By DAVID NAGEL
CASEY CARDINIA FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
QUALIFYING-FINAL PREVIEW – Saturday at Berwick
CRANBOURNE v BEACONSFIELD
THIS is it… We’ve hit the clock tower at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November, only the stayers remain, the whips are cracking, the cup is on the line and the opportunity to enter the record books is there for the taking.
We have a Makybe Diva in the field this year in Narre Warren – the back-to-back champs looking to create history with a magnificent third cup on the trot.
But the challenge will come, and most likely from the winner of Saturday’s qualifying final between Cranbourne and Beaconsfield at Edwin Flack Reserve.
There’s form here, with the almost identical build up to the corresponding clash last year – eerie to say the least.
Cranbourne won this year’s Round-6 encounter by 10 points, yep, you guessed it the same as last year before Beaconsfield turned the tables with a comfortable victory in Round 15, again, the same as 2013.
Cranny then scored a five-goal victory in the qualifying final on its way to a heart-breaking grand final loss to the Magpies.
Just what is it about Cranbourne that can see them perform like a maiden at Manangatang one week and then come out and produce a Melbourne Cup winning performance the next. It’s that flick the switch mentality that will give Beaconsfield coach Clint Evans nightmares this week.
“We had a good win over them a few weeks ago and we’ve won seven in a row, so we have to go in with confidence, but we know how dangerous they are… and they love finals,” Evans said.
“They’re a side that doesn’t care whether they finish first, second or third, they just want to get through the season and get to business end, and that’s scary, but I think we’re better equipped than we were last year and that makes it exciting.”
Beaconsfield’s driving force will come from its leaders, a battalion of battle-hardened warriors who understand fully that opportunities like this don’t come around every day of the week.
From Daniel Battaglin, who will take on the might of Marc Holt, to skipper Daniel Mislicki, to Kris Fletcher, to Shaun Pollard, the list goes on of players that just must make a stand on the weekend.
The biggest challenge for Beaconsfield looks to sit with its youngsters, the likes of Brandon White, Tom Dovaston, Jake Bowd and Jack Brown and how they handle what’s sure to be a hostile opening. If these young blokes can weather that early storm, not become overawed, and stick to the important roles they’ve been playing over the last seven weeks… then Evans’ Eagles are a massive chance.
Beaconsfield will need every player to walk off having played very close to their best, while Cranbourne has the star quality to get one-off the rails in a flash and make a withering run.
Holt and Michael Theodoridis are unstoppable if given supply, so reducing the impact of key providers in Luke Bee-Hugo, Ryan Jones and Max Gearon must be at the top of Beacy’s agenda.
And then there’s the battle in the ruck… we’ve saved the best for the last here… where the two in-form big-men in the game, Beacy’s Scott Meyer and Cranny’s Michael Boland will go head-to-head in what will be a raw display of athleticism. Meyer seems to take these challenges personally, and usually comes out on top, and how Boland responds will provide the answer to the question of who takes on the Magpies in the second semi-final next weekend.
THE TIP
Beaconsfield has been playing terrific team footy of late, the inspiration of Mislicki, the brilliance of Meyer, the class of the Johnston boys, Daniel and Damien, and the mobile marking ability of Pollard have made them a tough team to beat in recent times. Having said that, this is a step up, not so much in opponent, but in occasion, and Cranbourne’s ability to perform on the big stage, its scoring power, and the imposing will of Curtis Barker to win stoppages in the middle will make all the difference in a tight last term.
It’s Cranbourne by 16 points.
