Between 2.00pm and 4.15pm on Saturday it was looking like the beers wouldn’t taste that nice at the Ball that night as NOBSPC were outplayed by a much more committed Whitefriars team. Then the switch was flicked and in the blink of an eye 5 goals were added and a 25-point win was recorded. The beers tasted a whole lot nicer as a result!

The effort of the Friars was superior on the day but in the end it told on their young legs as our experienced heads hung in and got us over the line. We were embarrassed in the first half as we struggled to kick 3 goals. It seemed that our minds were on the Ball and not the game, which the home team was quick to capitalize on as they applied incredible pressure on us when we were in possession and spread well going forward. The late withdrawal of Oakley was also hurting.

Our third quarter wasn’t much better but at least we closed the margin to 14 points and took some momentum into the last quarter, which we then rode with 3 early goals to tie things up. The Friars then kicked the next goal and had the ball in their forward line for some time. Our backline was under real pressure and held up well as the home side missed some crucial opportunities. Then it all changed. We won the clearances and hit our targets inside 50. We even roved the crumbs and couldn’t miss the goals. It was impressive stuff, but it was not lost on anyone that this was not the way to win a final against a Therry or a Williamstown.

Damon Byrne was our best 4-quarter contributor and a major player in the match-defining burst. Dylan Clarkson also continued his great recent form. After a quiet return in the first half Chris Horsley hit his straps with 4 crucial goals.

Our good fortune from 4.15pm onwards didn’t end with that 5 goal burst as we heard that Old Geelong and Prahran Assumption both lost by 4 points, meaning that we are virtually assured of a finals berth. Let’s sew it up against Melbourne High next week.