MEN’S DIVISION TWO GRAND FINALS
MEN’S DIVISION ONE PRELIMINARY FINALS
September 7-8, 2024
MEN’S PREMIER DIVISION SEMI FINALS
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PREMIER DIVISION
By Luke Mathews
since the 2017 preliminary final against Marby
Pascoe Vale has made up for last year’s disappointing preliminary final loss after defeating Strathmore by 64 points at Section Road
Saturday’s win is Pascoe Vale’s first finals victory since their 2022 elimination final victory against Keilor and makes amends for a straight sets exit in 2023.
After a relatively even first half which saw the Panthers take an 11-point lead into half time, Leigh Tudor’s side blew the game wide open with six third-quarter goals before piling on four more in the final term to cruise to victory.
Adam Figliola starred once again kicking three goals to help set up the victory, while Ben Allan and Carled El Khoder contributed strongly with two goals each.
Despite being well beaten, Athan Tsialtas’ fine form continued with another two goals while Ryan Brodie and Trent Dumont fought hard all day.
Greenvale have punched their ticket to the semi finals, defeating Aberfeldie by 74 points at Piranha Park
The victory is also Greenvale’s first finals win against Abers since the 2013 grand final which breaks a run of five straight finals losses in 10 years against their arch rivals including two grand final losses in 2015 and 2017.
In difficult conditions, it was the Jets who had the better looks at goal in the first half which helped them open up a 23-point half time lead before storming home with six goals in the third term and four in the last.
After a quiet game in Round 18, Josh Porter starred for the Jets kicking three goals to take his season tally to 37 from just 14 games, while Hayden Fraser made the most of his opportunities with two goals each.
Despite going down, Josh Kemp, Brodie Newman, and Ben Ronke finished the season well and were all able to hit the scoreboard in their final outing for 2024.
STRATHMORE COMMUNITY BANK DIVISION ONE
By Joseph Ibic
Maribyrnong Park has booked the first spot in the decider after a hard fought victory over West Coburg by 24 points.
Marby’s victory was largely due to their better accuracy in front of goals as they adjusted to the tumultuous wind better than their opponents.
Lachie Plowman, James Kayrooz, and Josh Cole led the way up front for the Lions kicking two goals each with Scott Clarke among the best.
West Coburg will be rueing their inaccurate kicking in front of goal that undoubtedly hurt them.
They would be particularly disappointed with their first quarter that saw them score 12 behinds and no goals
St Albans are through to the preliminary final after knocking Hillside out in straight sets with a 52-point victory.
The Saints were clinical in the first quarter, booting seven unanswered goals to set up the victory before holding off any Hillside counter attacks throughout the match to run out comfortable winners.
Josh Carter was important for the Saints up forward as he slotted five majors in the victory, while Jake Galea and late inclusion Alex Tsia were also among the best, scoring two goals each and using the ball well by hand and foot.
It will be a bitterly disappointing end to the season for Hillside who exit the finals in straight sets after finishing the home and away season in third place.
The Sharks were thoroughly outclassed by St Albans across the four quarters and despite a few fightbacks, the Sharks never really looked like winning or getting close.
STRATHMORE COMMUNITY BANK DIVISION TWO
By Luke Mathews
Westmeadows have booked their spot in the grand final defeating Burnside Heights by 20 points at Salesian College.
The win now gives the Tigers a chance to win their first grand final since 1984 and return to Division One, while Burnside’s wait for
promotion will continue after a straight sets finals exit.
The Bears opened up an early advantage with two first-quarter goals to take an 11-point lead into quarter time before the margin was reduced to four points at the main break
The Tigers turned the game on its head with four third-quarter goals which saw them take a 17-point lead into the final term.
After missing three shots early in final term, the Bears reduced the margin to nine points 16 minutes into the last quarter before Westmeadows sealed the victory with two goals later in the fourth quarter
Rex Hickman starred for the Tigers with three goals to help set up the victory while Ryan Capron, Jake Hatton, and Luke Smith stood up when it mattered.
Daniel Hovey continued his strong 2024 season with another three goals while Luke Bonello and Mason Bawden fought hard all day.
By Luke D’Anello
of the toughest jobs in the Essendon District Football League two years ago.
The Tigers had been a perennial finalist in Division One but were forced to undergo a changing of the guard after the departure of former mentor Mo Kaakour, who secured an assistant-coaching role in the VFL
Now Westmeadows is one win away from a remarkable Division Two flag under rising coach Flavel
Only eight players from the Tigers’ line-up that conquered Burnside Heights in Saturday’s preliminary final – Jarrod Petersen, Ryan Capron, Jake Hatton, Aaron Evans, Jordan Kosteas, Riley Hearne, Ryan Stingel, and Nathan Sparks – featured in the club’s elimination final loss to West Coburg in 2022.
Last year, Westmeadows showed positive signs in the second half of the campaign before it was one of two teams relegated from the second tier after claiming four wins, including toppling finalist Hillside and Craigieburn in the run home.
This season, the Tigers finished the homeand-away rounds in third spot and recovered
in the opening week of finals.
At the weekend they knocked off Burnside by 20 points – a margin that could have been greater had they not kicked eight goals from 25 scores – to set up a date with minor premier Taylors Lakes in the decider.
“I probably expected to make finals with the side we had, but to make the grand final is a great achievement,” said Flavel, who was an assistant coach at the club for two seasons before taking the top job.
“But they (the players) understand from last year, I just wanted them to think they’re Division One footballers, and that’s no disrespect to Division Two and the opposition we’ve played against this year.
“A lot of doubters probably expected us to finish bottom two at the start of the year, but we went under the radar. That was fine with me. I knew that we had a good enough team to get where we are now ”
President Will Kosteas said the Tigers had been “underrated” in pre-season following relegation.
