1st Qualifying Final – Navarre v Natte Bealiba
Saturday 29th August, Carisbrook Recreation Reserve, 2:35pm
Just a week after copping their heaviest defeat of the season at the hands of Navarre last week, Natte Bealiba will be forced to confront the spectre of the Grasshoppers once again on Saturday in the MCDFNL's first qualifying final.
In the final round of the home-and-away season, the Hoppers crushed the Swans by a whopping 94 points, the heaviest loss Natte has endured since joining the league in 2011. Now, just seven days later, the Swans must head back into battle against the minor premiers and attempt to reverse the result. In a major boost for Natte, captain Jacob Long is expected to take the field after missing last round with a hyperextended knee, but he will be up against in the midfield, especially without Jarrod Bateson and Evan Weir alongside him at the opening bounce. Matte's defence endured a day to forget against Navarre's forward line last week, and in particular, struggled to contain explosive small forward Cody Driscoll, whose pace and leap caused the Swans' backline plenty of issues. Swans coach Shane Green will likely give young defender Brayden Mills first crack at Driscoll, but he may need help from his backline colleagues to keep the high flier under wraps. To further add to Natte's concerns, goal kickers Kris Brennan and Ben Scott are also likely to rejoin the Grasshoppers' line-up after sitting out last week's clash.
For the Swans, much of the responsibility for the hopes of upsetting the reigning premiers will rest on their midfielders' ability to win the ball out of the centre. If the likes of Ash Evans, Stephen Ross, Brent Mortlock and Long can win the ball at centre bounces, it will go a long way towards stemming the flow of Navarre's goal kicking opportunities, as well as assisting the Swans' defenders. Big men Adrian Pilgrim and Lachlan Cameron will also have plenty to do in the ruck, taking on young Navarre ruckman, Josh Fowkes. If the Swans can win the midfield battle against the competition's most intimidating on-ball brigade, it could be a pivotal victory for the Swans in what will be a standout opening to the MCDFNL finals series.
Navarre
B: Brent Flood, Zach Parry, Matt Newton
HB: Josh Driscoll, Rhett Murphy, Daniel Parkin
C: Lachlan Slorach, Sam Kaye, Danny Grellet
HF: Bryce Tickner, Jayden Fowkes, Billy Parry
F: Jesse Hannett, Ashley Driscoll, Aiden Lee
R: Josh Fowkes, Daniel Reading, Riley Bibby
Int: Louis Hannett, Cody Driscoll, Nicholas Murphy, Harley McKenny
Emg: Aaron Slorach, Thomas Dyke, Nigel Greenaway, Jeremy Harrington
In: Nicholas Murphy
Out: Jeremy Harrington
Natte Bealiba
B: Nathan Ross, Jamie Evans, Trent Mortlock
HB: Christopher Jardine, Kurt Mortlock, Daniel Gifford
C: Zachary Perez, Brent Mortlock, Dean Graco
HF: Karl Morley, Michael Columbro, Matthew Stagg
F: Thomas Douglas, Jack Kennedy, Lachlan Cameron
R: Adrian Pilgrim, Ashley Evans, Ryan Weir
Int: Jarrod Graco, Stephen Ross, Brayden Mills, Jacob Long
In: Christopher Jardine, Karl Morley, Jacob Long
Out: Reece Perry, Rhys Long, Lachlan Douglas
2nd Qualifying Final – Carisbrook v Lexton
Saturday 29th August, Hedges Oval
Two of the MCDFNL's most ruthless sides will go toe-to-toe in the competition's second qualifying final, with Carisbrook and Lexton set to slug it out at Hedges Oval on Saturday.
After finishing in second and third place respectively on the ladder, both sides will be keen to stamp their authority on the competition's finals series early, which should make for an outstanding clash in the opening week of the finals. An added bonus for the winner of the clash between the Tigers and the Redbacks will be the chance to avoid confronting Navarre in a potential preliminary final showdown, should the Grasshoppers defeat Natte in Saturday's first qualifying final.
