Marcellin suffers shock loss to Monash Blues in VAFA Premier C semi-final

TOP spot on the ladder was not enough to guarantee Marcellin Old Collegians a direct path to the Premier C grand final.

VAFA footy: St Bernard's V Old Trinity Grammarians. Old Trinitys Luther Juric chased by Universitys Michael Caven

TOP spot on the ladder was not enough to guarantee Marcellin Old Collegians a direct path to the Premier C grand final.

Despite beating the Monash Blues the last time the two met, the Eagles went down by 38 points, 12.10 (82) to 6.8 (44) in Saturday’s second semi-final.

Going without a goal in both the second and fourth quarters hurt Marcellin’s chances of securing a grand final berth and the week off.

A dominant first half set up the Blues’ win, as they kicked 10 goals while keeping the Eagles to just three .

The second half was a tighter affair with just five goals scored by either side.

A third term, where they kicked three goals to none, was encouraging for Marcellin, however, the Eagles were unable to stage a comeback with the Blues outscoring them in the final term.

Andrew Kay was the leading goalscorer for the Eagles, booting three majors, while Jonathan Bortolotto chipped in with two.

Jarrod Carlson was best on ground for the Eagles, with Jonathan Blanch, Nicholas Crosbie and Matthew Gasparani were battling gamely in the loss.

Despite the defeat, Marcellin’s top-of-the-table finish to the regular season has ensured it a second chance.

The Eagles will take on the winner of the Old Ivanhoe v Old Haileyburians first semi-final in the preliminary final next week.

Meanwhile, in Premier, Old Trinity is into the grand final after beating St Bernard’s 8.7 (55) to 5.18 (48) in the second semi-final on Sunday