AFTER six years of waiting, Whittlesea finally has another finals victory, needing four quarters of gritty defensive work to pull out a victory over St Mary’s.
The Eagles were made to work extremely hard for their success at Lalor Reserve on Sunday afternoon, but the carrot of another crack at Macleod was the reward for Garry Ramsay and his men, after losing a qualifying final heartbreaker the previous week.
Realistically, the victory was set up thanks to a fast start, as well as the ability to maintain a constant gap throughout the entirety of the afternoon.
It was Clayton McCartney who got the Eagles off to a stunning start, kicking the opening two goals of the contest within a minute.
While the Burra hit back with the next two goals, Lucas Hobbs ensured Whittlesea would lead at the first change, 21-14.
The Eagles made their move in the second quarter to kick clear and give themselves a good gap to defend with.
Taidhg Bland was again at his best, kicking the opening goal of the second term, before Lucas Hobbs outdid his effort with a supreme snap from the Lalor Reserve carpark on the edge of the 50-metre line and the boundary.
However, it was St Mary’s which finished the quarter the stronger, kicking three of the last four goals to maintain its interest in the game, with Jack Taylor responding for Whittlesea as it led 47-32 at the main break.
Bland kicked his second goal to give the Eagles a bit more breathing room as the lead was extended to 21 points early in the third quarter.
Whittlesea soon had to do an almighty amount of defending, however, as St Mary’s midfield started to take control.
Whatever questions the Burra were asking, the Eagles pleasingly had an answer for, and in particular, it was Mitchell Andrews who was answering the call down back with a number of intercepts, while Jaron Murphy was also working hard with his exceptional ball use.
Whittlesea led by 13 points at the final change, 54-41, but there would have been signs of nerves when it conceded the first goal of the final term.
Clinging on to its season, up stepped the captain. Paul Higgins converted a clutch set shot to keep the Eagles alive, winning 8.16 (64) to 7.6 (48).
Andrews, Bland and Murphy were brilliant, keeping St Mary’s at bay all throughout the afternoon with key moments, while Thomas Falls, Riley Carter and Blake Watson were also named in the best.
Despite the result, a relieved Ramsay knew that the Eagles’ offensive consistency needed to improve if they were to make the division two grand final.
“Our top six seem to play well each week, and in the big moments. But if we’re going to beat Macleod, we will need a better input from our bottom half, and I think we need some improvement there. We need to go to the next level,” he said.
“We forced a few turnovers at the contest when they had the ball, but I don’t think we hurt them on the scoreboard as much as we should’ve on some of those. We need to do that next week.”
However, Ramsay was thrilled with his charges’ defensive mindset, which he believed was the key difference.
“I thought our offensive game wasn’t great, and we didn’t quite hit all our handballs and kicks, and our goalkicking wasn’t flash, but I thought our tackling was really good, and the win came off the back of that,” he said.
“It was a great battle in the midfield. St Mary’s have talented midfielders, and some top-level players and a great ruckman. It was important not to let them fly out of stoppages.”
It was a mixed weekend, all told, for the Eagles.
Their reserves will have to make use of their double chance after losing to Diamond Creek by 15 points, but the club guaranteed there will be representation on division two grand final day after the under 19.5 team took an 18-point win over South Morang in the second semi-final.
In other results around the grounds, South Morang’s division one campaign is over, losing to Greensborough in the reserves’ elimination final by three points.
Laurimar similarly went down in a heartbreaker in the division two under 19.5 first semi-final, losing to North Heidelberg by five points.
The Power now turns their attention to the division three deciders next week, with Fitzroy Stars their opponents in both seniors and reserves.
In the Friday night netball competition, Whittlesea took a five-goal victory over North Heidelberg in the division one first semi-final, winning 43-38.
It was a double dose of success for the Eagles, with the division three team also progressing to a preliminary final with a 42-34 win over Thomastown.
In division eight, Whittlesea 3 narrowly missed out on a grand final berth, losing to Broadford 19-24.
Laurimar 1 was also unable to stop Northcote Park in the division nine preliminary final, losing 20-35.
Laurimar 2 will play in the division 11 grand final, but South Morang 4 will not join them after losing to Bundoora 16-32.
There was a thrilling preliminary final win for Laurimar 4 in division 12, taking a 24-22 win over Hurstbridge as the Power face Broadford in the grand final.
In division 14, South Morang 6’s season finished up as it lost to Hazel Glen in the preliminary final, 17-27.