Anyone who was at the Seniors game on Saturday would still be checking their heart rate. This was a game for the ages.
History shows there have been great games between the two clubs through the years, particularly the two home and away game this season, won by De La, that were determined by less than ten points.
When this game looked out of reach for De La, they found a way to work themselves back into the contest. They are an incredibly resilient side. From being down 33 points, De La worked their way back into the game with their pacy, fast handball game style. A free kick seconds before the final siren and a brilliantly kicked goal from the 50, saw the game go into extra time.
It was nail biting stuff. In the end we held out to win by 5 points, a brilliant goal by Riley Mihailovic separating the two teams.
BFC full forward Joel Cusack kicked 5 goals, including three in an inspired 2nd quarter, when the team looked unstoppable. Cal Heath was tireless in the ruck all day and had an outstanding game, some of his intercept marks in the last quarter were inspirational.
Former Club Champion Lewis Diggins is starting to show the form that we expect from him. He was tough in the middle in his hard, uncompromising way. At the other end of the ground, the defence was well lead by Val Linehan and Liam Hayes.
The win sets up a preliminary final against Fitzroy on Saturday.
Earlier, the Reserves went down to Old Trinity, a result that was incredibly disappointing for the players and coaches. It was a sad finale to a season that had promised so much for this team given they had beaten the top 2 teams in the competition in recent rounds.
Playing at home, the U19 Div 1 team became the 3rd BFC Senior team to play in a Grand Final this season after winning their Semi Final against Old Trinity. Windy conditions at Oak St made goal kicking difficult for all four teams who played there on Saturday. The Div 3 side were courageous against Collegians but came up short unfortunately.
The Div 1 team were best served by Tom O’Rourke and Ollie Pearson, while Josh Rabak and Angus Marcombe were best in the twos.
The Div 1 Boys will play the winner of Hampton and Old Trinity in the Grand Final.
So with the completion of Junior football last Sunday, the only team involved this weekend will be Seniors who will face Fitzroy in a Prelim Final at Garvey Oval in Bundoora at 2.15pm.
Let’s get out and support our guys. The winner of this game will be promoted to Premier A for season 2024 along with St Bernards.
For all the pics CLICK HERE
Go Sharks!