One for the ages as Scotch book grand final berth

Euan MacDonald 

Forget West Coast vs Port Adelaide, the real talk of the town this season will be the Old Scotch vs St Bernard’s preliminary final, which was decided in a thrilling overtime finish. After knocking out the Blues last week, the Snow Dogs would have given themselves every chance to lock in a Grand Final and 2018 William Buck Premier berth as they came up against Old Scotch in a do or die preliminary  final. The teams had met twice before in the 2017 season, with the tally locked at one win each.

Winning the toss and electing to kick with a strong breeze, the Cardinals looked to gain ascendancy early with an electric (but often wasteful) first term. 3.7 was a disappointing effort from the Cardinals, and with the Snow Dogs sneaking through two of their own, it was Old Scotch leading at quarter time by just 11 points. A tight second term saw Old Scotch put through two unanswered goals, and with a 24-point lead halfway through the term, they looked to be gaining control of the battle. The Snow Dogs fought back, however, and a late goal blitz saw them just one-point shy of the Cardinals at half time. It was obvious we had a game on our hands, but nobody could have predicted just how close the finish of this game would be.

Kicking with the breeze once again, the Cardinals opened a narrow 11-point lead during the third quarter, registering 3.2 to the Snow Dogs 1.4. In the context of the game this was a big lead, but the Snow Dogs were coming home with the breeze, and the Cardinals had a serious fight on their hands. A fourth term opener to Jordan Clarke saw the lead slip out to 16 points, but a flurry of attack and ball control saw the Snow Dogs slot four unanswered goals to take the lead. Old Scotch looked like they could be on their last legs, but an inaccurate St Bernards (kicking eight points in the quarter) kept the Cardinals in the hunt. A final surge forward and another goal to Jordan Clarke saw the margin tighten to just two points, and the ensuing scrap saw the Cardinals force the ball forward for another two points. Scores were level at Trevor Barker Oval, and with just seconds left to play, a final foray forward by the Snow Dogs was thwarted by a stalwart mark by an outnumbered Old Scotch defender. The Siren blew and we were headed to overtime.

Two five-minute halves, and two more chances to capitalise on a strong breeze, it would come down to the wire and whoever managed to scrap out a win would be heading to a Premier B Grand Final and making the leap into William Buck Premier. The players knew their entire season rested on these last 10 minutes, and it showed in the frantic play style from both teams. It took the silky skills of Matt Seed to slot through the first goal of extra time, and an early eight-point lead to the Cardinals had the Snow Dogs looking down the barrel of defeat. The sealer came with just minutes to spare when a dangerous pass in defensive 50 was turned over and resulted in an Old Scotch goal.

From the game, it was defender Alex Van Ryan who was named best on for the Cardinals, along with Jack McNamara for the Snow Dogs who slotted three majors himself. Dom Iermano kicked two for St Bernards, whilst Matt Seed and James Samsom contributed two apiece, including one each in overtime.

In a hotly contested match of football that no spectator on the day will soon forget, it was Old Scotch who came away with the win, which sees them heading back into William Buck Premier next season, and lining up against the formidable Old Brighton Grammarians in the Grand Final. A slow start in the first round of finals cost Old Scotch a big lead early against the Grammarians, and they will have to fire early if they are any chance of upsetting the minor premiers. The big dance will be held at 2:20pm at Trevor Barker Oval, on Sat 23 September. See you there!