A lot can change in a few weeks, as the Rookie Me Division One finals series show.
Entering the finals, West Coburg was the team to beat having gone through the regular season undefeated, while Rupertswood had beaten Deer Park for a second time to enter finals on a strong note.
Since then Deer Park has dispatched both Rupertswood and West Coburg in impressive fashion to seal the first Grand Final spot.
Rupo were able to bounce back against Hillside in the battle of the Sharks, to earn a shot at West Coburg in the Preliminary Final.
West Coburg will be favourites heading into this game, but what impact does the loss to Deer Park have?
It’s not the fact that they lost, but it was the manner that it happened.
Yes, Deer Park has loaded up with its stars and is starting to find form, but it’s not often you see an undefeated side lose like that in finals.
The final score flattered West Coburg with some last quarter goals once the game was over.
For West Coburg, it brought back in a number of stars who had missed the final round and ultimately hadn’t played for two weeks. Sometimes that can have an impact, so West Coburg will be better for the run.
Rupertswood showed perfectly how to bounce back from a big loss last week against Hillside.
In the same situation as West Coburg this week, the Sharks brought the pressure from the start and were able to take control once they lowered their eyes inside 50.
Dean Galea looked good on his old home ground and the young stars of Jackson Cardillo and Jordie Tentonello were brilliant in the middle.
Aaron West shut down Josh Covelli and you could expect him to get the job on Omar Saad.
Saad only kicked two goals last time they met with Ibby Taha the star up forward that day.
The Sharks are only going to get stronger with the likes of Brent Swallow, Dylan Podolczak, and Ben Borg among those in line to return.
The teams only played each other once this season with West Coburg too strong on that day, winning by 48 points at Shore Reserve.
The Shoretress has been an unhappy hunting ground for many sides in recent times, including the Sharks.
The difference on this occasion was the first quarter, with West Coburg leading by 38 points at the first break.
The start will again be the key for this game. If the Sharks start well it puts the pressure back onto West Coburg and the mental demons could start to appear.
If West Coburg starts well, it will show that last week was just a down week and we could see more of the usual West Coburg style of football.
While the one time they faced each other was a blow out, don’t expect it to be this time around with a Grand Final spot on the line.
