Sport
7 September, 2023
MCDFNL Finals — Week Three Football Preview
Week two of the finals sees the final four throwing everything towards a grand final berth, with Harcourt set to face Trentham, while Carisbrook will play Natte Bealiba. Preliminary Final 1 — Harcourt V Trentham If past history between these two...
Week two of the finals sees the final four throwing everything towards a grand final berth, with Harcourt set to face Trentham, while Carisbrook will play Natte Bealiba.
Preliminary Final 1 — Harcourt V Trentham
If past history between these two teams are any guide, then it’s set to be a genuine thriller this Saturday, with the expectation that this one goes right down to the wire.
Since 2020, these two teams have met on three occasions. All three of those games have been decided by under 10 points.
Last year, the first meeting between Harcourt and Trentham saw the Lions win by five points, something that was emulated in the qualifying final, with a late Jed Rodda goal giving the Lions a win that helped set them up for the premiership.
This year, the Lions were able to take a handy lead in their round six clash, leading by 22 points at the first change, and 21 at half time, before a late charge from the Saints saw them fall seven points short.
So, what’s the secret for these two clubs enjoying such a great rivalry?
Chemistry does seem to play a part.
For Harcourt, it’s all about mateship, yet one that also sees them enjoy a talented list which has taken them to 25 consecutive wins.
The Lions bat deep on every line. There’s the likes of co-captains Darby Semmens and Tom Walters, who have led admirably from the front all season long, Brayden Frost, who was best on ground in the qualifying final with his tap work featuring, Cameron Anderson making his return in recent weeks, Kal Huntly giving the Lions plenty more dimensions across the midfield, and the likes of Jeffrey McMurtrie, a wily footballer with plenty of experience, who also shone on the finals stage in their qualifying final win.
Yet if anyone is going to match it with the Lions, the Saints are one of the better bets in the competition.
One thing that the Saints do boast is an outstanding forward line, which was on full display in their win last Sunday.
Alister Ferrier was a good forward line option, as was Ryan Thiesz, who kicked four goals in their win. Cooper Webber-Mirkin was another one who played well, kicking three goals.
It helped allow Trentham to kick their highest score on Princes Park since the 2018 elimination final, with their contribution of 19 goals on Sunday featuring eight different goalkickers.
The interesting move this season from coach Clive Raak was bringing Jake Keogh into a midfield mix that already contains the likes of Joel Cowan, Dylan Holden and, also off half-back, Harrison Knight.
Keogh finished with 103 goals last season playing predominantly as a full forward, but this year he’s been able to enter the midfield mix and has enjoyed a stellar season, named in the best on 11 occasions from his 17 games and really setting the tone last week for the Saints, while still kicking 74 goals this season.
It will be a fascinating battle between the Saints’ ability to score heavily and the Lions breaking down their opponents by bossing territory.
Despite going unbeaten to this point, the Lions aren’t the number one attacking or defensive team, but what they do well under the stewardship of coach Dan Wridgway is bring the ball forward, then set up their defensive structure behind the ball well. That means that opponents find it extremely difficult to counter the Lions, who are elite at keeping the ball inside their forward 50 zone.
It also means that their forward mix stays dangerous, with the ball continuously coming in, with the likes of Bronson Martin, Alex Code and Walters providing good marking targets, while Rodda, Anderson, Baxter Gurd and Benjamin Leech are also dangerous on the ground.
The Saints will need the likes of Knight, Cowan and Holden to utilise their good ball use across the ground to breach the Harcourt structure, and will be looking to keep them guessing throughout this game.
Preliminary Final 2 — Carisbrook V Natte Bealiba
Make that an eighth consecutive finals campaign that has featured Carisbrook and Natte Bealiba playing one another. It just wouldn’t be an MCDFNL finals series without the match up at this point.
Another chapter is set to be added to such an incredible rivalry, with both these two teams set to do battle for the second spot in the grand final on Sunday.
If there is almost one guarantee for these two teams, expect this one to go right down to the wire.
Four of the last five meetings between the Redbacks and Swans have seen the game decided by 15 points or fewer, including their meeting in round eight, which was decided by 15 points.
On that occasion, it appeared as though Carisbrook would be able to keep the Swans at arms’ length throughout the afternoon, kicking four goals in the opening term to lead by 12 points and holding a 13-point lead at the main break.
However, the Swans came out firing in the third term, kicking three goals to one to reduce the margin to just three points at the final change, before the Redbacks settled by kicking the only two goals of the last term.
This one will be an interesting game that pits the best attacking team in the competition by distance — an average of 145 points per game speaks for itself — against the lowest scoring team left in the competition.
Yet what this game could prove to be is a battle of the defences, with both teams first and second in the competition.
Carisbrook have proven to be the most outstanding defensive unit, conceding just 35.6 points per game this season. That’s a genuine credit to the likes of Adam Hurse, Michael Zelencich and Nathan O’Keefe, who continue to break down opposition forwards whenever the ball comes into their zone, and were extremely successful against Trentham, restricting the second best attacking team in the competition to just 45 points.
Natte Bealiba, for their part, aren’t slouches either. They have conceded a tick under 46 points per game — exactly what they conceded against Navarre last week, and while they would be disappointed as a unit to concede 82 against Harcourt, they’ll have an opportunity this week to truly test themselves against a high-scoring unit.
This will also be a battle of two highly creative midfields which looks set to thrill.
For Carisbrook, Zak and Lewis Rinaldi will be key mainstays throughout, while Nick Wright, Andrew Toan and Lachlan Edwards will also be crucial to the contest.
Meantime, for Natte Bealiba, Josh Grant, Jye Mortlock and Zac Mortlock will have an equal amount of bearing on how the Swans fare on Sunday.
The forward line battle will pit two interesting lineups, with Natte reliant on a mixture of goalkickers, while Carisbrook boast five players who have scored over 25 goals this season.
Natte Bealiba seemed to have the formula to stop league-leading goalkicker Anthony Zelencich in their round eight meeting, with the Carisbrook talisman held to just one goal in their clash — the lowest return he has had for the year.
However, Carisbrook do have other options to step up. Ash Munari has provided 50 goals of his own this season from 15 games, while Harry Butler and Zak have provided 28 goals apiece from 17 games. Steven Patterson has also emerged as a goalkicking threat this year, kicking 27 goals.
Natte, for their part, have four players who have added over 20 goals this season, showing how versatile they can be. Will Holt made a welcome return to the lineup this week, and although he went goalless, helped straighten the structure up. He leads the way with 39 goals this year, while Trent Mortlock and Jye have 32 and 31 goals apiece, and Jayden Templeton has 21 goals from nine games.