Severely undermanned, backs to the wall and trailing by 26 points at half time, it was the comeback that nobody thought possible.
While there was no way for Peter Bastinac and his side to predict a 10.2 second half to keep its premiership dream alive, they did one thing … they believed.
The comeback will be etched in history and remembered for many years to come if the Dales could ride this momentum all the way to a MPFNL Division 2 flag.
At the final siren on Sunday, they had prevailed over Somerville by 22 points, setting up a huge preliminary final against Devon Meadows this Saturday.
It will be the third time in four weeks that Devon Meadows and Pearcedale meet each other, with the Panthers winning both recent match-ups.
The Dales were wounded after last week’s loss to the Panthers but will come back into the rematch with momentum and belief.
A sea of blue and white filled Baxter Park for the second consecutive week, hoping for better memories than the Saturday prior.
The two finalists couldn’t have come into the clash with more contrasting recent performances.
Somerville had won 11 of its past 12 matches, while the Dales had won just one of their last five, limping to the line to secure the double chance.
Cruiz West returned for the Dales, but they were without Cooper Thornton, Mitch Davis, Brett Eddy and Mason Morris from last week’s injury carnage.
With no Eddy or Davis (who combined for six goals last week) in the forward line, could they manage to kick a winning score?
West was going to need to hit the scoreboard in Eddy’s absence if they were to get to a preliminary final, and he did that perfectly, kicking five goals.
While they won by 22 points, the first half of the game told a very different story for Pearcedale.
It didn’t start according to plan, as the Seagulls got on top from the first bounce and began to build a lead.
It was all Somerville in the first quarter as the Eagles kicked seven of the first eight scores, racing out to an early 22-1 lead.
Bastinac credited Somerville for the way it started the game, as his side struggled to match it with the Eagles.
“We couldn’t execute what we wanted at the start of the game, with our ball movement and pressure,” he said.
“Credit to Sommy for coming out like that, they hit the scoreboard and we couldn’t get our game going.”
After a one-sided opening half, Pearcedale trailed by 26 points and its season was hanging in the balance … holding on by just a thread.
The second half would need to be much better if they were to turn things around and luckily for the Dales, it was.
They kicked 10.2 to 2.2 in a dominant second half where they turned things around completely and moved the ball like they had wanted.
Bastinac gave the players a stirring speech at half time and they walked out with a belief and optimism.
“We told them, ‘This is it boys, this is your season and if you want to keep going, we will turn it around’,” he said.
“We made a couple of positional changes with our structure and then we just went for it.”
At the midway point of the third quarter, things began to turn, Huw Jones began to get on top in the ruck battle and Ryan Bastinac got to work in the midfield.
“I can’t remember the exact moment where it all changed, but there was a moment where it did,” Bastinac said.
“From that point on, the ball just lived in our half of the ground and we were just relentless.”
Straight kicking in front of goal has been among the most impressive features of their game recently, scoring a combined 26.8 in the two finals.
This was on display in the third quarter as they kicked 5.0 to get back within four points at the final change of ends, before running over the top of the Eagles in a strong final term.
The injuries didn’t worry Bastinac, who was impressed with the players who came into the side.
“They were outstanding, Luke Jennings, Josh Mitchell, Dylan Khan and Jesse Tzountzourkas all came in and played their role which was great,” he said.
“They are good players who haven’t been able to get into our team for one reason or another … they took their chance yesterday and helped us to a great win.”
The forward duo of West and Daniel combined for eight of the team’s 13 goals and worked well together, with Tom Schneider and Jack McGuiness also among the best.
“People forget that before Brett Eddy came to the club, Cruiz and Luke Daniel were our key forwards, kicking 120 goals between them,” he said.
“It was great to see Cruiz back out there doing ‘Cruiz’ things and Luke has been sensational in the first two finals.”
Bastinac said the likes of Davis and Eddy would both train this week ahead of the preliminary final against Devon Meadows.
Somerville’s Corey Battams and Jai Triep (two goals each) battled hard, with Jesse Walker-Swain named the Eagles’ best.
In the second semi-final, Devon Meadows put up a strong fight against Frankston Bombers but narrowly fell short by 11 points.
It was a much-improved effort for the Panthers after they were convincingly beaten by the Bombers earlier in the year, but it could still be the one that got away.
A half-time lead of 16 points had Devon Meadows in a really good position against the benchmark team of the competition.
But to their credit, the Bombers turned it around with a flurry of goals late in the third term, and took a 16-point lead into the last.
They kicked an early goal in the last quarter, and it looked a bridge too far, and despite the Panthers kicking a couple to get back within seven points, it wasn’t enough – the final margin 11 points.
Jai Block (three goals), Khan Haretuku and Jason Kingsbury propelled the Bombers into a grand final, Kingsbury standing up in the absence of Harry Prior (injured).
While Joel Hillis (one goal), Levi Churchill and Cody Ray (two goals) impressed for Devon Meadows.
MPFNL DIVISION 2
Results – Semi-Finals: Frankston Bombers 13.9 (87) def Devon Meadows 11.10 (76), Pearcedale 13.5 (83) def Somerville 9.7 (61).
Fixture – Preliminary Final: Devon Meadows v Pearcedale at RJ Rowley Reserve, Saturday, 2.15pm.
