It was heartbreak for our Senior Team after going down to Fitzroy in a riveting Prelim Final on Saturday.
There was nothing to disguise the disappointment on the faces of all Sharks players, officials and supporters after the Preliminary Final loss to Fitzroy on Saturday at Garvey Oval in Bundoora.
This was an aspirational game on many levels, but sadly we came up short. Down by 6 goals at ¾ Qtr time, the boys showed tremendous fighting qualities to get within 4 points with 8 minutes to go, but simply ran out of steam.
The cause was not helped by the fact we lost our full forward Joel Cusack in the first 5 minutes of the game with a knee injury, then our hard-working winger Ben Mathews with concussion and a broken hand in the 2nd quarter. We were down to 19 players when Josh Trew came off with a shoulder injury in the 4th.
It was an incredible fightback, under difficult circumstances, with Coach Josh Bourke moving players around to keep them fresh. He almost pulled off a miracle.
Credit to Fitzroy who were very good and played some great footy. They made their shots on goal count and their set shot kicking was outstanding. They kicked 5.0 to 2.1 in the first quarter to set up the win. They then kicked anther six goals to our three in the 2nd Qtr.
In the end we had some clear chances to snatch a win, but kicks on goal either hit the post or just missed. It was heart breaking stuff. Fitzroy kicked the final 3 goals of the game to seal the win.
Clearly our best was Tomo Owens who was outstanding all game, particularly in that final quarter, lifting the team with his athletic skills and high marking.
This means we stay in Premier B for season 2024 and come away with 3rd position on the VAFA Premier B ladder in 2023. Definitely, something for the players and coaches to the very proud of.
We'll learn from this and give it a real shake next year.
Final Score: Fitzroy 18.8-110 – BFC 12.17-89
For pics of the game CLICK HERE
Go Sharks!