The biggest game of the year is finally upon us.
Aberfeldie and Strathmore will go head-to-head in this year’s Strathmore Community Bank Premier Division Grand Final at the spiritual home of EDFL football this Saturday.
The Mores were finally able to shake their preliminary final woes of years gone by to book a spot in this year’s big dance at Windy Hill.
Conversely, Abers locked in their spot in the grand final for the eighth consecutive season, a dominant feat which is rather rare in the EDFL’s top flight.
It’s a matchup which the Two Blues have taken control of this season, but a slight hiccup in Round 18 prior to the finals is something that Strathmore will take confidence in.
Adam Marcon’s men took the first encounter by a solitary point at Windy Hill back in Round 9, with Floyd Bollinghaus’s goal after the siren chipping the margin back to under a kick, 8.8.56-8.7.55.
It was Strathmore who would extract revenge in the final round of the season with a 23-point victory on enemy territory. Goal kicking was shared around between a number of players as the Mores came away with the 11.19.85-9.8.62 win.
That win for the Mores (and a Keilor loss) meant that both these sides would be facing off against each other the next week in the first semi-final, where even without Jayden Foster and Luke Davis the Two Blues ran riot to book an automatic spot in the grand final with the 52-point decimation at Windy Hill, 16.15.111-8.11.59.
Matt Horne’s men were also missing midfield bull Will Jury in this encounter who has proved to be a huge influence in and around the contest this season for Strathmore. He returned to play against Pascoe Vale last week in the preliminary final at Highgate Reserve and is expected to suit up in the big dance.
Aberfeldie have enjoyed an extremely solid year that saw only two losses, and Adam Marcon has seemed to slot into the playing/coaching ranks effortlessly at Clifton Park. The depth across all lines in this side is hard to ignore, and their unpredictability up forward on any given day is a scary thought.
They had six players score 20+ goals this season with Sam Paea leading the pack with 32 goals in eleven games at an average of 3 and a half goals per game. Jayden Foster followed with 31 goals for the year, but after missing the semi-final, is he expected to return this week to add more firepower up forward?
On the flip side, Strathmore have their own quality in the attacking half of the ground, and once they got to full strength midway through the year they were almost impossible to get a hold of.
Athan Tsialtas made a return to EDFL football and alongside Kyle Weightman, Floyd Bollinghaus and even Daniel Mammoliti, the combinations were tough to defend in the forward 50.
Huge defensive efforts are also key in the grand final this week. Daniel Thompson (Aberfeldie) and Luke Jarrad (Strathmore) have huge jobs to attend to in the back 50. With Luke Davis looking unlikely for the game this week, the Two Blues have a challenge at hand containing the Strathmore forwards in the big dance.
It didn’t bother them in the semi-final though, as they restricted Strathmore to eight goals, with their key forwards having little to no impact on the contest.
The Nick Meese versus Andrew Vavra battle in the ruck is shaping up to be scrumptious in this contest. Early dominance is vital for either ruckman, who can dictate the game around stoppages and in the centre of the ground.
With a plethora of midfielders at each team’s disposal, both big men have the support around them to win the clearance battle.
Meese was named in the best 13 times from 16 games this season, proving just how dominant (and consistent) the reigning Reynolds Medallist is.
His cohesion with Marcon in the middle of the ground is delightful to watch, so expect the two to team up on multiple occasions this Saturday throughout the centre of Windy Hill.
Alongside Jury in midfield, Strathmore also boast 500+ game veteran Adam Iacobucci, whose contribution through the centre has been invaluable this year for Matt Horne’s men.
Even when the Mores had a shaky start to the year, his consistency through the midfield earned him a spot in the best nine out of 10 weeks (from Round 6 to Round 15).
With a number of important role players for each side also presumably present this week, it shapes up to be a massive game of footy at Windy Hill.
There is no doubt that this is a battle of two heavyweights of the competition, but will it be Aberfeldie and Adam Marcon who bring the flag to Clifton Park? Or can Strathmore go “back-to-back” and steal premiership glory for another year?
Whatever you call them, whether it be the ‘Rillaz and the Griff, Two Blues or the Mores, it’s a couple of big clubs of the competition doing battle on the biggest stage in EDFL footy.
It’s Aberfeldie and Strathmore in the big dance…you’d be crazy to miss it.
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
STRATHMORE v MARIBYRNONG PARK - AGA Under 18.5 Premier Division Grand Final
Saturday 9:30am at Windy Hill
STRATHMORE v KEILOR - Premier Division Reserves Grand Final
Saturday 11:40m at Windy Hill
ABERFELDIE v STRATHMORE - Strathmore Community Bank Grand Final
Saturday 2:15pm at Windy Hill
