Diamond Creek sets up a NFNL Division 2 title decider against arch-rival Eltham

Diamond Creek is one win away from a drought-breaking premiership after defeating St Mary’s in the NFNL Division 2 preliminary final.

Dale Marshall in action for Eltham. Picture: Josh Chadwick

Diamond Creek is one win away from a first premiership since 1998 and return to top flight football for the first time since 2008.

The Creekers eased past St Mary’s in Saturday’s preliminary final to set up a NFNL Division 2 grand final clash with arch rival Eltham.

The minor premier bounced back sharply from last week’s semi-final defeat, claiming a comfortable 47-point win at Epping Reserve.

It’s the club’s first grand final berth since 2017, when it lost to a rampant North Heidelberg.

After a tight first quarter, Diamond Creek marched away from a valiant Burras outfit, prevailing 12.10 (82) to 4.11 (35).

Ryan Pingree kicked three goals for Diamond Creek. Picture: George Sal

Creekers coach Andrew was pleased with the performance, knowing the expectations were high.

“It’s exciting that we’ve got our 19s and seniors in and our reserves gave it their all but came up against a strong Thomastown,” he said.

“We knew St Mary’s would throw everything at us and have a couple of punches in them, early in the game they were running on top of the ground, being aggressive and courageous with their ball movement.

“But once we were able to get ball in hand we were able to take the sting out of the game and move the ball our way.”

Importantly for Diamond Creek, Jai Norman made a successful return from a hamstring injury with two goals as the attack found its rhythm.

Jayden Walker and Ryan Pingree both finished with three goals, while Sage Dicello and Norman bagged two.

“Jai didn’t play the week before, we ummed and aahed but we erred on the side of caution, so we knew we’d have a more direct line to goal (on Saturday),” Tranquilli said.

“It’s no secret, Jai does make the other forwards walk a little bit taller, the work he does allows the others to be more potent at ground level and they all complement each other.”

After a quiet semi-final, star defender Matt Lewis responded with a best-on-ground performance, while young midfielder Andrew Elward, Billy Bedford and Dale Marshall also impressed.

“Matt was pretty good, playing his role with a licence to read the play and attack the footy and intercept,” Tranquilli said.

“I thought that was the difference to last week, one thing I do know about Matty is first week after a spell he’s a bit rusty so in horsing terms he’s always good second up.

“It wasn’t a surprise he performed and he tends to put two or three together at real high-quality level, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he does (in the grand final).”

All eyes now turn to Preston City Oval with the competition’s super-powers to battle for the premiership and promotion to Division 1.

Tranquilli faces several difficult decisions with as many as three players in line to return for the decider.

Jacob Booth and Tarwan Rennie both missed the preliminary final through injury, while Ewen Macpherson will be available after Footscray’s VFL season ended on Saturday.

“We’ve got Booth and Rennie (to come back) who we rested but they’ll need to show they’re at a level of fitness,” Tranquilli said.

DIV 1: HEIDELBERG FLEXES ON BULLS IN STATEMENT SHOWING

LEADER: GET YOUR NORTHERN FOOTY NEWS HERE

DIV 3: LATE SHOW DELIVERS LAURIMAR HISTORIC PREMIERSHIP

“I know they’ll try to prove everything possible to show they’re OK and we’ll make sure we put them through a thorough test.

“Then Footscray did us a favour losing and it allows us the headache of also considering Ewen Macpherson, so there’s potentially three players that come in.

“That’s the unfortunate part of this caper but the message was clear from day one, it takes a squad to get us there, everyone is a part of it.”

The NFNL Division 2 grand final will be played at Preston City Oval on Saturday, September 16.