St John’s through to big dance as Power House bow out in straight sets

Two classic Division 3 finals took place over the second weekend of September, with enthralling finishes coming right down to the wire.

St John’s are the first side to secure their spot in the Grand Final and a promotion to Division 2, after a stunning 41-point turnaround shocked North Brunswick. The JOCs trailed by 37 at quarter-time, having scored just one behind to North Brunswick’s 6.2. The Bulls were lively early in the piece, as Zac Dicianni and Tom Shembrey both scored multiple goals in the first term.

St John’s bravely began to fight back. In a resilient second quarter, the JOCs outscored the Bulls by four goals, reducing the halftime margin to just 13 points. The JOCs weren’t finished there though, levelling the scores by the ninth minute of the third quarter, and taking the lead halfway through.

North Brunswick were unable to capitalise, scoring just two behinds in a stagnant third term, as the JOCs reversed the halftime deficit in their favour, leading by 12.

St John’s’ best forwards stood up to the challenge in the beginning of the last quarter, with Matthew Carnelley and Harvey Emery kicking their second and third respective goals to increase the margin to 25 points.

The game was nearly dead and buried, but a North Brunswick side who had overcome many fourth-quarter deficits in 2024 was never going to limp to the finish line.

Mitch Hicks and Luke Russell combined for three consecutive goals, excluding an additional three behinds, that reeled the margin in to just four points. With unstoppable momentum, the Bulls were on the charge, but the damage was already done. The final siren sounded, St John’s emerging victorious by under a kick, 11.7 (73) to 10.9 (69).

North Brunswick coach Adrian Sipala was gutted following his side’s defeat. “It’s a tough pill to swallow for us, especially after a scintillating first quarter against the breeze,” Sipala said. “A brutal game and a brutal reminder that we need to play four quarters of footy to win finals against good sides. Well done to the JOC’s, they executed their plan for longer than we did.”

Sipala remains adamant his side will rebound, and rematch against what are now fierce rivals in St John’s. The two sides have had three encounters this season, two of which have been decided by seven points or less. “Looking forward to make amends this weekend against Canterbury. That is the beauty of the double chance,” he said.

St John’s coach Tim Edwards was proud of his men’s recovery after a frustrating first quarter, but now has his eyes set on the biggest reward of the season. “Super proud of the boys fighting back from a slow start. We have earned a spot in the decider but that’s all we have done, the hard work starts now,” Edwards said.

Dicianni and Hicks were North Brunswick’s best in the heartbreaking defeat, combining for six goals. Callum Houghton and Mitch Barry were the JOC’s’ best on ground.

Canterbury will march on in September after a 19-point upset victory, knocking out Power House in straight sets. An even beginning to the contest, only three points separated the two sides at quarter-time. Canterbury looked to have more control initially, however inaccurate goalkicking kept Power House right in the contest.

The second-quarter was equally an arm-wrestle, as ebbs and flows of momentum swung the Cobras’ lead out to as much as 21 points, before Power House kicked five of the last six goals to reclaim a two-point advantage at halftime.

Following the main break, scoring became a difficult task, as desperation and pressure at every contest forced plenty of stoppages. After ten minutes of action, the Cobras would finally break the drought, and the floodgates would soon burst open. Canterbury punted four straight goals to suddenly reach a lead of 23 points, and Power House were unable to respond how they had in the second term.

“In the third quarter for whatever reason, probably Canterbury pressure, we just fumbled the ball and missed handball targets, we were pretty untidy and that allowed Canterbury to kick away,” Power House coach Jeff Scotland said.

In a do-or-die final, Canterbury coach Josh Ward knew that Power House weren’t going to roll over easily, and he prepared his side for one final challenge from the men in black and green. “The last quarter would always be tough, as they (Power House) do not give up. But we kept scoreboard pressure and didn’t go into our shell, which was the difference,” Ward said.

It indeed was the difference. A surging Power House outfit claimed four goals in the last, however Canterbury scored three of their own, holding firm for a 19-point victory. The win breathes life into their premiership dreams for another week, with a bumper Preliminary Final against North Brunswick to come.

The result spells the end of a promising season for Power House, who lost just three games in the home and away rounds. Never outside the top four this year, Power House look set for premiership contention again in 2025.

Scotland reflected positively on the season and future for Power House in coming years. “I think the last three years we’ve been on a good upward trajectory in our performance and finishing third this year was a pretty good result… [We’re] probably just lacking a few bigger bodies I’d say in the finals and big games… so we’ll put the work in for recruiting,” he said.

After the second week of Division 3 Men’s finals, this is the state of play:

St John’s have earned a spot at the big dance, as well as a guaranteed promotion to Division 2, whilst North Brunswick and Canterbury will face off this weekend in a win or go home Prelim. North Brunswick have won both clashes against the Cobras this season, albeit by only 7 and 16 points respectively. Canterbury is rolling with momentum too, so another upset is not off the cards. The final spot in the Division 3 Senior Men’s Grand Final beckons, as another enticing encounter lies ahead.