EDFL: Aberfeldie defeat Strathmore to win through to Premier Division decider
After a “reality check” a week earlier, Aberfeldie stormed through to an eighth straight grand final on the back of strong performances from two brothers.
Essendon
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The Cattapan family is part of the furniture at Aberfeldie.
So it’s no surprise to see brothers Nick and Sam put their names up in lights when finals footy starts.
The pair were named best on ground as Abers stormed to a 16.15 (111) to 8.11 (59) win over Strathmore in the Essendon District Football League Premier Division second semi-final at Windy Hill on Saturday.
The result means the competition’s powerhouse will now contest an eighth straight grand final, having won three of the past seven.
Sam stood up in the absence of injured skipper Luke Davis to lead his side with a dominant midfield performance capped off by three goals.
Meanwhile, Nick was everywhere across halfback and created plenty of attacking opportunities for his side.
Aberfeldie coach Adam Marcon has relished working with the pair in his first season.
“They really led from the front and stood up when we needed players to,” he said.
“They’re a great Aberfeldie family and you could see just how much Saturday’s win meant to the boys. Sam played as an inside midfielder all day and to kick three goals is a massive performance considering he was our captain without Luke.
“I’m very proud of this group, eight grand finals in a row is a pretty remarkable achievement for the club.”
Aberfeldie was able to control the contest for most of the day after leading 4.3 to 1.4 at the first break, a margin which only increased by a point at halftime.
But 10 goals to five in the second half saw Abers produce a 75-point turnaround against Strathmore.
The Mores had prevailed by 23 points in the last game of the home-and-away season.
“We probably got the reality check we needed in that game,” Marcon said.
“It was an interesting one because we had already sewn up top spot and Strathmore were still playing for the double chance. It was handy getting a few personnel back but it put us back into line.
“Strathmore are a really good contested team and we were finally able to break them open after halftime this time. Importantly we were able to make the most of our opportunities.”
Aaron Stone, Tim Currie, Nick Meese and Tye Browning were also impressive for Abers.
Meanwhile Lucas Rocci, Michael Ktona, Sam Paea, Stefan Rasinac and Zach Hislop all finished with two goals apiece.
Marcon reported a clean bill of health at game’s end with the exception of a “couple minor corkies”.
For Strathmore, Sean Callander was named the best player on the ground while Tom Denning and Brock Egglestone battled hard.
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