Prahran and Parkside to go head-to-head in VAFA Division 1 decider

Parkside and Prahran are dreaming of premiership success to end their respective VAFA seasons. Both coaches break down the key areas and dangerous players in Saturday’s grand final.

The VAFA Division 1 season all comes down to Prahran and Parkside.

After winning through to the grand final, both sides have already secured promotion to Premier C for next season.

We spoke to both coaches ahead of Saturday’s clash.

PRAHRAN COACH CRAIGE MILWARD

On his first season in charge

“Two years before coming to the club, I had spent time in the VFL system and I have tried to bring some of those systems to Prahran. You’ve got to be careful, picking and choosing what you bring. We lost two of our first six and at that point we had a chat as a group about where we wanted to go. We’ve been all in since then and haven’t lost a game. It’s been a really enjoyable ride so far.”

The keys this weekend

“Pressure, we’re big on hunting the ball carrier. We want to take their time with the footy and pressure them at every opportunity. When you can force the opposition to go sideways and backwards you have a great opportunity to defend from the front. In the game at Sandy (Trevor Barker Beach Oval) a couple of weeks ago, our pressure was off the charts and we will be looking for something similar again. They’ve got some good leg speed through a couple of their young guys we’ll look to quell. We can’t spend too much time trying to quell the opposition and focus on our own strengths instead.”

The opposition’s dangerous players

“Number 25, Benedict Douglas, he’s a very good midfielder. He got off the chain the first time we played them and kicked six goals. He likes to make contact at stoppages and burst from there, his second phase is good so we’ll need to put some time into him. Luciano Logozzo kicked three in the prelim against UHS so we know he’s capable if he gets the chance, he’s a crafty forward.”

Playing at a different venue

“It’s a good size deck. I measured it against our own ground the other day. I think it suits the forwards getting right up the ground. We think we’re the fittest side in the competition and can run out games strongly.”

PARKSIDE COACH RICKY FROST

The season as a whole and making the grand final

“It’s really exciting and a testament to the playing group and the whole club including the juniors. It’s taken many years for the junior program to produce senior footballers. The game means many parents, people, junior coaches and players are represented by the weekend’s game. The year has been a learning experience of resilience and adaptation to what it takes to play a higher grade of football. It has also taught us about endurance and pushing through the harder winter months. We have also been able to learn from how more experienced teams play in the division.”

Limiting Prahran’s strengths

“Prahran play an excellent contested game with experience and very high quality players. They are excellent up forward and press well as the benchmark. They have been the standout team of the competition this year.”

The opposition’s dangerous players

“Rory Brodie is the best ruck in the comp, Taylor Bamford and Matt Clifford kick lots of goals, James Musster, Shaun Chapman, Joey Bell are aggressive and move well with the ball.”

Your own biggest strengths

“Belief is our biggest strength and the fact our players have come through the junior program together. They are close to one another and have experienced a lot. We also have lots of brother and close friends that played junior together.”