Casey Cardinia league review – finals week 1

By Mark Gullick
BEACONSFIELD booked its place in the second semi-final with an emphatic 42-point win over Narre Warren at Edwin Flack Reserve.
The Eagles recovered from a lethargic start to comfortably defeat the disappointing Magpies.
Narre Warren kicked the first three goals of the game – to Daniel Field, Michael Collins and Chris Potalej.
The goals to Field and Collins came from 50 metre penalties.
Beaconsfield settled after Lachlan Oakley converted from a strong mark in the goalsquare.
This sparked a flurry of goals from the Eagles.
Sean Marchetti goaled after a brilliant handball from captain Daniel Mislicki.
Ryan Donaldson produced two clever goals within a minute – and when Oakley kicked another goal from a downfield free – Beaconsfield opened up a 14-point lead by quarter time.
Beaconsfield continued attacking in the second term, but missed several obtainable chances.
Magpie Brett Evans kicked the only goal of the term, which was a tight, physical affair.
While Beaconsfield led by 11 points at half-time, the match was still evenly poised.
Throughout the season, the Eagles were reknown for their strong starts, while the Magpies concluded their games with powerful finishes.
Beaconsfield had a perfect start to the third term with goals to Andrew Williams, Mitch Collins and Oakley.
The Eagles’ stronger, mature bodies began controlling the midfield, and winning clearances around the ground.
Evans kicked a much needed goal for Narre, reducing its deficit to 23 points into the final stanza.
An early goal to Oakley negated any chance of a Narre Warren comeback.
The Eagles kicked three more goals to one to seal an impressive win, which Beaconsfield coach Aussie Jones was pleased with.
“I thought our boys looked a little bit nervous early,” he said. “Once we settled, it was one of our most complete performances. We knew we had to have everyone up in all areas of the game. There was plenty of information during the week and their attitude and following (of instructions) was first rate.”
It was the Eagles’ hardness at the ball which was the difference.
“We focused on the contested footy,” Jones said. “I’m not big about getting into our blokes and telling them to get into the opposition. There’s only one real proper way to get to the opposition and that’s beating them to the ball.”
Beaconsfield had many great players.
Chris Kelf was the dominant big man on the ground.
“He was absolutely super for us,” Jones said. “It was one of the most dominant ruck performances I’ve seen in my time in local footy.”
Champion midfielder Mislicki played a brilliant captain’s game.
Marchetti was busy around the ground, and youngster Ji Veltmeyer and Aaron Gwozdziewski performed well, while Williams again controlled the back-half.
Oakley (five goals) and Donaldson (four) provided a strong forward combination.
“Oakley’s last month has been absolutely super,” Jones said. “He’s a big game player. He might only have three weeks left in his career, so he wants to go out with a bang. And Donaldson could have finished with eight goals.”
Narre Warren coach Matt Shinners was disappointed with his team’s performance.
“To kick three goals in the first 15 minutes and then kick three for the rest of the game is pretty ordinary,” he said. “We were up and about and I thought we were switched on. Beaconsfield were probably a bit nervous but once they settled, away they went.”
Although playing poorly, the Magpies were within striking distance.
“We weren’t playing well and they had a lot of the footy,” Shinners said. “They really dominated us.”
Shinners was unimpressed with his young players.
“The disappointing thing is that we got physically intimidated,” he said. “Our young blokes, unfortunately, weren’t up to it. Most of them have played senior footy for three years. We can’t make any excuses for them. They didn’t handle the finals pressure well.”
Narre Warren were unable to contain Kelf’s dominance in the ruck.
“He had that much advantage in the middle over our two blokes,” Shinners said. “He just gave them first use of the ball, all the time. And when you’ve got Calteri, Donaldson, Oakley and Mitch Collins – they’re four big bodied players – they’re hard to handle.”
Narre Warren’s Collins, Field and Aaron McIver tried hard in the midfield, while Jarrod Anderson and Michael McGill provided plenty of resistance in defence.