Buzz’s boys vanquish Vultures in Prem C Prelim

AJAX have come from fourth to qualify for the Premier C Grand Final by upsetting minor premiers Parkdale Vultures in the Preliminary Final, ensuring they will rise to Premier B next season.

These two teams met in the 1^st Semi Final last year and it was the Vultures ending the Jackas’ season by 44 points and, since then, Parkdale had lost just three times in 20 matches.

One of those defeats was in the Second Semi Final to Beaumaris, who rocked the Vultures by 51 points and sent them into this sudden-death showdown with AJAX, who were rejuvenated by their gritty 5-point win over St Bedes/Mentone Tigers.

The Jackas came out firing and completely dominated territory with the breeze at their backs, racking up an incredible 26 Inside 50s to 3 in the opening term. The Vultures were working hard to win the contested ball (17 Hard Gets to 1), while AJAX were finding the footy in space (AJAX 22 Loose Gets to 6).

Three goals in 6 minutes late in time-on (including back-to-back majors to Justin Vogel, who finished with 3 for the term) saw the Jackas head to the first change with an impressive 35-point lead.

This extended to 39 with an early goal to Joel Parasol in the second quarter, followed by another to Max Herzel entering time-on. The Vultures were peppering away with the breeze, but were unable to find the goals until Kai Day took a superb grab back with the flight and received a 50-metre penalty that marched him to the goal-line at the 26-minute mark.

But 1.7 to 2.1 for the term told the story – the Vultures left to rue a series of wasted opportunities to eat into the deficit, and they headed to the major break still 35 points in arrears.

The minor premiers needed to make inroads into the breeze in the third term to give themselves a chance of storming home with the wind at their backs in the last.

But it was the Jackas once again taking their chances. A snap from Vulture Mitch Brown hit the post at one end, and in the blink of an eye, AJAX went coast-to-coast with just 3 possessions as skipper Kane Nissenbaum – playing his 100^th game for the Red, White & Black – stormed through 50 and slotted the long-range shot.

That 11-point swing in the space of 15 seconds set the tone for another dominant quarter with the breeze, as they rammed on 5 goals to 1 and headed to the final change with a commanding 59-point advantage.

The final term was Parkdale Vultures’ best, but the damage was well and truly done. They added 3.5 to 1.3 to win the quarter, but it was all academic as the Jackas reversed the September result of last season and ended the Vultures’ premiership hopes with an emphatic 45-point win that ensures their promotion to Premier B next season.

Jake Wrobel was adjudged best afield for AJAX for his hard-working performance in the ruck, which saw him amass 41 hitouts and 5 clearances against the formidable Jarrod Peake/Lewis Castle combination. Nick Pike found plenty of the footy, finishing with 26 disposals (12 contested), 5 tackles, 7 clearances and 5 Inside 50s.

Hudson Wright was best on ground for the Vultures, racking up 22 disposals (12 contested), 7 clearances and 4 Inside 50s, while Hunter Lynch and Matt Emmanouil were also busy in what turned out to be another disappointing afternoon for Parkdale Vultures, who finished the season as minor premiers only to bow out in straight sets.

For AJAX, opportunity knocks and they will ride their wave of momentum into a Grand Final against a team who is also riding high – Beaumaris, who will enter on a 16-game winning streak that stretches all the way back to April 26.

But after taking down the more-fancied Tigers and Vultures in the past fortnight, the Jackas will be asking ‘Why Not Us?’ as they chase their sixth senior premiership and their first since their C-Grade flag of 2011.

Lachie Buszard (AJAX): “Really proud of the group and the footy we are playing.  Parkdale and Beauy have been the benchmark of the competition this year, and both sides are very well-coached with great depth. 

“For us, to qualify for the Grand Final from 4th and to go up to B -Grade is a huge achievement for our Club and all involved, especially given the challenges we have faced this season!

“We have played 58 players in our Senior team, blooded 23 first gamers and still managed to qualify both the seniors and the reserves for finals, all whilst not having had one single player play every Senior game.  We also don’t have any VFL listed players!  Remarkable really, and assume that this would have to be some sort of VAFA record!  

“The result on the weekend is testament to the resilience of our group, the work our coaches put in and the work our physios have done to get our players back on the park!  A huge thanks must also go to our supporters who turned up in big numbers to support the boys and who became our 19th player!

“We are now looking forward to the challenge ahead and testing ourselves against Bourkey and his team, who I rated the best team in C grade at the start of the year, given they are stacked with talent and coached very very well!”

Owen Lalor (Parkdale Vultures): “We were beaten by a very good side. They were terrific with their pressure and we didn’t handle it well enough.

“Their contest work hurt us as they scored heavily from stoppages. Their speed at ground level also found us out.

“A really disappointing finals series for us after such a great home and away season. The boys are resilient – they will dust themselves off and aim to improve and challenge again next year – there’s no other choice!!!”

PREMIER C MEN’S GRAND FINAL – Sunday 2.30pm, Trevor Barker Beach Oval

BEAUMARIS vs AJAX

Enjoy what promises to be a fascinating premiership decider, streaming LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 2.20pm Sunday!