By DAVID NAGEL
CRANBOURNE begins its final charge at the South East Football Netball League crown on Saturday when it makes the short trip down the highway to take on Tooradin.
The Eagles will be fresh, after their final bye of the season, and will be high on confidence after a season-defining victory over arch-rival Narre Warren in round 11.
Runners-up for the last three seasons, the Eagles will need to win five of their last six matches to secure a double-chance.
Crunch games against Berwick (round 15) and Beaconsfield (round 17) loom large, but first Simon Goosey and his charges must negotiate the tricky trip to Westernport.
Tooradin coach Lachie Gillespie respects his opponent highly but is looking forward to the contest.
“I rate Cranbourne extremely highly, they’re well coached, they understand their game plan inside and out and they’ve got that Cranbourne confidence about them,” he said.
“It’s a huge challenge for our group, but we’ve got no fear, there’s no pressure on us and we’re going out there to win some respect.”
Gillespie said the loss of champion midfielder Matt Wade, who has moved to Swan Hill to pursue his policing career, wasn’t the end of the world.
“We’ve lost Wadey now, but the players understand that just because he’s gone it doesn’t mean everything needs to fall over,” he said.
“As disappointing as it is to lose him, the club rolls on and now it’s up to the younger guys to take ownership and take this club to the next step.”
The Seagulls do have some quality youngsters, like Troy Dolan and Andrew Proctor, but expect the Eagles to get the job done.
There were only the three matches played in SEFNL on Saturday, with all games panning out pretty much as expected in the end.
Narre Warren kept in touch of the top three with a resounding 72-point victory over an injury-ravaged Pakenham.
The Magpies played their best footy in the third term, kicking 6.4 to 1.4, to extend a 27-point margin out to 57 by the final break.
Kain Baskaya was the star, kicking five goals in his first game since round two, while George Angelopoulos and Ben Wragg chimed in with three apiece. Stephen Morey held Kerem Baskaya to just one goal to be the Lions’ best player.
Beaconsfield was wildly inaccurate in its 38-point victory over ROC at Holm Park Reserve.
The Eagles dominated possession, with 25 shots at goal to seven, but kicked 2.6 and 3.7 in the second and third quarters to keep the Kangas in the hunt.
Beau Dowler and Scott Meyer bagged a couple each for the winners, who had Jesse Linkins and Damien Johnston in fine form through the middle of the ground. Dylan Chapman, who is going on holidays, played his last game for the season for the Kangas and finished off in style.
A stunning five-goal burst has propelled Berwick to a 34-point victory over Tooradin at Westernport Oval.
The Wickers trailed by a point at half time, but looked a different side after the break, kicking 5.2 to 0.3 to open up the contest. Tim Gunn was fantastic up forward, kicking six, while Michael Riseley was dominant in the third quarter across half back.
