit must go to the hard work of skipper Chad Liddell who led the team by example with great strength and courage after a slow start.
Sandringham 1.2.8 7.4.46 9.7.61 12.10.82
Tasmania 4.2.26 5.4.34 6.5.41 6.8.44
Goals Gallagher Sautner 3 Fisher 2 Armstrong, Gadsden Jamar N Smith
Best Gallagher Ferguson C Liddell Carroll Lamb Jamar Walsh Sylvia
The Grand Final -
Grand Final
Sandringham v Port meblourne
Sunday 19 September
2.10pm
Optus Oval
Tickets at the gate oval
Adults - $20
Concession - $12
Children (under 15) - $4
Last Modified on 18/02/2008 14:37