While the side is young, the exits forced the club to push fast-forward on its rebuild.
Kosteas said Westmeadows was now focused on developing homegrown players and lauded Flavel for his efforts in uniting the group.
“The future of the club is going to go that way so we don’t put ourselves in a position that we were in after 2022, where a lot of players –and no offence to any players – were there solely for the money,” he said
“We’ll never have that happen to us again, which is the good thing
“He (Flavel) is very good with the young guys and he’s been able to make the young group feel very confident.
“Chatting to him, he’s a far better coach this year than he was last year.
“We had no hesitation in getting him signed up for next year… and he’s on board long term as well. He’s developing with these young guys and they like his philosophies, the way he goes about his footy and they like playing that style of footy as well.”
Flavel said the Tigers “had to reset” swiftly after 2022.
He said Hatton, Sparks, Jordan Kosteas, Reilly Holmes, Luke Smith, James Taglieri-Sclocchi, Daniel Spencer, Gabriel Guida, Mason Mineo, and Shaun O’Grady headlined the next generation of talent.
“It was more getting game time into these kids and that just probably fast-tracked them last year. If we kept the same side and added (players), these kids wouldn’t have played a lot of senior football, so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world,” he said.
“To fast-track these kids and give them a good full pre-season this year and then obviously improve by another 10 or 15 per cent, which a lot of them have this year, to get where we are is a massive achievement by the kids.”
Flavel reflected on the hard yards early in his coaching tenure, agreeing it made the club hungrier to taste success
He said he initially had “no intentions” of being a senior coach and praised the work of his coaching staff.
“It’s not all about me, but what I had to take over was very hard,” Flavel said.
“But I just wanted to get down to work, and I knew it was going to be a tough year But I thought we held our own last year in Division One
“But we thought it wasn’t the worst thing to go down Obviously the club was just resetting after the big exodus just to get back on their feet
“We haven’t spent a lot of money this year, enough to obviously get by, but not like some of these other clubs have spent. So that’s probably a really good tick for the boys and the club to get where we are now.”
Taylors Lakes stands between Westmeadows and its second senior EDFL premiership – its first coming in Division One in 1984.
The Lions powered their way to a thumping 100-point win in Round 8, while the pair shared the points in Round 16, adding intrigue to Saturday’s grand final at Windy Hill.
“They’re the favourites – they’ve been on top all year, so they definitely go in as favourites. We’re the underdogs, but I’m happy with that,” Flavel said.
“The first time we played them, they won by 100 points, but that was a bad week for the club, where we had a lot of players sick, a lot of blokes down.
“But to draw with them a few weeks ago at their ground when both of us were pretty much at full strength was a really good effort and obviously gives us confidence going into this week, knowing we’ve got nothing to lose.
“We’re going to go out full steam ahead and try to knock them off. The boys are not intimidated by Taylors Lakes. They’ve got a lot of good players, but so do we.
“I think our fitness, our conversion, and our execution of skills, if we can get that right this week, I think we’ll be right in it ”
HADFIELD
President: Alan Kerr
Coach: Marae Moustafa
Mousa Said
Adham Taleb
Otif Moustafa
Adem Taleb
Zak Moustafa
Samir Mohamad
Mohammed Rabah
Omar Said
Dawoud Said
Zein Taleb
Ishaq Taha
Moussa Mourad
Mohammad Houssein
Humza Moustafa
Tarek Hussein
Abdurrahman Merhi
Ali Mustafa
Noah Hussein
Abdullah Mustapha
Khaled Rabah
Mohammed Mustapha
Mohammed Said
STRATHMORE
President: John Toniolo
Coach: Mark Kennedy
Spencer Johnson
Jonathan Cann
Noah Pierce
Zak Waters
James Staropoli
Pericles Konstantinidis
Isaac Dean
Nicholas Staropoli
Jameson Haxby
Archie Cottom
Jake Bruni
Lucas Andropof
Rydah Anderson
Mitchell Barrett
Andrea Rametta
Cody Liersch
Aidan Nathanielsz
Sebastian Caputo
Christian Stone
Leroy Coleman
Henry Thomas
Charlie Greaves
Max Paglia
Nicholas Perdikaris
Darcy Langston
Lucas Pane
Sam Clough
Liam Oreo
Levi Sargeant
Jarrod Nicol
SUNBURYKANGAROOS
President: Mick Streiff
Coach: Matthew Baird
Kasey Curll
Zane Booth
Trent Cranwell
Brayden Cuffe
Muhammed Rexhep
Zachary Ploog
Jakob Feist
Adam Prescott
Cooper Anson
Matthew Parker
Brenton Sutherland
Daniel Stubbs
Matthew Baird
Daniel Richmond
Ethan Wellby
Lachlan Kaye
James Tyquin
Kyle Tucker
Tannin Wilson
Joshua Bowden
Branden Paul
Cam Hildebrand
Jamie Cuffe
Ethan McDonald
Andrew Gilbertson
Travis Faulds
NORTHERN SAINTS
President: Moe El-Sheikh
Coach: Abdul El Rafei
Musa Zraika
Thomas Pelaccia
Salvatore D’Angelo
Abdul Halim Khodr
Radwan Haddara
Wissam Abdul-Wahed
Moustafa Rabah
Ehsan Taiba
Mathew Haley
Ahmed Elbaba
Mohamed Taleb
Jehad Haddara
Hamze Atik
Louis Fulgaro
Mohammed Hussein
Belal Mustapha
Stefan Valensisi
Mohammad Taleb
Abdullah Elrafei
Noah Saraya
Mezin Abdulwahed
Hussein Taleb
Bernardo Tenace
Abdul Taleb
Daheg Abdul-Wahed
Mohammed Elzeine
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