AFL Yarra Ranges: Woori Yallock wins minor premiership, will use the week off to finetune for Olinda Ferny Creek or Wandin
After the dust of the closest season in decades finally cleared, Woori Yallock secured top spot and the minor premiership after a 35-point win over Mount Evelyn on Saturday.
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After the dust of the closest season in decades finally cleared, Woori Yallock secured top spot and the minor premiership after a 35-point win over Mount Evelyn on Saturday.
After winning 12.13 (85) to 7.8 (50) at the Mount Evelyn Recreation Reserve, the Tigers finished the home-and-away season a game clear of Olinda Ferny Creek, Wandin and Upwey Tecoma and will now enjoy a week off when the finals get underway this weekend.
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And, with a relatively injury-free list, coach Barry McDonald said the Tigers would use the extra week to finetune for the second semi-final rather than getting players over niggles as is often the case at this time of year.
“We’re pretty healthy at the moment and we’ll pretty much be at full strength,” he said. “But talking to the guys after the game, a lot of them were saying they wouldn’t mind keeping going and playing this week. I think that shows where we’re at with this list this year.
“Any slight advantage you can get this year is really handy. The beauty of a week off is you have some time, a little bit more time to get everything in order.
“We’ll train really hard this week and the advantage is we can crash and bash a bit on Tuesday and Thursday night (and then freshen up for the following week).”
Jake Matthews bagged four goals for Woori while Ryley Monkhorst, Shane Kennedy and Matthew Wright all had good games on the eve of finals.
The defeat left the promising young Mount Evelyn line-up in sixth place with a 9-9 record, a game adrift of Healesville but percentage ahead of seventh-placed Monbulk.
Meanwhile, Healesville and Upwey Tecoma staged a dress rehearsal for this weekend’s elimination final when they took to the Upwey Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
And it was the Tigers who prevailed, bouncing back from last week’s heavy defeat against Wandin with a 15.13 (103) to 14.11 (95 win).
Upwey trailed by 22 points at halftime before clicking into gear with a six-goal third quarter. David Bell and Nick Kane kicked four apiece for the Tigers while Kyle Grenda earned the nod as best afield.
Rod Woodford bagged four for the Bloods with Jack Nugent again a standout.
Monbulk ended its season at 9-9 after taking care of Belgrave 18.13 (121) to 12.9 (81). Jared Major booted six goals to be named the Hawks’ best .
Despite the defeat, the Magpies leapfrogged Warburton Millgrove in the race to avoid the wooden spoon, after the Burras were belted 23.22 (16) to 5.8 (38) by Olinda Ferny Creek.
The gap between the two was just 0.15 per cent.
This Saturday’s opening week of finals will see Olinda Ferny Creek take on Wandin in the qualifying final with the winner progressing to a second semi-final showdown with Woori Yallock. The elimination final will pit Upwey Tecoma against Healesville again this week.
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