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Grand Final Preview - Airport West v Tullamarine

By TARA MURRAY (Star Weekly)


GRAND FINAL - ESSENDON FORD DIVISION 1

Saturday 2:20pm @ Windy Hill

AFTER a big season, the Essendon Ford Division 1 season will come to its conclusion this weekend.

It will be a fitting end with the two best teams both making it through to the final match of the year.

Since Round 4, Airport West and Tullamarine have occupied the top two spots and have overcome every challenge thrown at them.

For the Eagles, this season was about building on a grand final appearance last year.

They started slowly, but were able to still accumulate the wins, winning their first eight games of the year.

That winning streak came to an end in Round 9 at the hand of Tullamarine.

A draw with Taylors Lakes and a loss to Hillside were the only slip ups since.

Their last two matches have both come against the Demons.

Little can be taken out of the match in the final round of the home-and-away season, given nothing was on the line and the Demons rested more than half of their squad.

The second semi final was a different story, though.

The Eagles produced some of their best football and the Demons their worst.

The end result was a 56-point win to the Eagles, earning them home team status for the grand final.

For the Eagles, their strength seems to be their evenness.

No player has been named more than eight times in the side’s best players this year.

Wingman Bior Malual has been named in the best the most, followed by Luke Ryan and Ronald Hackney.   

Tyson Young has continued on his form from last season and has kicked 56 goals this season.

Alex Penaluna has been a good second option up forward, finding form in the back half of the season.

The Demons were able to put the loss in the opening week of the finals behind them, as they accounted for Craigieburn in the prelim.

Demons coach Dave Connell said it was one of their more even performances, with the Demons breaking Craigieburn late in the game.

Russell Laurie was strong down back for the Demons with Jack Kennedy and Anthony Prestia, who returned from injury, both having good games.

The win puts the Demons into the grand final for the third time in five years, showing the resilience the club has.

The challenge for them is to take the next step.

This year they have more depth than they’ve had in recent years, with Connell not afraid to add to the list throughout the year.

Like the Eagles, it has been an even spread across the board. 

Anthony Prestia has been named in the best players in seven of his 12 games, while Steven Vocale has also been named in the best on seven occasions.

In front of goal, Ryan Pretty and Brad Allen have kicked 38 goals each.

Speaking of Pretty, whether he plays will be one of the intriguing factors heading into the game.

He missed the preliminary final through injury along with Joel Flanigan.

Both will be in the mix this week, as would former Carlton player Anthony Franchina, who was dropped for the preliminary final.

After having three one-sided results between the teams this season, here’s hoping for a close decider.


GRAND FINAL ENTRY PRICES

Adults: $20.00

Valid Aged Pension Card Holders (must produce aged pension card): $10.00

Valid Secondary Student Concession (must produce photo ID card): $10.00

Children under 14: FREE

Your copy of The Footballer comes free with entry into the venue.


ANIMAL ACCESS RESTRICTIONS

Please note that due to recent incidents, the EDFL has decided that no animals will be permitted into any finals venues, except for dogs to assist people whose vision is impaired.

EDFL Partners