Eagles a sure bet

By Mark Gullick
CRANBOURNE faces Beaconsfield in the second semi-final at Edwin Flack Reserve on Saturday, with a place in the grand final on the line.
The clash of the Eagles is the most heavily anticipated contest this season.
Because of the vagaries of the fixture, these two heavyweights met just once, way back in round nine.
Cranbourne outplayed Beaconsfield on the day, charging to a 23-point win. But impossible conditions at Beaconsfield rendered that result difficult to decipher.
“It was a long, long time ago,” Cranbourne coach Doug Koop said. “I was happy with our performance. I thought we controlled the game for the four quarters.
“We played pretty well and we were happy with that, but it was 10 weeks ago and they’re in very good form.
“They would have got a lot of confidence with their win over Narre Warren. They turned a 60-point beating into a 40-point win.”
Beaconsfield coach Aussie Jones acknowledges his team played poorly that day.
“I think the margin was less than five goals, but it probably would’ve been by 100 points on a dry day because they dominated us,” he said. “We are a different group now to what we were then.”
Because of the poor conditions, Cranbourne kicked seven goals while Beaconsfield managed just four.
Conditions are likely to be better at Berwick and an exciting game is on the cards.
Koop was impressed with Beaconsfield’s display against Narre Warren last week.
“They play with some good physical attack,” he said. “They’ve been a very good starting side this year. If we can get an early start, it would be a massive bonus for us.”
Lachlan Oakley and Ryan Donaldson were a strong forward combination for Beaconsfield last week, and Koop knows shutting them down will put his team into a winning position.
“It’s an area we’ve prided ourselves on this year,” he said. “It’s not necessarily about us kicking winning scores, but about us restricting the opposition. Our backline has been very good for the best part of the year.”
Beaconsfield took its strong late season form into the finals with a brilliant win over the Magpies.
They will face an even tougher challenge this weekend.
“Cranbourne are the dominant side,” Jones said. “They have got a lot of quality players all over. It will need a real tough mental approach from our boys.
“We need to win the footy and worry about ourselves first and foremost. We’ll put some plans in place to combat some of their good players, like we did against Narre Warren.”
Chris Kelf looms as Beaconsfield’s trump card. The star ruckman didn’t play in the round nine match. He was unstoppable against the Magpies.
“He hasn’t played a lot of footy this year, but I reckon if it’s on the big stage in the big games, Kelfy will do it,” Jones said.
Beaconsfield has no injuries, but has several players on the return.
Defender Sean Alexander and the versatile Justin Duffy will be pushing for selection.
There will be many key match-ups around the ground.
Cranbourne’s forward combination of the league’s leading goalkicker Marc Holt, Matthew Fletcher, Troy Tharle Adams and Curtise Barker will cause plenty of headaches.
Justin Berry loves the big stage and there is eagre anticipation to see what he can produce.
Ray George is another midfielder with a sense for goals.
Other prominent midfielders include the tough Leigh Holt and classy winger Ryan Jones.
Matthew Thompson, Matthew Rus, Andre Young and Robert Beadel will be busy guarding Beaconsfield’s big forward targets, Ryan Donaldson, Lachlan Oakley, Daniel Calteri and Mitch Collins.
Chris Setford is capable of kicking multiple goals and Mick Boland has a massive challenge against Kelf in the ruck.
Beaconsfield’s Craig Jackson, Kane Aidrie, Ji Veltmeyer, Aaron Gwozdziewski and superstar veteran Andrew Williams form an imposing, defensive unit.