EAGLES INTO DECIDER, MAGPIES FIND A WAY

By RHYS WOOSNAM

With the first week of finals done and dusted, just three teams remain in the fight for premiership glory after North Footscray bowed out in an Elimination Final loss to Parkside. The Devils were neck and neck with Parkside all day, but simply couldn’t kick those vital goals when required, eventually falling by 13-points.

Inaccuracy plagued North Footscray throughout the contest, finishing with seven goals and 13 behinds, two more scoring shots then their opposition. For the victors, they were led by tremendous performances from Luke Buttigieg, Izak Damas, as well as two majors each from Benjamin Ashman, Keelan Privitera, Jesse Fortune and Brent Kelly.

The multi-pronged attack was a major key to Parkside’s victory and should hold them in good stead as they look forward to a Preliminary Final showdown with Point Cook.

The Bulldogs face the potential of stumbling at the last hurdle thanks to their 28 point defeat at the hands of rivals Yarraville-Seddon. In a back and forth encounter, both teams held leads at quarter time breaks, with the Bulldogs in particular starting off hot taking a three goal to zero advantage into the second quarter.

The Eagles were able to recover brilliantly, kicking five goals to one in the second stanza, before displaying excellent defensive abilities to restrict their opposition to just two goals in the second half.

Much like North Footscray, the Bulldogs will rue their missed opportunities, with a similarly inaccurate showing of six goals and 10 behinds.

Yarraville-Seddon now have the luxury of a week off to keep themselves fresh for a Grand Final contest against the winner of the Point Cook/Parkside Elimination game, and have put themselves in the box seat to be holding the cup on September 16.