Carisbrook's spread of goal kickers has proven to be one of its strengths through season 2015, with coach Tim McKay able to alter his structure at a moment's notice to exploit opposition sides' weaknesses. Matt Bilton's rare combination of speed and brute strength has made him an almost impossible match-up when he rests forward, resulting in 46 goals to the explosive Redback's name this season. Nathan Wright is another handy weapon up forward, with 38 goals from just 10 appearances for the rook this season, while Adam Hurse and Jack Ross add to the Redbacks' marking ability inside forward 50.
Lexton coach Shane Fisher will have done his homework on the Redbacks' key players however, and will have ideal match-ups for each of them pencilled in before Saturday's opening bounce. Small defender Jordan Egan is likely to get the unenviable task of trying to nullify Bilton's impact, while Jordan Phelan will be first choice to match-up on Hurse in pivotal battle at centre half forward. Fisher will also have full faith in his own spread of goal kickers, with 2015 leading goal kicker Matt Brown, Lachlan Murray, Justin Hobson and Scott Clark all capable of making their presence felt on the scoreboard.
Carisbrook
B: Nathan O'Keefe, Timothy Heenan, Jakob Tidyman
HB: Adam Hurse, Jake Bucknall, Nichlos Wright
C: Riley Herd, Luke Treacy, Hayden Barby
HF: Jonathon Gray, Joel Riske, Matthew Jukes
F: Mitchell Whelan, Nathan Wright, Travis Cornwill
R: Brady Neill, Lachlan Edwards, Matthew Bilton
Int: Jordan Bolding, Ashley Robinson, Ty Stewart, Patrick Jenes
In: Ashley Robinson, Jordan Bolding, Patrick Jenes
Out: Benjamin Kick, Jacob Dyer, Jack Ross
Lexton
B: Jordan Egan, Riley Browne, Michael Smith
HB: Nicholas Spolding, Michael Jennings, Jordan Phelan
C: Scott Clark, James Templeton, Lachlan Murray
HF: Dylan Barr, Justin Hobson, James Morrish
F: Bryce Karslake, Matthew Brown, Damon Aspland
R: Nigel Reid, Justin White, Mitchell Kennedy
Int: Cohan Poulton, Ryan Wait, Timothy Dalton, Nathan Barnes, Liam Cullinan, Lachlan Pryor, Jacob Spolding
In: Ryan Wait, Jacob Spolding, Nathan Barnes, Michael Jennings, Cohan Poulton, Lachlan Murray
Out: Jack Faull, Luke Evans, Trevor Johnson
1st Elimination Final – Harcourt v Campbells Creek
Sunday 30th August, Princes Park
This game should be a real crowd pleaser as both teams finished the season with big victories in the final round of the season, with Harcourt scoring a big victory over Avoca while the Creekers defeated Trentham in a convincing manner.
The sub-plot to this game revolves around some of Harcourt’s key players, in particular Adam Pollock, Joel Smith and coach Sean Smith, all who were preparing for a final with Campbells Creek this time last year before joining Harcourt in the off-season after Sean Smith was appointed as coach of his former club.
Early in the season, the Lions won their first seven games of the season including a big win in round 5 against Campbells Creek in the local Derby, but the run of victories came to an end in Round 8 when they ran into a hot Natte-Bealiba who were one of the top four teams at that stage of the season. All of Harcourt’s wins have been against teams below the top four, although they did give a very good account of themselves against the majority of the top teams.
Campbells Creek has had an up and down season and have been very competitive against the lower based teams on the ladder, but have faced some big defeats at the hands of the top teams. Their form has been difficult to judge, a very promising victory over Talbot in Round 12 followed by a come from behind victory over Avoca in Round 13 set up their finals campaign, but losses to Lexton and Newstead followed, and it was a do or die victory over Trentham on Saturday that gives them hope of their first finals victory for some time.
While the Creekers will play in their second finals series in succession, it is difficult to see them advancing any further into the final series, especially as Harcourt is a proven finals performer in recent years, while Campbells Creek’s lack of finals experience will test the nerve of some of their younger players.
