Bullants burrow into GF as Pirates & Vultures quest continues

Jake Morris

Semi-Final 2: Preston Bullants vs UHS-VU

For the first time in their short history in the VAFA, joining in 2011, Preston Bullants will feature in Premier C after they won through to the Division 1 Grand Final via a 34-point victory over UHS-VU. Earning their 12^th win in a row and now in the box seat to secure their fourth VAFA premiership since 2013, the Bullants used a ferocious third term to create space between them and the Vultures, booting 6.4 to 1.3 to extend their 10-point half-time lead to 41. Jack Sammartino made it 50 majors for the year with his three-goal effort, while Connor Howard and Matt Holmes received the votes in what we’ve come to expect from Preston; a clinical performance. Producing their second-lowest total for the year (45) and being held scoreless for the first time on record in an opening quarter, Uni High were thoroughly outclassed by their counterparts from siren-to-siren, and will now have to go the long way to create history and win their third consecutive Premiership. Esubalew Ramsay was the only multiple goal-kicker with a double while Isaac Brambley was named his sides best.

Semi-Final 1: Kew vs Peninsula

Awaiting UHS for a spot in Premier C in 2020 will be Peninsula after they continued their rich vain of form in a 44-point win over Kew, ending the Bears rollercoaster of a season. Much like the Bullants, the Pirates used a dominant third-quarter to create some space between them and Bears, booting 5.3 to 0.0 that term to turn a nine-point advantage into a 42-point lead entering the final stanza. In just his fifth game of the year, George Fletcher played a vital role in the win with three goals while club stalwart Stefan Barbour also kicked three en route to their sixth win from seven matches and eighth win from 10. Ladder-leaders for six-weeks during the home & away season, the Bears aspirations to end their two-year stay in D1 will have to wait another year as they produced a disappointing performance in Saturday’s defeat. Held goalless in the opening quarter for the first time since Round 16 2018, and their lowest total score since Round 16 2015, the Bears will rue their Round 18 loss to Therry Penola that snatched away their double-chance, and set-up this clash with one of the in-form sides of the competition.

PREVIEW

Preliminary Final: UHS-VU vs Peninsula

Though the Vultures are filled to the brim with finals experience, this will be their first Preliminary Final since 2013, where they went down to Elsternwick by 31 points in Division 3. Peninsula’s last Preliminary Final was in 2016 when they defeated Caulfield Grammarians by 16 points in Premier C to advance to the dizzying heights of B grade.

The Pirates have claimed victories in both outings earlier in the year, a 17-point win in Round 8 and a 13-point win in Round 14 at the fortress of Brens Oval. The Vultures enter this clash averaging 91.1 points per game on the year, while the Pirates manage 94.8 points per game, leading the competition. Sam Glenn has booted six goals against UHS this season, while Stefan Barbour, Will Harbinson and Ronald Raworth have each kicked five. Brandon Jackson leads the Vultures with six goals on the season against the Pirates, while Nick Devereux kicked four in one afternoon in Round 14. Two high quality outfits that have largely played their footy at different ends of the grading spectrum, with UHS-VU not featuring in any Premier grade since the 1970’s, while Peninsula have been a regular in Premier C since 2012, even climbing into Premier B without a single Premiership flag in tow. The Pirates are riding a wave of momentum towards returning to Premier C and should get the job done this weekend as UHS’ dreams of a triple crown may well be coming to an end.