By Jonty Ralphsmith
Cranbourne will be forced to do it the hard way in 2022, needing to beat a star-studded St Kilda City line-up to get through to the Southern Division 1 grand final.
Playing against Cheltenham in the second semi-final on Saturday, Cranbourne was within one point at three-quarter-time, before a five-goal-to-three final quarter gave Cheltenham a 14.14 (98) to 13.6 (84) victory.
After both teams felt each other out in the first quarter, Cheltenham kicked six second-quarter goals to lead by 30 points at half time as the game looked like it could descend into one-way traffic.
But Cranbourne fought back, led by Marc Holt (six goals), reversing the script in the third quarter.
In the final quarter, the Rosellas were ultimately too consistent and won too many little moments.
Ultimately, the tale of the entire day was Cranbourne closing in on Cheltenham without being able to sustain pressure – every time the Eagles closed, the Rosellas pulled away.
Steve O’Brien’s men will face St Kilda City in the preliminary final after the Saints kicked the last three goals of their clash with St Paul’s McKinnon, punishing the Doggies for inaccuracy to get up by three points.
The last time the two sides met, Brendan Fevola – who won’t play Saturday’s game – and Aaron Edwards combined for nine goals and Dane Swan was named best on ground.
Cranbourne went down by 32 points but the clash came as Steve O’Brien’s men went through a quiet patch in their season, so he is relatively unphased by that result.
Cheltenham, meanwhile, will have a week off before the grand final on Saturday 17 September.
