Watsonia continues South Morang’s NFL preliminary final curse to book grand final date with Epping

SOUTH Morang bowed out in a preliminary final for the third-straight season after a 12-point loss to Watsonia on Saturday at Whittlesea Showgrounds.

Matthew Trim from South Morang marks. Picture: Richard Serong.

SOUTH Morang bowed out in a preliminary final for the third-straight season after a 12-point loss to Watsonia on Saturday at Whittlesea Showgrounds.

The Lions went down 8.13 (61) to 6.13 (49) in the penultimate game of the Northern Football League Division 3 campaign, with Watsonia to meet Epping in Saturday’s grand final.

South Morang peppered the goals in the opening term with the aid of a breeze, but failed to take a stranglehold on the game after booting 2.7 to 2.1.

The Lions found their radar in the second quarter, but Watsonia put 3.4 on the board to take a three-point lead into halftime.

The arm wrestle continued after the main break, the Saints holding a four-point advantage heading into the final term.

South Morang was denied the opening goal of the quarter after a free-kick was paid for a throw in the lead-up, robbing the Lions of momentum.

“A couple of things didn’t go our way,” South Morang coach Dean Grainger said.

“We kicked a goal that got turned over from a free-kick, I’ll just leave it at that.

“First couple of minutes of the last quarter, it would have put us a point down.”

Watsonia held its nerve and recorded the only major of the last quarter to seal its passage to the grand final and move closer to a drought-breaking NFL flag.

Grainger, who will continue in the South Morang hot seat next year, said he remained proud of the way his side had rallied after losing its opening three games of the year.

“The three preliminary finals in a row, that’s all history now,” he said.

“We didn’t really want to hear about that, we just look forward to what we have to do rather than what’s happened in the past.”

Mathew Robinson, Ben Nesci and Daniel Heatley were the Lions’ standouts, but Daniel Norden, Jordan Brown and Matthew Crompton combined to will Watsonia over the line.

“I still believe that we were the best side in the comp but unfortunately when it counted yesterday we couldn’t provide,” Grainger said.

The Lions’ coach predicted the grand final would be close.

“I would have said after last week if Watsonia and Epping played Epping would win quite easily,” he said.

“But the way Watsonia played yesterday, I think they will take it up to them.”