WALLAN had a huge day out at Romsey over the weekend in the RDFNL football and netball preliminary finals.
In the seniors football, it had been quite the week, with the Jake Carlisle tribunal case being the talk around the league.
Coming off a narrow last-minute win against Kyneton, the Magpies faced Riddell, who had lost to the other grand finalist, Diggers Rest, by 131 points.
The Magpies came out to dominate the first term, kicking five goals to one down the far end, but seemingly with a strong breeze.
Dion Hill and Owen Fowler started the game strongly for Wallan, but Nathan Hrovat had asserted himself on the game with 15 disposals in the first to keep the clearance battle within Riddell’s reach.
In the second, it was nervy times for the Bombers, who conceded despite having the breeze to their advantage.
But it was a quick response thanks to Jackson Wadden and Zakkaria Saad, who contributed the next three goals of the game.
Chris Stewart got himself involved in the game with a quick goal, before Riddell kicked the next three goals to make it 44-47 at the main break.
The premiership quarter seemed the most important of the bunch, leaving the Magpies with the wind.
But they didn’t quite capitalise to put the game to bed, only kicking three goals to Riddell’s two, leaving them with a two-goal buffer at the final break.
At three-quarter time, the rain started to settle in, but didn’t last long, giving Riddell every chance to get themselves back in the game.
They had a chance early in the quarter to get back in the game through multiple set shots, but couldn’t convert in front of goal, leaving Wallan with the majority of the possession for the quarter.
Wallan continued to kick it long down the scoreboard side at Romsey, which carried most of the breeze to the boundary line.
It was tactically the right thing to do, and when Sean Morris and Lachlan Smart kicked their goals, it was game and season over for the Bombers.
Hrovat did his best for Riddell, collecting 48 disposals and 13 clearances and, surprisingly, the Bombers had the four highest-ranked players on the ground according to Premier Data.
But they weren’t good enough for Steven Boyall, Ben Dessent, Hill, Fowler and Morris, who were the strongest for Wallan.
Find our grand final predictions on page 22.
Wallan will take on Diggers Rest in the reserves grand final next week as well, where they will go in as favourites in their quest for back-to-back premierships.
It’ll be Woodend and Gisborne in the under-19.5s, where Woodend will need to be at their best if they’re any chance against the Giants.
