North Ballarat set up double chance after win over Redan and finals system quirk
Results over the weekend has helped North Ballarat to go one step closer to making their first senior final in eight years. Find out how the club is planning on making it.
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A quirk in the Ballarat league finals system could help North Ballarat make the grand final for the first time in eight years.
And Roosters coach Brendan McCartney is confident his team has what it takes to be Ballarat’s best this season.
North Ballarat won their first finals contest since 2015 beating Redan by 17 points in the elimination final on Sunday.
A five-goal haul from young forward Jamie Quick helped the Roosters overcome a half-time deficit to prevail against the Lions.
“The signs were good in the first half but we didn’t put it on the scoreboard,” McCartney said.
“That was due to their (Redan’s) good work. They were forcing us pretty wide (with shots), we couldn’t get the ball to the dangerous part of the forward 50.
“In the third quarter all our goals came from 10-15m out.”
The win for North Ballarat not only helped them avoid being eliminated but it also set up two grand final chances.
Ballarat’s finals system is unique with the first week seeing 1st and 2nd battle and 3rd taking on 6th and 4th taking on 5th.
The winner of 1st and 2nd takes on the highest placed winner of the elimination finals for a spot in the grand final in the second week with the loser of 1st and 2nd taking on the other elimination final winner.
North Ballarat, in 4th, qualified for the double chance after East Point (6th) defeated Sebastopol (3rd) by 18 points in the other final.
Melton, who lost to Darley, now face East Point in an elimination semi this week.
The Roosters take on Darley this week and then face the winner of Melton or East Point next week if the team loses to the Devils.
A win puts the team in the grand final.
McCartney said while the system advantaged his team, he admitted it wasn’t a focus when the team took to the field, even though the Roosters knew it would happen with a win.
“As a coach, when you’ve done it as long as I have, you never worry about something like that,” he said.
“We had a really good opponent and Redan are a really talented football team.
“That was our only focus.”
Now the opportunity has presented itself, McCartney is keen to take advantage of it.
The team has been building in the past couple of years with juniors Jamie Quick, Jack Riding and Riley Polkinghorne, with others, rising the club to a position to battle for the flag.
And most of it is through the Roosters production line with the majority of the players used in the elimination final playing juniors at one stage at the club.
McCartney believes the team is equipped to get there, even though they’ve won just one game against Melton and Darley in three matches.
“We’ve been building for a couple of years, with a young group of players with some maturity sprinkled through,” he said.
“We’ve been learning how to play a way of football that stands up in finals.
“The further you get into a finals series, it invariably comes back to a contested ball game and a high pressure game.
“There’s two things you need to do, create that sort of game, and when that game is happening around you need players that flourish and thrive and that’s what we think we’ve been doing.”
McCartney said he would back his team to get the job done against Darley who has one of the best players in the league – Brett Bewley.
Bewley is likely to win back-to-back Henderson medals and starred last week against Melton, being one of the best and kicking two goals.
“Teams have been trying to tag him and no one has been able to do it,” McCartney said.
“History would show you it is potentially a waste of time.
“I’ve been coaching for a while and it is 85-15.
“10-15 the opposition and rest is about your players (and getting the job done).”
The team will take on Darley at Darley Oval at 2.15pm on Saturday.
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