Grand Final Preview: Uni Blues vs SKOB

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Nick Armistead

If you sat down on the eve of the 2019 season and ran a fine-tooth comb over every list in William Buck Premier, there’s no doubting University Blues and St Kevin’s OB would have the highest number of pundits selecting their paper-based squads as the top two in the competition.

As it turns out, the best lists on paper have performed accordingly throughout this year’s finals series and will clash at Elsternwick Park on Sunday for the 2019 premiership.

The Blues, who put paid to any suggestion of wearing a warm-blooded primate as a cape in last week’s second semi-final, will try and claim their first A-Grade/Premier flag since 2004. Historically, they’ve underperformed on the big day with 10 losses from 13 attempts, but as senior coach Heath Jamieson said at the VAFA William Buck Finals Luncheon last Friday, he (and this group) are zero from zero.

As for SKOB, they were ruthless on Sunday against Xavs, once again proving their ability to win the ball at the contest and use it with class on the outside is as good as it gets in the competition. While they finished fourth at the end of the home and away fixture, SKOB’s record against this year’s finalists is 5-2 – the same as Uni Blues. They will be looking to become the first team since Xavs from 1998-2000 (albeit six consecutive from ‘95) to win three straight flags in the VAFA’s top section. Three straight in Plugger’s last game would be a dream for the SKOB faithful.

Head-to-Head: 1-1

Round 5: They first met in Round 5 when the home side kicked away to a 19-point victory. Jack Holden was the star of the show with 32 disposals and two goals while Tom Young had 30 for the Blues. Will Coates lifted in the absence of Anthony Lynch and held Cordy to 44 hit outs and one goal.

Round 11: When they faced off at the Uni Oval it was the Blues who held on by four points after leading by 21 at three quarter time. Cordy returned fire with 65 hit outs, two goals and three Woodrow votes while Nick Wood racked up 31 and 14 clearances for SKOB.

The Cream Rises Even Further

As discussed in this column and on the RSN Carnival broadcast last week, the importance of top-end talent in big finals is paramount to the success of any eventual premier. Think Billy Kanakis and Mitch Brown in the last two grand finals, each winning a Jock Nelson Medal. Kanakis has dominated in his past five finals for SKOB averaging three goals a game, while Brown and Waite will continue to attract the best run-with and best defender. As for Blues, take your pick. This season belonged to Cordy, O’Shea, Young and Green but it was Kieran Harper’s three goals in the third term that proved the difference against Xavs two weeks ago.

Who do they need to stop?

Uni Blues: Sam Critchley. The star SKOB defender was left to his own devices for a large part of Sunday’s preliminary final and consistently fell back and intercepted Xavs’ forward thrusts. The man had 10 marks to half time and has now had 39 from his past four games!

St Kevin’s OB: It’s the safe choice but clearly two-time Woodrow Medallist Ayce Cordy will be at the top of SKOB’s hit list. He averaged 42 hit outs and 17 disposals per game in 2019 but his one wood is the ability to push forward and impact the scoreboard – something he has done in all but two games this season.

X-Factors

Uni Blues: Josh Green – the former Bomber and Lion has popped up with five goals twice and six once this year and chipped in against SKOB with three and two during their two encounters. Conor Ross will likely stand Green in one of the more enthralling match-ups on game day.

SKOB: Lachie Sullivan – After winning the VAFA Rising Star Award in 2017, Sullivan has gone on to become one of the pre-eminent midfielders in the competition (when he’s not at VFL level). He wins contested ball and delivers with precision, making him one of the most dangerous threats to the Blues’ chances.