Diamond Creek stuns Lower Plenty to earn NFL Division 2 preliminary final berth
Diamond Creek continued its strong finals form, ending Lower Plenty’s season in straight sets, with coach Andrew Tranquilli sending a reminder to rivals.
Northern
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Diamond Creek produced one of the upsets of the NFL Division 2 season, ending Lower Plenty’s campaign on Sunday.
The Creekers’ 21-point win in the minor semi-final at Epping Recreation Reserve secures them a preliminary final berth against Eltham and, stunningly, bundles the Bears out in straight sets.
After coming within five points of a qualifying final win last week, consecutive defeats is a bitter blow for Lower Plenty.
The 15.6 (96) to 11.9 (75) victory continues Diamond Creek’s extraordinary campaign.
After missing finals the past two seasons, the Creekers defeated Thomastown in the elimination final and will now play in their first preliminary final since 2017 – where they also beat Lower by nine points.
Coach Andrew Tranquilli said people now needed to take his team seriously.
“We keep the journey alive and we still believe we’re a side that people should take more seriously,” he said.
“Everyone thinks we’re lucky to be there but we think we’re better than that.
“I don’t let that outside noise influence the playing group, I don’t use that as motivation, if you need that then you’re already half beaten.”
Tranquilli pinpointed his team’s work against the wind as major factors in the victory.
Diamond Creek booted four goals into the breeze in the first quarter as Lower Plenty took a five-point lead into quarter-time.
The Bears jumped out to a three-goal lead early in the second term before the Creekers snatched the momentum to pile on five unanswered goals.
Diamond Creek extended the lead to 12 points in the third quarter, despite the Bears having the breeze at their backs, and then kicked the last three goals of the game – including two from Pingree – to round out an impressive performance.
“Early doors I thought the way were able to put scoreboard pressure on, kicking into the wind, and the third quarter was where we were able to strangle them,” Tranquilli said.
“We didn’t let them have easy ball movement – it wasn’t a huge breeze but it was a genuine three-goal wind – and we were able to close them down and put pressure on.
“Our ball security was really good, we took the heat, took the tackle and made sure we protected the ball.”
Tranquilli rated Sam Gleeson (nine tackles) and Tyler Barnes’ work in midfield and James Marchbank’s performance in the ruck as major catalysts in the win.
Matt Lewis, Hugh Kavanagh and Joel Randall were strong in defence, while Ryan Pingree booted four goals and Ryan Donaldson played his best game of the season.
Billy Barden booted four goals for Lower Plenty, which was well served by Ben Paterson, James Elliot and Tom Keys.
Eltham won both meetings against Diamond Creek this season with margins of 37 points in Round 2 and 14 points in Round 13.
With the odds once again stacked against his side, Tranquilli was quietly confident of another upset.
DIV 2: BANYULE EARNS SHOT AT GF REDEMPTION
LEADER: GET YOUR NORTHERN FOOTY NEWS HERE
DIV 3: SOUTH MORANG HOPING TO END PROMOTION WAIT
Having watched the Panthers’ major semi-final defeat to Banyule, he knew exactly what his team would need to do.
“They’ve got us both times but absolutely we belief we’re a genuine chance,” he said.
“I thought the way Banyule took it to Eltham early was not surprising and neither was it surprising to see Eltham how a five to seven-minute momentum swing were they really hit the scoreboard.
“The first half cemented for me, regardless who won and loss, the style of play required next week.”
TASTE OF ELIMINATION GIVES CREEKERS CONFIDENCE
Diamond Creek coach Andrew Tranquilli believes a taste of sudden-death finals will help his players take down Lower Plenty.
The Creekers booked a first semi-final showdown with the Bears by ending Thomastown’s NFL Division 2 season on Sunday with a 22-point elimination final victory.
The Bears’ late-season surge to snatch fifth in the final match of the regular season came to a halt at Epping Recreation Reserve, 11.13 (79) to 9.3 (57).
After spending much of the season in the top three, Diamond Creek slipped to fourth in the final weeks of the home-and-away season as Lower Plenty secured the double chance.
Tranquilli believed the mentality of elimination games would stand his team in good stead.
“I think that top three was right – Eltham, Banyule and Lower Plenty,” he said.
“We were one point off holding third potentially, does it prove we deserve to be there? I think we’ve already done that.
“There’ll be no more emphasis on (the game) than the weekend, we know it’s an elimination game every week for us.
“Who’s to say Lower Plenty don’t feel more pressure than us, we’ve tasted what elimination feels like while they had a safety net last week.”
Thomastown began the game with the breeze at its back but could only forged a four-point lead at quarter-time.
In contrast, Diamond Creek piled on five majors with the wind in the second term to take a match-winning 23-point margin into half-time.
Tranquilli believed the defensive efforts in the opening stanza set up the win.
“Thomastown came out pretty strong and had a nice breeze to kick with but we held them to two goals and it was the first quarter, in all honesty, that won us the game,” he said.
“It was a genuine three-goal breeze, we were able to use the ball well and hit the scoreboard properly (in the second).
“We had five shots in the first and third quarters as well but there was poor kicking by us, while Thomastown finished up with 9.3 which was awesome straight kicking.”
Thomastown pulled within three points at the final change but with the wind blowing Diamond Creek added four last-quarter goals to seal the win.
The Creekers lost star midfielder Jacob Booth before the game and he will be assessed before the clash with Lower Plenty.
Skipper Chris Maloney, Tom Bennett, Hugh Kavanagh and Matt Lewis all returned to bolster the Devils.
Tranquilli credited Lewis’ job on Thomastown gun Anthony Capeci and Nathan Searl’s work through midfield for getting his side over the line.
“Matty Lewis was pretty good, we put him on Capeci and those two always have a good duel,” he said.
“Capeci was a livewire for them when they started to come back in the third quarter, so respect to him.
“Lachie Brannelly did well in the forward line, providing that drop-of-ball pressure and hit the scoreboard as well.
DIV 2: BANYULE DENIES EPIC LOWER COMEBACK BID
LEADER: GET YOUR NORTHERN FOOTY NEWS HERE
WOMEN’S: CREEKERS BLITZ NETS MAIDEN PREMIERSHIP
“I thought Nathan Searl, with the heavy tag he’s getting, the work-rate and workload he’s carrying for us was pretty good.
“Young Brodie Watson, he might be just 18 now, he came up with a crucial moment to kick a normally easy goal but at that stage of the game was really important for us.”
The first semi-final will be held on Sunday at Epping Recreation Reserve.
Fresh from the week off, minor premier Eltham will face Banyule in the major semi-final on Saturday for a place in the grand final.
Ranked: The ex-AFL players who lit up local footy this year
From the bush to the ‘burbs, former AFL players thrilled local football crowds across all corners of the state this year. We’ve named the best – and ranked the top 15. See who heads the list.
Delisted Don tops local footy’s most wanted list
A recently delisted Essendon key position player is expected to field plenty of offers from local footy clubs while a premiership Magpie is attracting interest after a move to Melbourne. Here are all the latest whispers from around the leagues.