Division 2 GF Preview

Anna Pavlou – @Annalyst_Sports

At the start of this season, UHS-VU had nothing to lose and Old Paradians had everything to prove. Flash forward more than 20 weeks and they’re meeting in the biggest game of the 2018 season. They’ve both shown they are capable of hurting teams across the ground both in defence and attack, but the Grand Final always tells a different tale.

Last time these two sides met was only two weeks ago in the Semi Final, where UHS-VU came out on top by 16 points. Since then, the Raiders took apart one of the highest scoring teams in the division (Whitefriars) and are on an upward trajectory. It’s a mental and tactical battle as much as it is about physicality and skill. The winner will be the side who can shut down their opponents early on in front of goal. During the season, these sides met in Round 16, when UHS-VU comprehensively beat the Raiders by 57 points, holding Parade to only five goals all day. Before that in Round 4, it was the Raiders who came out 22-point winners.

The Raiders in recent weeks have struggled to kick winning scores, due largely to the loss of key forward Michael Boundy and the impact on their forward structure. But his return last week (3 goals) has already steadied their ship as he proves to be a hard-to-beat target up forward. Old Parade’s recent catalyst is their ability to shut down sides and keep them to lower-than-average scores. Last week, they kept the highest scoring side in the competition to only eight goals and the week before that, kept UHS-VU to well below their season average. Put simply, if the Raiders can hold UHS-VU to a low score by ensuring their defensive pressure is on from the first bounce, then they’re a better chance to claim the cup.

On the other hand, Uni High are in great shape. The Vultures are well rested and in fine form and will stop at nothing to go all the way. The key to victory will be goal scoring machine Brandon Jackson, who is in great recent form. The Vulture’s midfield bats deep and prides itself on two-way running, congesting opposition forward lines while running ahead of the ball scoring freely.

Can Gerard Hawkins and his tight UHS-VU defence shut down key target Michael Boundy and the surprise packet, James Kandilakis, who is finding form at the right time of the year? The midfield battle between James Healy and his UHS-VU spread and Parade’s Warren Jeffrey and Anthony D Souza will be one to watch.

Old Paradians’ Senior Coach Ryan Smith, who is looking for Paradians’ first flag since 2015, is up against the experienced Brendan Payne who orchestrated Uni High’s Division 3 premiership win last year and is preparing to go back-to-back, on the back of a 35-4 winning record over the past two seasons.