Devon Meadows is through to the grand final for the first time in 28 years after defeating Pearcedale by 26 points in the Mornington Peninsula Division 2 preliminary final.
There were tears of joy after the siren sounded at RJ Rowley Reserve, with supporters and kids running onto the field to celebrate the momentous achievement.
The club was established in 1977 and has never won a senior premiership, but it will have the chance to change that this weekend in a highly-anticipated grand final match-up against Frankston Bombers.
Coach Ryan Hendy said he was “ecstatic” after the game as the realisation that his team was into a grand final began to sink in.
“The emotions were pretty high, there were a few people pretty emotional after the game and there is a lot of excitement for this week,” he said.
“We thought we had been playing good footy for a good month or so now and we were really confident going into the game.
“We knew they were going to throw some different things at us but knew if we continued to play the brand we have been, it would hold up and the boys did it again, so it was pleasing.”
It was the third time in the space of four weeks that Pearcedale and Devon Meadows have went to battle, yielding three Panther victories.
With a huge crowd in attendance, the game couldn’t have started any better for Devon Meadows who kicked the opening three goals, despite kicking against the breeze.
It was the Panthers’ fearless leader Nick Battle who kicked the opening goal of the game, getting out of congestion and running into an easy goal to kickstart proceedings.
Dean Kent, who was damaging off half-back in the qualifying final a few weeks earlier, lined up in the forward line alongside former AFL teammate James Frawley.
The idea was to stretch the defence and it worked perfectly for Devon Meadows as Kent and Frawley each kicked two majors in the opening quarter, as the Panthers put 6.1 on the board – holding a 15-point lead.
“To start off the way we did was great, we thought if we had them both up forward and we could get the ball in there enough, our forwards would be too dangerous for their backs,” Hendy said.
“Having 38 scoring shots against them last time, we knew it would come in, but we just needed to make sure we capitalised.”
Pearcedale’s Riley Bradshaw was a shining light kicking the Dales’ first goal of the game, while Luke Daniel soon added another.
Dales coach Peter Bastinac said the connection with the forwards needed to be much better in the second quarter and urged his team to lift its pressure.
Cruiz West and Brett Eddy were being well held by Daniel Hellyer and Dylan Gregson, and the Dales were squandering opportunities as the second quarter progressed.
Devon Meadows was a class above with its ball movement, hitting targets beautifully and transitioning the ball at the speed of light.
Dales’ vice-captain Jack McGuiness punched hard from behind and put in some great defensive efforts, but the midfield of Battle, Joel Hillis and Arnold Kirby was in control.
Kaolan Thornton and Jordan Bastinac worked hard in the second and allowed Eddy and West to get some looks, but they went begging.
The second-quarter response had been good from Pearcedale and despite missing some shots on goal, they had stopped the Panthers from capitalising with the wind.
Hendy said the half-time message was to continue what had been working.
“We just stuck to our guns and at no stage did we panic when Pearcedale kicked a couple of goals, we just tried to get the momentum back,” he said.
“We didn’t really allow them to get more than two-goal run-ons for the whole day and I think that is where the game was won … we had an answer for them at all times.”
The Dales came out of the main break well as Luke Jennings stepped two defenders and snapped the first of the quarter, back to 15 points.
Enter Arnold Kirby, the cult figure and much-loved Panthers’ ruckman, who kicked back-to-back goals … and didn’t he love it with the bow and arrow celebration.
The crowd loved it too – the legendary ARRRNNNOOOLLLDDD chant sounding out around RJ Rowley Reserve.
Kirby was impressive against big Huw Jones, beating him around the ground to find plenty of the football.
“I thought Arnold’s game was outstanding, he was probably best on by the length of the Flemington straight,” Hendy said.
“He has played well in every game he has played for us really, but yesterday he just went to that next level.”
Kirby’s influence, combined with poor goalkicking from Pearcedale, saw Devon Meadows push out to a 35-point lead at three-quarter time, and the game was all but over.
To the Dales’ credit, they didn’t give up and outscored the Panthers in the final quarter kicking 4.6 to 3.3, but it wasn’t enough as the siren sounded and sent Devon Meadows into a drought-breaking grand final.
The Panthers’ back six was impressive, keeping West and Eddy to three goals between them, while Battle was superb – Daniel finished with four in the loss.
MPFNL DIVISION 2
DEVON MEADOWS 6.1 8.5 13.7 16.10(106)
PEARCEDALE 3.4 4.8 6.14 10.20(80)
Devon Meadows Goals: James Frawley 4, Dean Kent, Nick Battle 3, Joel Hillis, Arnold Kirby 2, Alex Canal, Jack Wilson. Best: Arnold Kirby, Nick Battle, Daniel Hellyer, Dylan Gregson, Dean Kent.
Pearcedale Goals: Luke Daniel 4, Cruiz West 2, Riley Bradshaw, Brett Eddy, Luke Jennings, Archie McGuiness. Best: Jack McGuiness, Riley Bradshaw, Jordan Bastinac, Kaolan Thornton, Ryan Bastinac.
