EDFL: Rupertswood stay in finals contention with win over Moonee Valley
Rupertswood has already proven plenty of doubters wrong this season and they’re hoping to go one step further by playing finals footy. West Coburg stands in its way.
Essendon
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Rupertswood is right where it wants to be with one game to play.
A chance to play Essendon District league finals for the first time is in the Sharks’ hands.
Arron Bray’s men kept touch with the Division 1 top four with a hard fought 8.16 (64) to 4.9 (33) win over Moonee Valley setting up a final round showdown with West Coburg.
The Burgers sit one game clear and just over five per cent clear of Rupertswood in fourth heading into next weekend’s clash.
Third placed Westmeadows also has a 11-6 record but their percentage of 130.78 is far better than both sides which means they can start planning for an elimination final.
While some Rupertswood supporters might be working out the score required to sneak into the top four, Bray is going to keep it simple.
“We need to get the win first and see what happens from there,” he said.
“We don’t want to overload the young fellas with the what ifs. Their best has been good enough against the top sides this season and they’ll need to bring it once again.
“We knew there was going to be inconsistencies with this group but they’ve learnt a lot along the way and I’ve got faith they can get the four points to end the season.”
While Rupertswood remaining in finals calculations heading into the final round might be a shock for some, Bray believes his group always had it in them.
The Sharks won just two games during the Covid impacted 2021 season to finish second last on the ladder ahead of Taylors Lakes.
And their rise up the ladder has seen Bray signed as coach for a further two seasons.
Brent Swallow, Jackson Cardillo, Jordan Tentonello and Jorden Braddy are just some of the familiar names to have enjoyed strong seasons.
Meanwhile recruits including Brock Landt and Zak Saad have impressed during their first season at the club.
“The club is fairly happy with how we’ve gone. I think we’ve proven a lot of people wrong,” Bray said.
“A lot of people had us towards the bottom part of the ladder. We didn’t recruit any huge names, we recruited shrewdly without jeopardising the juniors at our footy club.
“Already some players have approached me about wanting to come to the club next year. It speaks a lot about your culture and what you’re doing when people are reaching out to you.”
Saturday’s win was one of Rupertswood’s toughest of the season with both sides struggling for any attacking flow in what Bray described as “grubby conditions”.
Rupertswood led 3.7 (25) to 2.6 (18) at the main break before breaking the game open in the third term with four goals to one.
Cameron McRorie impressed with two goals in a best on ground display while Fraser Phelan-Smith added two of his own in an equally impressive performance.
Brett Martin, Luke Cannon, Braddy and Swallow were all named among the better players for Rupertswood.
For Moonee Valley, Nicholas Robortella was best afield while Bevan Newell and Will Agius also showed plenty of positive signs.
Moonee Valley will face Craigieburn in the final round of the season, a side who could still mathematically be relegated to Division 2.
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