EFL 2018: Upper Ferntree Gully falls out of Division 2 finals in straight sets

UPPER Ferntree Gully’s bid to play Division 2 finals for the first time in more than a quarter of a century will have to wait until at least 2019 after being knocked out of EFL finals in straight sets.

UPPER Ferntree Gully coach Joel Perry predicted pre-finals that Doncaster East and Lilydale were the two best teams in Division 2.

And so it proved as his side — which finished second on the ladder — was knocked out of the Eastern Football League finals in straight sets following consecutive losses to this weekend’s grand finalists.

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A 20-point semi-final defeat against Doncaster East was followed by a 22-point loss against Lilydale in Saturday’s preliminary final, bringing a premature end Upper Gully’s September campaign.

Typically miserly in defence, the Kings conceded their second highest score of the season in the 14.10 (94) to 10.12 (72) defeat as Lilydale advanced to meet Doncaster East in this weekend’s decider.

Perry was still taking the positives from the season.

Upper Ferntree Gully coach Joel Perry. Picture: Davis Harrigan

“I said we wanted to make the finals and we did that,” Perry said.

“It’s a bit disappointing finishing second, getting the double chance and then going out in straight sets but that’s life, that’s footy.

“If you had have said we’d make finals at the start of the year I would have taken it for sure.”

Upper Gully conceded six of the first nine goals of the game and trailed by 16 points at halftime before staging a fightback.

The Kings seized the momentum at the final change with a two-point advantage after keeping the Falcons to two behinds in the third term, going to three-quarter time with a two-point lead.

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Upper Gully extended its lead beyond a goal at the start of the last quarter before the Falcons rediscovered their best football to boot six of the last seven goals of the game.

“They’ve just got a heap of small half-forwards, wingers who have got some pace and they’re really dangerous,” Perry said.

“In the end, we just couldn’t keep them under control.”

This year marked the first time Upper Gully has contended a second tier finals series since 1983, but it will still be searching for its first Division 2 finals win next year since finishing runner-up in 1968.

“We actually played really well, we had a crack, we were certainly much better than last week,” Perry said.

“The previous week we were down the line and so basic so we challenged them to defend and we were able to score but in the end, they ran over us in the last quarter.”