AFL Yarra Ranges: Wandin runs away from an injured Olinda Ferny Creek to win qualifying final
Finishing full of running, Wandin charged over the top of an injured Olinda Ferny Creek to score a four-goal win in the qualifying final at Emerald on Saturday.
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Finishing full of running, Wandin charged over the top of an injured Olinda Ferny Creek to score a four-goal win in the qualifying final at Emerald on Saturday.
After trailing narrowly at the half, the Bloods booted five goals to open a 21-point lead midway through the third term and looked well set for an appointment with Woori Yallock next week.
But two Wandin goals in the shadows of orange time started to swing the momentum the Bulldogs way.
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And, with Olinda Ferny Creek down to one rotation on the bench after losing Dylan Troutman (hamstring), Callum Eade (broken finger) and skipper Marcus Hottes (hamstring), their legs were gone.
Though Olinda’s Rhys Cottam-Starkey kicked the first goal of the final quarter, the contest quickly developed into a Justin Van Unen cameo.
After having leaving Bulldogs supporters with their hearts in their mouths for much of the match, starting the day with 0.3 and one out on the full, the star forward stepped up when things were on the line. Two goals in the space of a minute gave Wandin the lead and his three final-quarter goals proved decisive.
Rohan Heasley and Tommy Merlino scored late goals to blow the margin out.
Patrick Bruzzese, Heasley and the towering Robbie Ross were outstanding for Wandin while Luke Hill, Kelsey Currie and Dylan Wilson refused to throw in the towel for the Bloods.
Wandin coach Nick Rutley said the Bulldogs had set themselves for a shootout and the high number of misses early had been frustrating.
“We started well, but really didn’t convert,” he said. “We always thought it was going to be a bit of a ‘if they kick 15 well we’ll come out and kick 16’.”
But, Van Unen’s final quarter not withstanding, Rutley felt the game was won at the other end of the field.
“The way our defenders defended, I reckon they’ve been our best line all year, they were under a lot of pressure at times but really took ownership,” he said. “I think we regained momentum through the stoppages and kicked a couple of goals late in the third.”
Meanwhile, in the elimination final at Yarra Junction, Healesville trumpeted its finals credentials with a devastating performance against Upwey Tecoma.
Just a week after the Bloods had fallen to the Tigers in the final round, all form guides were thrown out with Healesville saluting 24.15 (159) to 7.10 (52).
What had promised so much on paper was pretty much over by quarter-time as the Bloods ruthlessly hammered home 10 goals to lead by 51 points at quarter-time.
With Rodney Woodford and Kokwam Niki bagging four apiece, and Jaden McGrath, Simon Gordon and Jason Savage all kicking triples, the scoreboard ticked over at an alarming rate.
While Niki was named best afield, Dylan Anderson, Nicholas Mende, Luke Barclay, Tim Costigan and Matthew Jeffery all etched their names on a very long list of winners.
Daniel Waters kicked two goals to be the Tigers’ lone multiple goalscorer, finishing the season with 84, while William Duncan, Haydn Stanley and Ben Hinton battled gamely against the odds.
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