Old Carey scrape over the line in final quarter thriller

The first week of finals in Premier C was headlined by Old Carey’s thrilling 19-point victory over the Hampton Rovers to secure themselves both a place in the Grand Final and promotion to Premier B in 2025. Meanwhile, the elimination final saw AJAX defeated the Parkdale Vultures, bringing their season to a premature close.

Elsternwick Park played host to the second Semi-Final, which proved to be a gripping encounter between 1^st placed Old Carey and 2^nd placed Hampton Rovers, in which Old Carey came up trumps with a 19-point win.

Old Carey had a strong start with the first three goals of the game and had built up a four-goal lead by quarter-time. Both sides were hard to separate in the second quarter, kicking five goals apiece, as the Rovers found their feet and made good use of their opportunities. At half-time, Old Carey held a 22-point advantage, and the game was certainly anyone’s for the taking.

The third quarter belonged to Hampton who built momentum nicely and were showing a lot of fight in an attempt to turn the scoreline around, and by three-quarter-time, the Rovers had reduced their deficit to just 7 points. The return of their skipper Christian Carnovale no-doubt lifted the in-form Rovers side, while star forward Clinton Young dominated in front of the big sticks, finishing with 4 goals.

A dramatic final quarter saw the Rovers kick the first major and suddenly they were only two points down, near the half-way mark of the final term. With tension rising and hearts racing the scoreline came as close as 77-76, with the Rovers hot on the tail of Old Carey. When push came to shove it was Old Carey who stood up and proved why they finished on top of the ladder, kicking a trilogy of goals late in the game to get their supporters excited and claim the victory.

Riley Thompson and Trent Warren were instrumental for the winning side with three goals each, whilst Hugo Lay, Harry Crisp and Corey Jones made an impact for the Rovers.

With this result, Old Carey have earned themselves a promotion to Premier B in 2025, whilst the Hampton Rovers will live to fight another week and play in a Preliminary Final.

The 1^st semi-final saw AJAX meet the Parkdale Vultures at Trevor Barker Beach Oval. The consequences of this game were simple – win and you advance to a Preliminary Final, but if you lose, your season comes to a grinding halt. AJAX would have had to have been favourites coming into this game given they won 15 games in the home and away season, compared to Parkdale’s 12, not to mention the fact they came down from Premier B this year. However, it was the Vultures who dominated this game to ultimately win by 44 points.

AJAX drew first blood with an early goal from Brad Caplan, however it was Parkdale who burst out of the blocks from there on in, kicking the next four goals to hold a 20-point lead at quarter time. AJAX regrouped and found some form back in the second quarter, taking advantage of their opportunities inside 50 to kick three goals and reduce Parkdale’s buffer to just 10 points at the main break. A classy goal on the run from vice-captain Kane Nissenbaum appeared to light a fire for the Jackas, as they clawed back some momentum in a tough contest.

Much like the Old Carey vs Hampton Rovers game, this contest was certainly in the balance at half-time and it was difficult to pick a winner. The third quarter was one of stagnation as both sides struggled to progress on the scoreboard, picking up one goal each with a litany of behinds to accompany. It was all going to come down to the last quarter; the Vultures ahead by just 4 points at three-quarter time.

The story was simple in the fourth quarter as the Vultures dominated and excelled; silencing AJAX who could only manage two behinds, whilst Parkdale found their form and kicked six goals to soar home and book themselves a spot in the Preliminary Final against the Hampton Rovers.

Mitch Brown was key to the Vultures’ success, kicking 6 goals and bringing his tally this season to a remarkable 84 goals. Joshua Ricco, Darcy Brown, and Jarrod Peake impressed for Parkdale in an important finals victory. In what turned out to be AJAX’s final game of the season, their regular trailblazers in Kane Nissenbaum, Elliot Debinski, Charles Hamilton, Nick Lewis, and Brandon Efron were among their best players.

This is a disappointing end to the season for AJAX after dominating and sitting on top of the ladder for so long during the season. They were demoted from Premier B at the end of 2023 and were poised to go far in Premier C, however their campaign has been abruptly cut short after the first week of finals. Nonetheless, AJAX will be pleased with their season overall and look to go again and go further in 2025. They are no doubt ones to watch…

The Preliminary Final match-up sees the Hampton Rovers taking on the Parkdale Vultures, with the winner advancing to the Grand Final where they’ll meet Old Carey. The Rovers beat the Vultures on both occasions during the home and away season that these sides met this year; by 28 points in Round 2, and by 30 points in Round 10. But as we’ve come to know, that means nothing by the time finals roll around, as both teams will no doubt be up for the challenge and hungry for a Grand Final berth. With two sharpshooters of the competition in Mitch Brown at one end for the Vultures, and Hampton’s Clinton Young at the other, the stage is set for one almighty battle.