Riddell wins through to grand final on back of young guns’ brilliance
A pair of Riddell young guns produced brilliant displays to propel the Bombers past Wallan and into the RDFL grand final.
Riddell
Don't miss out on the headlines from Riddell. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A pair of young guns helped Riddell into its first grand final since 2018 on Saturday.
Jack Hammerling and Jesse Horton kicked four and three goals respectively as the Bombers beat Wallan by 18 points at Romsey Park to progress to the Riddell District decider on Sunday, September 11.
The pair are both still eligible to play under-19s but have been major contributors this season.
Hammerling and Horton played key roles in Riddell’s 10-goal second quarter as it flipped a 13-point quarter-time deficit into a 31-point half-time lead.
Bombers coach Justin Belleville said the two youngsters had been huge all season.
“We’ve got full trust in what they can do and that’s a combination of where they’re at with their footy, they were fantastic,” he said.
“That’s not one out of the box either, that’s how they’ve been all year.
“We mix it up, young Jack’s been playing down back a fair bit and so has Jesse, so the young blokes have a couple of strings to their bow which is good.”
Fresh from a week off, Riddell looked rusty in the early stages before clicking into gear.
Belleville said the break had come at a perfect time for his side and would again be a massive bonus ahead of the grand final.
“The bye definitely helped us, we needed it – I think all three teams, Diggers, Wallan and ourselves, all needed the bye so we got lucky there,” he said.
“We were well and truly in the game at quarter-time but our disposal going into the forward line was hurting us.
“We were winning enough footy but our delivery was an issue, we managed to clean that up and back our system to get the job done.
“We’re still not at full strength, definitely.
“We had two starting midfielders who didn’t play on the weekend, so they’ll be back (for the grand final).”
Cal Williamson, Tom Alkemade, Dylan Tarczon and Bryce Williamson also impressed alongside Hammerling and Horton.
Riddell are looking to break a nine-year premiership drought after last winning the cup in 2013 over Diggers Rest.
RDFL: DIGGERS STORMS HOME TO SURVIVE CATS SCARE
LEADER: GET YOUR RIDDELL DISTRICT FOOTY NEWS HERE
BFL: WHY MELTON IS EXTRA WARY OF BURRAS THREAT
However, the Burras have won two grand finals against the Bombers since, in 2016 and 2018.
For Wallan, Corey Viani was the Magpies’ best in defeat, while Corey Baker, Sean Morris and Steve Boyall also stood tall.
The Magpies will now need to regroup for a preliminary final against Diggers Rest, which eliminated Macedon in the minor semi-final.
It will be the third time in four weeks the pair have met with Wallan winning both meetings.
‘What we play for’: Wallan ready for grand final challenge
Wallan returns to the RDFNL grand final stage, defeating Macedon in the preliminary final, and is looking to cause a boilover on the big stage.
Grand final wins and a shock or two
Finals accelerated in local footy with plenty of grand final winners as elsewhere there were stunning results as teams looked to qualify for the decider. Here are the talking points from Saturday’s football.