PRELIMINARY FINAL - KEILOR v STRATHMORE
Sunday 2:15pm @ Windy Hill
In: David Isbister, Campbell Barton, James Bailey, David Gourdis & Mitchell Ellis
Out: Jay White & Kieran Bell
In: Will Jury, Andrew Horne & Nick Lower
Out: None
GOOD Friday footy means we’ve become accustomed to Keilor v Strathmore on the big stage, but this is on a whole new level.
Their two home-and-away meetings finished with margins below 20 points and were split at one apiece.
At various stages both have shown consistent enough form to warrant premiership favouritism consideration and both sides boast some of the best-performed players of the 2018 season.
Looking at the not-yet-public coaches’ votes for the 2018 Team of the Year, up to seven Keilor and Strathmore players are a solid chance of getting into the final 22 that will be revealed in the week following the grand final.
Without revealing too much, most of them will be on display here.
So this really is a coin flip.
Keilor was unlucky in its loss to Aberfeldie last week, only going down by eight points in a game that could truly have gone either way.
Had the Blues been a bit cleaner with ball in hand, perhaps they would have emerged victorious in the wet.
But they didn’t and it may have come at a cost with Jay White hurting his hamstring, putting yet another dent into Keilor’s already undermanned back six.
The return of David Gourdis will help, but the Blues will go into this prelim with key players out of action, including long-term injured stars Nick O’Kearney, Mick Tanner and Sam Hooper.
Strathmore isn’t quite at full-strength, either.
Skipper Andrew Horne missed Sunday’s cruisy 40-point win over Greenvale but the Mores are well-known for their midfield depth, with Adam Iacobucci, Nick O’Brien and Jaryd Cachia all playing their roles against the Jets.
Hamish McIntosh’s three-goal haul will no doubt give Mick McGuane something to think about as well.
With Tom Condon, Kyle Weightman and Alex Grima each kicking two of their own as well, Strathmore will be hoping it has the firepower it needs to overwhelm Keilor here.
In good conditions, this will be some prelim at Windy Hill.
PRELIMINARY FINAL ENTRY PRICES
Adults: $15.00
Valid Aged Pension Card Holders (must produce aged pension card): $8.00
Valid Secondary Student Concession (must produce photo ID card): $8.00
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.
