The 2026 EDFL season will draw to a close this Saturday as Strathmore and Keilor meet in another blockbuster grand final at Windy Hill.
Saturday’s contest will be the third time in the last four seasons that these two powerhouses have met in the final game of the season.
A win on Saturday for Keilor would be Mick McGuane’s fifth premiership in 19 seasons at Joe Brown Oval, as well as a fourth flag for skipper Kane Barbuto.
Matthew Horne will be gunning for a third premiership as Strathmore coach, including a premiership in his first season back at Lebanon Reserve.
Strathmore won its way through to the decider with a 16-point victory over Keilor in the semi final.
Despite the setback, Keilor had no trouble winning its way through to a fourth straight grand final, accounting for Pascoe Vale by 67 points.
In their two meetings during the home away season, Strathmore won the annual Good Friday clash by 37 points, while the Blues took down the Mores by 74 points in Round 12.
In the semi final, it was Strathmore’s handball game combined with a seven-goal third quarter blitz which won the match for the reigning premiers.
Strathmore had an extra 80 handballs for the game and with the breeze in their favour in the third term, were plus five in clearances, plus 31 in disposals, and plus six in tackles which was the difference.
Trent Dumont led from the front again with 30 disposals and nine clearances, while Liam Cavanagh was a thorn in Keilor’s attack with 37 touches and five marks.
Tom McGuane put in an eye-catching performance with 34 disposals and a goal, while Corey Ellis did everything he could with 28 touches and seven inside 50s.
Coach Mick McGuane felt his side didn’t capitalise on their dominance in the first half and couldn’t stop Strathmore’s handball game.
It was a similar scenario on Good Friday with Strathmore’s ball use by hand too much for Keilor to handle.
The Mores had 34 more handballs and 51 more disposals, while they also managed 10 more tackles in a comprehensive win.
Matthew Allison led the way in front of goal with a bag of four, while Cavanagh and Ryan Brodie both collected 34 disposals.
McGuane was excellent again with 29 disposals and a goal, while Nathan Colenso took 12 marks and booted two goals.
It was Keilor’s pressure and contest work in Round 12 which overwhelmed and undermanned Strathmore and proved to be too much to handle.
Despite Strathmore getting their handball game up and running with 95 more handballs, Keilor’s pressure was too much with 25 more tackles to go with 15 more clearances and 12 more contested possessions.
Jack Brown starred again with 32 disposals and 11 clearances, while Chris Kosmas did the damage on the scoreboard with seven goals.
Brock Egglestone had no trouble finding the footy with 27 disposals, while Lachlan Plant also racked up 25 touches and 11 tackles.
The big question for Strathmore on Saturday will be how does it handle Kosmas.
The sharpshooter has taken a liking to Strathmore in recent years with 37 goals in nine games across the last three seasons.
Crucially, in the grand final last year, the number 22 was kept to just one goal and was held goalless on Good Friday with Strathmore coming away with the victory on both occasions.
Strathmore will likely turn to Jesse Horton again despite Kosmas' efforts last time out, and will hoping for another shut out.
For Keilor, it’ll need to find a way of shutting down Strathmore’s ball movement.
The Mores are clearly number one for handball across the competition with an average of 44 more handballs per game than the next best side.
Cavanagh leads the way from the backline, while midfielders Dumont, Egglestone, and Plant have no trouble finding the footy in transition.
Keilor’s pressure game has been capable of stopping Strathmore in the past and will need to be at its very best if it wants to take back the cup.
Unlike last year, Keilor has a mostly fit side heading into the grand final, question marks over Ellis and Kyle O'Connor the key ones to watch.
Strathmore will regain youngster Alex Tonelli for the first time since Round 15 after his VFL commitments with Port Melbourne ended so one unlucky player will miss out.
Will Strathmore go back to back, or will Keilor reclaim its place as premiers?
