EDFL 2019: Jack Burns stars as Tullamarine beats Westmeadows

With one-point separating rivals Tullamarine and Westmeadows at three-quarter-time of an enthralling elimination final, the Demons needed their experienced players to stand tall. Enter Jack Burns.

Tullamarine celebrates a goal during Sunday’s win. Picture: Jamie Morey

An extraordinary last-quarter burst from Jack Burns kept Tullamarine’s EDFL Division 1 flag hopes alive on Sunday.

With the Demons holding a one-point lead against rival Westmeadows at three-quarter-time in the elimination final at Windy Hill, Burns helped himself to four goals in the final half-hour as his team scored a 33-point win.

It was Tullamarine’s eighth consecutive victory over the Tigers, setting up a preliminary final appointment with minor premier East Keilor.

“Even in the first half, we spoke a little bit about changing his role,” Demons coach David Connell said of Burns.

“In the second quarter he was pretty effective across half forward, so we probably changed his role to 70 per cent forward and 30 per cent through the midfield.

“He come to the fore in the last quarter. I thought he was fantastic.”

Anthony Prestia was one of Tullamarine's best. Picture: Jamie Morey

The decisive period of what was a tight contest came in the third term.

With the rain tumbling, the Tigers adjusted much quicker to the wet conditions but failed to capitalise on their dominance.

Tullamarine was held scoreless for about 25 minutes, with the underdog kicking 2.3 during that period.

Westmeadows ultimately paid the price in the final term, with the Demons booting six goals to one to secure a 15.12 (102) to 10.9 (69) win.

The Tigers’ cause was not helped by the absence of forwards Dean Clare and Mitch Church, while Omar Saad — the competition’s leading goalkicker during the home-and-away rounds — was restricted to one major.

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Saad managed three goals from as many games against the Demons this season, with emerging defender Tim Matson completing the job with aplomb on each occasion as he enjoys a superb year.

While Burns killed the contest, Blair Cronin kicked three first-half goals and four for the match.

Anthony Liberatore did an impressive job on Westmeadows captain Robbie Castello after half-time, while Nathan Sciberras kept Aaron Evans quiet.

Anthony Prestia and Cameron Hare fired in the midfield and David Scott was influential in the ruck.

Tullamarine finished third on the ladder after coughing up the double chance with a final-round loss to Hillside as it looks to erase the pain of three grand final defeats in five seasons.

“It wasn’t the match up we wanted to have. Westy are a quality side,” former Tigers coach Connell said.

“I guess I always feel a bit more pressure facing Westmeadows. You don’t want to end your season on that note.

“The main message for us is really taking the opportunity.

“Everyone says we’ve been in lots of finals series and you’ve got pressure, but finals series also present opportunities, and this group is just really lucky they get the opportunities regularly.”

The Demons lost to East Keilor by eight points when the pair last met after holding a 29-point advantage at the final break.

Tullamarine powered to a 42-point victory in Round 7.

“If you look at the two games, we’ve felt we’ve probably been in control for six of the eight quarters,” Connell said.

“They’re a quality side, but we know we’ll be able to get some belief from playing well against them for three quarters of those two games.”

Craigieburn secured a direct passage to the decider after knocking off the Cougars in the major semi.

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