Harcourt should progress into Week 2 of the finals.
Harcourt
B: Alex Birch, Joshua Collinson, Michael Dwyer
HB: Paul Chaplin, Jordan Gartside, Sam Gale
C: Paul McKay, Brendan Josey, Alan Mack
HF: Kyle McLean, Jeffrey McMurtrie, Scott Jordan
F: Adam Pollock, Joel Smith, Christopher Smart
R: Jack Douglass, Christopher Stone, Adam Ward
Int: Daniel Smith, Matthew Giri, Christopher Ling, Sean Smith
Emg: Sean Moss, James Gale
In: Paul Chaplin, Sean Smith
Out: Sean Moss, James Gale
Campbells Creek
B: Ryan Jeffrey, Jayden Molloy, Chris Klimeck
HB: Matthew Lorenz, Ross Slater, Shannon Berriman
C: Tim Conder, Brandon Greenwood, Matthew Halacas
HF: Carl Simmons, James Boag, Jayson Gilbert
F: Shaun Boag, Mark Ashmore, Anthony Taylor
R: Dylan Gordois, Daniel Klimeck, Joshua Adamson
Int: Ryan Allan, Luke Ashmore, Davin Nicholls, Cordie McKendry
Emg: Luke Pritchard, Benjamin O'Byrne
In: Luke Ashmore, Davin Nicholls, Cordie McKendry
Out: Liam Stubbings, Luke Pritchard, Benjamin O’Byrne
2nd Elimination Final – Royal Park v Talbot
Sunday 30th August, Hedges Oval
The Second Elimination Final between Royal Park and Talbot should provide one of the more intriguing matchups of the opening week of the 2015 MCDFNL Finals Series when they meet at Hedges Oval on Sunday.
The Tigers and the Hawks have met only once for the season which was in Round 5 when Royal Park had a very convincing 59 point victory.
Royal Park is another club that has greatly improved this season and will be looking forward to be playing in their second finals appearance in succession after many lean seasons, and with the finals fixture giving them a home Elimination Final giving a slight advantage for the Tigers. That advantage though is offset by a drop of form in recent weeks with three losses in the final three rounds including an unexpected loss to Maryborough Rovers in the final round of the season
Talbot were one of few teams that took it right up to league leader Navarre, and they did have a recent convincing victory over Maryborough Rovers, which will give them a lot of confidence knowing that Rovers toppled the Tigers last Saturday.
Talbot rely on joint coach Matthew Smith and goalkicking midfielder Trent Barras, and if Luke Kemp can get loose around the goal mouth, then they will take it right up to the Tigers, but if Josh Brown and Murray Bond can produce their best form around the forward arc, then the Tigers should be progressing into the second week of the 2015 final series.
Royal Park
B: James Lindeback, William Short, Zachary Dunne
HB: Hamish Blake, Zachary Tunbridge, Taylor Stewart
C: Jay Anderson, Stefan Pye, Sam Anderson
HF: Jake Pring, Zachary Stewart, Murray Bond
F: Lawrence Perks, Joshua Brown, Michael Noonan
R: Chris Cowan, Trent Pye, Ben Clay
Int: Brendan Murdoch, Trent Baird, Jacob Cahill, James Sutherland
Emg: Christopher Morley
Talbot
B: Shaun Carroll, Luke How, Timothy Carroll
HB: Matthew Smith, Tom Sutherland, Brendon Shine
C: Kane Heathcock, Luke Kemp, Kallan Boucher
HF: Daniel Romeo, Josh Sullivan, Bradley Coffey
F: Trent Barras, Mathew Whiteman, Jorde Bux
R: Robert Conroy, Drew Hancock, Liam Belcher
Int: James Collings, Jonathon Arnel, Lachlan Griffiths, Timothy Solomon
In: Luke Kemp, Robert Conroy
Out: Jarrod Kemp, Ross Wise
Last Modified on 28/08/2015 12:14