Diggers Rest books its place in the Riddell District grand final with win over Wallan
A Mitch Jensen masterclass sees Diggers Rest turn the tables on Wallan to book its place in the RDFL grand final against Riddell.
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A six-goal masterclass from Mitch Jensen has propelled Diggers Rest past Wallan and into the Riddell District grand final.
Jensen was at his devastating best on Saturday as the Burras claimed an impressive 32-point preliminary final win over the Magpies at Tony Clarke Reserve.
The 12.5 (77) to 6.9 (45) victory completes a stunning 125-point reversal of form following a 93-point hammering from Wallan in the qualifying final a fortnight ago.
Diggers Rest will face Riddell in the decider at Romsey Park, the seventh time the two teams have met in a grand final since 2000.
The Burras coach Jamie Lobb admitted the last two losses to Wallan had given his side plenty of ammunition.
“We obviously learnt a lot from the last couple of times we played them,” he said.
“We knew what we were doing wrong in those games, we just didn’t execute, so we did a fair bit of planning going in and the guys really understood what we needed to do to win.
“Obviously Wallan is a good side and the last couple of times when they’ve had a run-on we’ve tried to score back just as quick, so we needed to realise they’ll have their moments and get momentum back when they’re on top.”
“The first quarter set it up for us, we started really well, which we’d done the last couple of times against Wallan but hadn’t hit the scoreboard.
“We put a bit of scoreboard pressure on them and the boys carried that through the four quarters.”
Diggers jumped out to an 11-point lead at quarter-time, with accuracy in front of goal a stark contrast to previous weeks.
The Burras held a 10-point advantage at half-time, despite Wallan having the same number of scoring shots, and broke the game open in the third term with three goals to nil.
Holding a 29-point lead at the final change, there would be no last-quarter collapse as the Burras won the fourth quarter to ensure a grand final return.
After five goals last week against Macedon, Jensen was a standout best-on-ground.
Defender Patrick Jackson, Cole Laurie playing on Matt Perri, Matt Krul and Steve Fogarty also impressed.
Lobb was impressed by Jensen’s game and rapt for Jackson after returning mid-season.
“He was very good, Mitch, we had the strongest side we’ll fielded for the year which takes the heat off him and allows him to do what he did,” Lobb said.
“He went up the ground a little bit but he was looking pretty dangerous up forward so we didn’t move him out of there.
“Jacko didn’t start until late, he had an interrupted start with injuries and he had twin boys in the off-season, so they were keeping him busy.
“He’s really knuckled down and put in a big effort to get back for the second half of the year and played really well, he took some really important marks and got a 50m penalty and kicked goal.”
Diggers’ star defender Taylor Hine went off with a knee knock but is expected to be fit, while Lobb has some difficult decisions to make at selection with Austin Cicero also expected to be fit.
“We had four changes going into this week, Sean Egan went back down and played in the reserves, Ben McMahon and Jarrod Rowan played reserves and they haven’t played reserves all season,” he said.
“With us having a strong side in they were the unfortunate ones to go down but they played good games to help the twos get up, so good to see they took it the right way.”
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Steve Boyall was Wallan’s best in defeat, while Will Brock, Jake Layley, Sean Morris and Michael Mannix also stood tall.
Riddell and Diggers Rest have been the two most successful clubs since the turn of the millennium.
The Bombers and Burras have played nine and eight grand finals respectively in that time, winning seven titles between them.
Head-to-head, Diggers has won the last two – in 2016 and 2018 – but the Bombers have emerged victorious four times – 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2013.
DIGGERS REST STORMS HOME TO SURVIVE CATS SCARE
Diggers Rest bounced back from one of its worst performances of the season to keep its premiership dream alive but not before a major scare from Macedon.
The Burras claimed a come-from-behind 17-point win in Sunday’s first semi-final against the Cats to earn a berth in the RDFL preliminary final.
It also secures another shot at Wallan after the Magpies delivered a 93-point demolition in last week’s qualifying final.
After surprising Romsey last week, Macedon had a major upset within reach as it took an 11-point lead into three-quarter-time at Gilbert Gordon Oval.
However, Diggers clicked into gear in the fourth quarter, kicking five goals to one, to win 12.9 (81) to 10.4 (64).
Burras coach Jamie Lobb was pleased with his players’ response with the season on the line.
“The first quarter we were right on top but then we dropped off so I wasn’t expecting to be in that position at three-quarter-time,” he said.
“It brought the best out in our players when it became do-or-die, 20 minutes or it’s season over.
“We didn’t panic, a lot of goals they got where from our turnovers or our guys not concentrating, I knew around the ground we could out-play them but we were our own worst enemy.
“We had all the play in that last quarter, we finally our style of footy back, everyone was dialled in, which was good to see.”
Diggers jumped out to a 19-point lead with a four-goal first quarter before Macedon took control through the middle stages.
The Cats piled on eight goals to three through the second and third quarter, with a four-goal third term putting the underdogs in the box seat with a quarter to play.
However, it wasn’t to be as Diggers Rest stormed home.
Mitch Jensen and Jason Cooke both kicked five goals for Diggers and Macedon respectively in an enthralling shootout.
Matt Krul was named the Burras’ best as he moved into the ruck in the second half and helped turn momentum, while Luke Delahey, Jensen and Jaidyn Caruana also impressed.
A fit Caruana looms as a major asset for Diggers next week with the star midfielder only managing five games this season.
“It’s nearly his best game for the club, which is great to see,” Lobb said.
“Jaidyn’s getting there (with fitness), he’s timing it nicely, so hopefully he can keep improving this week.”
Matt Dick was Macedon’s best in defeat, while Jordan Dyer, Cooke, Jonathan Barnett and Jai Wilton also stood tall.
Riddell defeated Wallan by 18 points in the major semi-final on Saturday, setting up a third clash in four weeks between the Magpies and Burras.
Wallan hammered Diggers Rest in the qualifying final but Lobb was confident his players could flip the script.
The Burras are hoping to have the likes of Mitch Jensen, Ryan Mullen and Marcus Calvaresi return for the match at Tony Clarke Reserve.
“Two weeks are a long time in footy so the boys will take a lot of confidence out of Sunday,” Lobb said.
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“We’ll have five or six different players in the side to when we played them last time, so it’s just a matter of getting out there and having a crack.
“I don’t think we can play that bad again, or hopefully not anyway.
“We were nowhere near our best and the scoreboard got away from us but in the first quarter we had more inside 50s, we just couldn’t hit the scoreboard.”
The winner will meet Riddell in the grand final to be played on Sunday, September 11 at Romsey Park.
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