By Romy Stephens
OUTER EAST NETBALL
REVIEW – FINALS
PREMIER (WEEK 2 FINALS)
Even the pressure of finals action can’t stop Olinda Ferny Creek.
The top-side has stormed its way through to the grand final with a convincing 50-39 win over Beaconsfield on Saturday afternoon at Toomac Reserve.
The game was expected to be a tussle, considering the last time these two sides met the Bloods scraped over the line by seven goals ﹘ their closet margin all season.
But after a poor start, the Eagles were never able to completely recover.
It was the first and third quarter that did the most damage for the Eagles. After conceding a six-goal deficit in the first quarter, they weathered the storm during the second but only to peg the margin back to five goals.
However, the experience of the Bloods soon took its toll on the Eagles.
Olinda stormed out of the blocks after half-time and blew the lead out to 11 goals by the final siren.
A host of players were impressive for the Bloods, but particularly notable was goaler Elly Stewart (14 goals) who as per usual combined well with her sister Peri (36 goals).
The other semi-final saw Cranbourne storm home to steal the win against Woori Yallock on Saturday, 42-34.
In what was a tight tussle all day, it seemed as though the Tigers were ready to cause a massive upset towards the back-end of the finals campaign.
There was nothing separating the two sides at three-quarter-time with both sides scoring 26 goals each.
But the confidence of the Eagles soon won out, as they piled on a 16-9 goal final quarter and denied the Tigers of any chance at a preliminary finals spot.
The result sees the Tigers bow out of the competition, while Cranbourne and Beaconsfield will once again match up to decide who makes it through to the grand final against Olinda Ferny Creek.
The two sides last played in the qualifying final on 7 September, where Beaconsfield just got over the line by three goals.
DIVISION 1 (WEEK 3 FINALS)
The Monbulk Hawks have secured themselves a grand final spot after recording a big upset win over ROC at Holm Park Reserve on Sunday afternoon.
The result put an end to what was a disappointing finals campaign for ROC, with the minor premiers losing both finals games by 13 goals each time.
In a game that was quite close early on, it was the Hawks who always seemed to have the upper hand.
They extended a one-goal lead at the end of the first quarter out to three goals by half-time.
Once they smelt the lead, the Hawks never looked back and continued to extend the margin until the final siren.
The result will see Monbulk match up against Mount Evelyn in the grand final on 22 September.
The Rovers will go into the game hot favourites having won all three games against Monbulk this season.
But with all three results being decided by eight goals or less and the Hawks coming off a big upset win, both sides will be ready for a tussle.
