WRFL: Nathan Williams boots five as Point Cook Centrals earn grand final berth

Point Cook Centrals is through to the WRFL Division 2 grand final as coach Dean Chambers spoke about some key changes and the pressure his faced to get there.

Finals footy always springs plenty of surprises.

This time Point Cook Centrals coach Dean Chambers thought it was his turn to do exactly that.

Chambers swung co-captain Nathan Williams forward in a bid to add another dimension to his side’s forward line and it worked to perfection.

Williams finished with five goals as his side booked their place in the Western Region League Division 2 grand final after a 16.9 (105) to 5.11 (41) win over Parkside.

It was just another move in a season where just about everything has gone right for the Sharks.

They’ve now won 19 straight games but match 20 of the season will be the biggest in two weeks’ time.

“We thought we’d pull a bit of a rabbit out of the hat (with the move of Williams inside forward 50,” Chambers said.

“We threw Matty Turner in the middle to give us another bigger body around the footy. The move came out of respect for Parkside and the terrific job they did against Aaron Williams (the Sharks’ leading goalkicker) last time.

“We’ve got a few avenues to goal down there. Jordy Bennett, who came back into the side which helped straighten us up, and Mark Hansons are two key pillars and when they’re not marking the ball they’re bringing it to ground for others.”

Haidyn Shade was named among Point Cook Centrals’ best. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Losing the toss was just about the only thing Williams did wrong throughout the afternoon as the Sharks lived up to the billing as the team to bear.

They kicked five goals to none in the opening term despite Parkside having a slight advantage with a “two or three-goal breeze”.

The game was all but over at halftime with the minor premiers leading by 52 points.

Lachlan Grant continued his brilliant season with four goals of his own while Cale Du Plessis, Haidyn Shade and Kurt Mayne also impressed.

Having not lost a game during the home-and-away season, Chambers admitted there had been a bit of pressure on his side heading into the week.

“It was a bit of a relief to win the game because it was a funny old day,” he said.

“Everyone has been talking about us and the pressure of going through undefeated. But we put an emphasis on starting our season again.

“I thought it was one of our better defensive performances of the season. We were able to impact their ball movement and were pretty clean coming out of their forward half.

“We’re looking forward to the week off because we haven’t had a break since the Queen’s Birthday weekend.”

Changes could potentially be on the way for the Sharks ahead of the grand final with Matt Wright missing Saturday’s game.

Meanwhile, Kieran Corrigan, who has played 11 senior games this season, was named among the better players in the reserves semi-final loss to Wyndhamvale.

“We’ve got a full list to pick from,” Chambers said.

“We’ll have usual training Tuesday and Thursday. It’s been a hard slog this year and we’re looking forward to the challenge ahead.”