By DAVID NAGEL
BEACONSFIELD and Berwick impressive, Pakenham eliminated, and Cranbourne down but definitely not out – that’s the wash up from an exciting start to this year’s Casey Cardinia league finals series.
Beaconsfield made the short journey to Berwick for the qualifying final on Saturday, fully aware that only its best football would do against a Cranbourne side that relishes the big stage.
What transpired was a magnificent team performance from Beacy, with immense pressure, great tackling and a dominant midfield, led by champion ruckman Scott Meyer, skipper Daniel Mislicki, Tyson Mitchem and Damien Johnston, giving Clint Evans’s side first crack at Narre Warren in this Saturday’s second semi-final.
Beacy’s 29-point victory didn’t come easy.
Trailing by 19 points at quarter time, it went on a nine goal run, from the eight minute mark of the second term to the four minute mark of the third, which stretched its margin out to 39 points and, basically, locked away the contest.
Through this stanza of play it was Meyer who made the difference.
He fed midfielders Mislicki, Mitchem and the returning Ben Kerrigan with a mountainous supply of the Sherrin – 10 clearances to four in the second term – he set up a one-man wall across the centre of the ground and, when he won possession, he hit targets like a sniper.
“He is a freak and just thank god he’s on my side,” Evans said of Meyer after the match.
“He just wills himself to the contest. We wanted to rotate him more often up forward but we were on top in the second quarter and he didn’t want to let that go.
“He plays 95 per cent of every game in the ruck and he just keeps going. He’s just a freak and does everything right.”
Cranbourne did close to 22 points, late in the third, and early in the last quarter, but Beacy did have control after that mid game burst.
Meyer was a clear best on ground while Kris Fletcher’s three goals and two each to Johnston, Taylor Joyce and Shaun Pollard were the result of a tackling frenzy up field.
Daniel Battaglin kept Cranbourne skipper Marc Holt to just one goal after quarter time, and four for the match, while Brandon White and Jack Brown were colourful contributors down back for Beaconsfield.
Stu Morrish, Brandon Osborne and Matt Thompson were resilient down back for Cranbourne while Michael Boland and Brad Hermans were other solid contributors.
Cranbourne’s injury toll continues to grow with Thompson (leg) and Daniel Baker (shoulder) both destined to miss the remainder of the season including this Sunday’s cut-throat first semi-final against Berwick.
The Wickers ended Pakenham’s season in clinical style with a seven-goal final term leading to a 21-point victory in the elimination final at ROC.
Both teams defended brilliantly into a three to four goal breeze, before the elastic band snapped in the final term and Rhys Nisbet’s boys ran away with the contest.
“This is the exact situation where we’ve been questioned in the past,” Nisbet roared at his troops with his side six points down at the final break.
“You need to find the grit and determination from somewhere inside to roll these blokes over.”
His team responded, led brilliantly by skipper Madi Andrews, who stuck his head over the ball and capped off a magnificent final term with a long range bomb to sink the Lions at the 19 minute mark of the quarter.
Andrew Morozoff and Mitch Johnson kicked three each for the winners while Jordy Andrews and Mick Manley didn’t impact the scoreboard but were physical beasts up forward.
Daniel Harrison, Jake Wilson and young ruckman Jake Gains also contributed significantly to the Lions’ heartbreak.
Pakenham will be ruing its missed opportunities, not just on the weekend when it missed some crucial chances to kick clear in the third term, but from round 17, when it led Cranbourne by 40 points, before losing, and releasing its grip on a double chance.
Now, just 10 quarters later, it is out of the competition.
Jake Smith, Jake Barclay, Anthony Young and Chris Cairns were the Lions’ best.
SEMI FINAL PREVIEW
NARRE WARREN’S quest for three flags on the trot begins at Pakenham’s Toomuc Reserve on Saturday where the Magpies will look to continue their recent dominance over Beaconsfield in the second semi-final.
The Magpies have won their last two contests against the Eagles by 98 and 114 points but the most recent belting in round 11 just happens to be Beaconsfield’s last loss for the season.
It was the ultimate wake up call, leading to a current eight-game winning streak that will see the Eagles confident of testing the Magpies early.
But the back-to-back champs, with class acts such as Michael Collins, Nick Scanlon, Josh Tonna and Jackson Parker feeding a century goal kicker in Kerem Baskaya, will just have too much in the tank.
CRANBOURNE’s well documented ability to raise the bar when needed will be fully tested on Sunday when it takes on Berwick in the cut-throat first semi-final at Holm Park Road.
A perennial powerhouse that has played in the past three grand finals, Cranny is now in unfamiliar territory and will need to dig deep to keep its season alive.
Berwick is a high-octane, fast moving side that relies on quick ball movement into a damaging forward line to get the job done.
Cranbourne really needs to step up this week with star performers like Ryan Jones, Luke Bee-Hugo and Michael Theodoridis all looking to rebound from quiet games against Beaconsfield in last week’s qualifying final.
The Eagles will get home in a thriller.
