The Northern Blues Amateurs claimed the Division 3 minor premiership on Saturday by defeating St Francis Xavier by 45-points at St Francis Xavier College.
Northern leapfrogged Emmaus St Leos for top position in the 17. 11. (113) to 10. 8. (68) victory after the Animals suffered a 23-point defeat to Aquinas in their Round 18 match-up.
The Blues struggled to get on the board early against St Francis as they nullified outside run with ferocious pressure, limiting Northern to two goals in the first quarter.
With a fresh mindset after quarter time, a midfield invigorated by Damon Marcon and James King opened the floodgates to a 44-8 second term.
The work of Jordan Hull, Reed Jepson and the nimble Daniel Wakim in the backline helped maintain that 35-point half-time margin throughout the remainder of the game.
The versatile Tony Vuwai was at his dominant best up forward in the clash, kicking five majors against a hapless St Francis defence.
Lachlan McRedmond chimed in with four goals of his own alongside Marcon’s two goals, bringing their combined total to 100 goals for the season.
Co-captain Todd Beames returned unscathed after his two-month injury absence, stating post-game he felt ‘cherry ripe’ following a fusion of six quarters played in the reserves and seniors.
“I’ve been working really hard to get fit and ready on the track,” Beames said. “It felt great to be back out there with the boys after a two-month layoff.”
Beames said his side would take nothing for granted in the lead-up to the finals this week, acknowledging the feeling is a little different as the ‘hunted’ instead of the underdogs.
“We have done all the right things over the last couple of weeks so I think we’ll be hitting top gear come this weekend,” Beames said. “We’re heading in with some reasonable form, having beaten two of the top four sides in the last month.”
“There’s a really good feeling around the place at this time of year, when finals footy comes around the spotlight is on and the intensity lifts to another level.”
The Blues will now take on Albert Park in the first qualifying final at Meade Reserve, Clayton on Sunday the 31st of August.
St Francis end their season out of the finals picture in ninth position following an eight win, 10-loss season.
As the minor premiers of Division 3, Northern will have a second chance if they lose against the Falcons.
“Albert Park will be a really tough opponent,” said Beames. “They beat us by a point mid-season so we know what they’re capable of.”
The Blues played the Falcons twice throughout the year, winning their round one match-up before losing by one point at Ruthven Reserve in Round 12.
NORTHERN BLUES 2.2 9.4 14.6 17.11 (113)
ST FRANCIS XAVIER 2.3 3.5 7.7 10.8 (68)
GOALS
NORTHERN: Vuwai 5, McRedmond 4, Marcon 2, L. Holmes 2, Beames, Jepson, Phelan, Cigagna
ST FRANCIS: Pavlovic 3, Dimakopoulos, Spencer 2, O’Hara, Scott
BEST
NORTHERN: Calcedo, Vuwai, McRedmond, Holmes, Jepson, Hull
ST FRANCIS: Hughes, Dimakopoulos, Burns, Lenders, Abel, Pavlovic
Last Modified on 04/09/2014 11:33