Can the Wellers bring down PEGS in the D1 GF?

Josh Heriot

Old Camberwell Grammarians have booked in a Grand Final clash with PEGS this Saturday after a sensational preliminary final victory against Kew on the weekend.

Old Camberwell having finished fourth on the ladder during the home and away season are hoping to pull off a remarkable finals streak. The first week of the finals saw them defeat Glen Eira by 19- points and then defeating Kew by 33-points.

Saturdays preliminary final began with Kew kicking the first two goals of the game and keeping Old Camberwell scoreless in the first quarter. The second quarter was more even with Old Camberwell finally kicking into gear with three goals to bridge the margin back to 4-points at the main break. Kew was assisted by Lachlan Bown who registered three majors for the game with further support provided by Billy McGee, Galimberti and Lachlan James who were both best on ground performers.

However, it wasn’t quite enough as Old Camberwell took over in the second half with six third quarter goals with Kew only kicking one goal in the third. The third quarter is called the premiership quarter for a reason, and it was on full display as the Old Camberwell outfit dominated to set up the win. A further four goals to Old Camberwell in the final quarter planted the nail in the coffin for Kew whose season is now done.

For Old Camberwell Grammarians perhaps the most impressive element of their game came from the spread of goal kickers and an equal contribution. They had 11 individual goal scorers for the afternoon with Riley Verbi and Simon Bennett both kicking two goals each. What this showed was they didn’t just rely on a restricted number of forwards but rather had a range of players who hit the scoreboard. This will be absolutely crucial in their grand final clash against this year’s standout team PEGS.

So, what can we expect in this Saturdays grand final?

Old Camberwell will enter this weekend’s grand final as the clear underdogs. It will take their very best effort to try and knock off PEGS who have been the best side all year.

Without a doubt, Old Camberwell will look to shut down the PEGS forward line which is led by Riley Simmons, Jack Fenner, Andrew Frazer and Thomas Saggio, with all four players kicking more than 25 goals this season. Likewise, Old Camberwell will have to crack through the defence of PEGS who this year, have been able to strangle opposition sides with pressure. Will the wide expanses of Trevor Barker Oval make this difficult for PEGS or will they be able to continue their defensive dominance.

As it stands, it looks as though wet weather football will be the order of the day with rain expected to fall on both Friday and Saturday. This will most likely result in a contested style of game which is also typical of what we would see in a final. So, will the underdogs Old Camberwell continue their remarkable run from fourth spot this finals series or will the class and polish of PEGS prevail in the biggest game of the year?

By Saturday evening we will know but one thing is certain, we are poised for a brilliant showing of Division One football!