NULLAWIL’S quest for a three-peat is one step closer to success after they dismantled Quambatook 18.15.123 to 7.4.46 in the Golden Rivers Football League second semi-final to set up a home grand final in two weeks.
“We’re definitely confident, not arrogant, just confident we can do it,” Maroons head coach Brett Barker said.
“We’ve had two years off, so I wouldn’t say it’s actually three in a row, but we know what needs to be done.”
The Maroons dominated every line of the ground after quarter-time with Patrick Kelly’s run off half-back deservedly giving him best-on-ground honours.
“Patty Kelly was excellent off the half-back line – he really set it up for us,” Barker said.
Kelly’s run complemented the Maroons’ midfield depth as they took charge of the game from the second quarter.
This allowed forwards Mitch Farmer and Andrew Oberdorfer to monster the Saints’ defence, with Farmer kicking seven goals and Oberdorfer four.
“We just kept at it – our midfield started to get on top in the second and were really patient with the ball,” Barker said.
“They work really well together, the three of them (Farmer, Oberdorfer and Andrew Casey) down there, and they give great education as well.
“So as long as we can continue to keep kicking the ball to them properly, they’re key to our success.”
The Maroons didn’t have it all their own way, as the Saints stayed with their heavily favoured opponents in the first quarter.
It was a battle between the two sides’ star forwards, with Farmer and mercurial Saint William Collicoat going goal for goal.
Collicoat kicked a blinder from deep in the pocket on the quarter-time siren to bring the margin back to a straight kick.
It gave confidence to the raucous Saints crowd in their last match at their beloved venue, even though it was technically an away game.
However, that confidence soon dissipated when the superior Maroons midfield flexed their muscles in the second quarter, with Jordan Humphreys, Matt Quigley and Daniel Watts proving too good for the Saints.
Humphreys was superb all day, running rampant all over the ground, and was rewarded with three majors.
The Saints hung in the contest by their fingernails as the Maroons attempted to take advantage of a slight breeze advantage.
A late goal by Farmer, which seemed to spin back in the air as much as a Shane Warne leg-break, hurt the Saints, who headed into the main break 26 points down.
It was by no means game over as the Saints crowd tried to lift their team one last time in front of the Quambatook clubrooms, but it wouldn’t prove enough as the Maroons’ power and class shone through in the second half.
Oberdorfer put on a fantastic display of pack marking in the third quarter as the Maroons slowly but surely ran away with the contest.
The Saints, who failed to kick a goal for the quarter, went goalless for 60 minutes of footy following Collicoat’s blinder.
They earned some respectability in the last quarter by nailing three goals, but it didn’t mean much, with the Maroons kicking seven.
Barker’s men slowed down as the match wound to a close, leaving Nullawil with a clean bill of health heading into the big dance in a fortnight’s time.
In the reserves match, Nullawil succumbed to Murrabit by 32 points.
The Saints will this week head to Wandella, where a confident and fresh Moulamein side is waiting for them on the back of their seven-goal victory in last week’s elimination final.
