Victorian Amateur Football Association: St Kevin’s lose three stars to season-ending injury
The venue was Elsternwick Park but it could easily have Madison Square Garden, as Premier football heavyweight St Kevin’s lost a number of players to injury at the worst possible time
Local Footy
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The venue was Elsternwick Park but it could have Madison Square Garden, as Premier football heavyweights St Kevins and Collegians squared off in Saturday’s second semi-final.
After four grinding quarters, with SKOBs on the ropes for most of the game, it was the Lions that earned a seven-point win and a place in the grand final with a 11.8 (74) to 10.7 (67) win over an injury-ravaged St Kevin’s.
Rocked by season-ending injuries to Mitch Brown, Sam Critchley and former Hawthorn premiership player Steve Gilham before half time, SKOBs were undermanned and under pressure.
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“I was really proud of them today and when you look back at it there is nothing you can do to prepare the players for a game like today,” St Kevin’s Tom Williams said.
“We had two players who went down within 15 minutes of the start and then Gilly (Steve Gilham) went down in the second quarter and it was real back to the wall stuff.”
With Collegians 22 points up at the last change, and with just one player left on the St Kevin’s bench, it should have been a case of ‘how far the Lions’ but SKOBs piled on the pressure, kicking four goals to two in the last quarter.
“Our job on the sidelines was to keep them up, they knew they had their back to the wall but we tried to keep it positive,” Williams said. “There was a lot of emotion in the game and it’s hard to be happy with a loss but I am very happy with the game and the effort of the entire team.
“Everyone stepped up today and we needed them too. Gerard Gleeson was amazing and our captain Anthony Lynch rucked all day without a rest.”
Williams now looks to next week and getting his team ready for the cut throat preliminary final.
“In a sense those players we have lost are not replaceable but we have got good blokes who have played senior footy who can step up,” he said. “You prepare for the worst and hope for the best and I have no problems with who’s going to step up, we have the troops ready to go.”
Meanwhile, in Premier C, Old Geelong has earned itself a crack at Williamstown CYMS in the preliminary final after an 8.16 (64) to 8.9 (57) win over Old Camberwell Grammarians at Bill Lawry Oval on Sunday.
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