WITH perfect conditions and a big crowd down at Coburg City Oval, the stage was set for some entertainment in this Northern Saints v East Sunbury Preliminary Final on Saturday.
Exciting bursts of speed were on display from both sides.
Saints midfielder Tamer Abdallah was good in this area, gaining plenty of the ball and with pace and poise, he was a real highlight machine early.
Although the Northern Saints were gaining some clearances, East Sunbury asserted dominance by hitting the scoreboard.
With defenders providing big spoils, link men reading the play well and forwards making the most of their opportunities, the Thunder was able to keep the Saints goalless after the first and kick three of their own.
The Saints seemed poised for a comeback with quick, long and direct play to start the second quarter.
But even with this outpour of forward entries, East Sunbury’s defence was too strong as the Saints couldn't muster a goal.
The Thunder’s pace built each and every minute and their transition on counter attacks out of defence was thrilling to watch.
In what was an action-packed second quarter, East Sunbury started to build a big lead and mainly on the back of star, Kamen Ogilvie.
All class, Ogilvie was working hard all around the ground, but the most promising part of his game was his goalkicking.
He had three goals alone in the second, finishing with four for the game, making it extremely difficult for the Saints to stay in it.
A successful day for the Thunder was marred by a moment of madness from star midfielder Tom Cree, who was sent off and reported for striking in the second quarter.
He’s now off to the tribunal this week to see if he’ll be allowed to take part in the big dance.
It sparked chaos all around the ground and caused frustration among many Northern Saints players.
The Saints gave away three 50-metre penalties in this action-packed quarter, two of which led to goals from the goal square for the Thunder.
Any hopes of a comeback were all but lost.
In a day to forget for the Saints, young gun Nick Bruno stood up and let his footy do the talking.
He scored Northern’s first goal from the boundary 23 minutes into the second and was able to lay some big tackles and finish with three majors for the day.
In what became a trend for the entire day, the Northern Saints gave away many lazy free kicks and a whopping seven 50-metre penalties for the game.
With the pace of East Sunbury already a big factor combined with these easy paths to goal, the Thunder’s lead was out to 69 points by three-quarter time.
Brad Bernacki and Will Wright seemed to have plenty in the tank and were big factors in East Sunbury’s victory.
With plenty of speedy rebound 50s, intercept marks and poise, they led the way for their teammates and set the standard.
The Saints kicked four junk time goals in the last but the day was all about East Sunbury, who is through to its first ever Strathmore Community Bank Division 2 Grand Final coming up this Saturday at Windy Hill.
The Thunder’s opponent will be Roxburgh Park... and neither club has ever won a senior EDFL premiership.
We have history coming up at Windy Hill on Saturday.
NORTHERN SAINTS | 0.1 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 7.8-50
Goal Kickers: N. Bruno 3, M. Sleiman, T. Kosmak, K. Clayton, M. Taleb
EAST SUNBURY | 3.3 | 11.5-71 | 14.10 | 18.13-121
Goal Kickers: K. Ogilvie 4, C. Lever 4, A. Millane 2, H. Galea 2, B. Bernacki, C. Lever, T. Schwarzenberg, C. Schofield , T. Cree, J. Braddy
