De La outlast Sharks to make Grand Final – Premier B Men’s Preliminary Final Review

De La Salle secured the remaining spot in this year’s Premier B Men’s Grand Final, defeating Beaumaris by 20 points in a hard-fought Preliminary Final at the Kennedy Community Centre.

In a tense contest that rarely saw the margin stretch beyond two goals, De La kicked the only two goals in the final term to eventually break away and secure the win.

In blustery conditions, Luke Mahimarajan showed his class with three goals, while Nicholas Leontaritis and Adrian Indovino each booted two.

In addition to securing a place in the Grand Final, the win also secures De La’s promotion back into Premier Men’s, meaning that the two teams that came down from Premier Men’s last year have gone straight back up.

De La will play Collegians at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday in this year’s Premier B Grand Final.

It also brings an end to Beaumaris’ season, who fell just short of promotion into Premier Men’s despite only coming up from Premier C last season.

De La coach Nick Hyland said the way his team played into the wind into the third term was decisive in securing the win.

“We were most pleased with the way we responded after half time,” Hyland said. “We had to make changes with how we moved the ball to combat the win.

“We applied great front half pressure to have the ball locked in. It gave us real momentum.

“It was a very tight contest all afternoon. 20 points flattered us. It was a real arm wrestle all day.

“We’re just really proud of the group. Preliminary Finals are always hard to win.”

Despite the loss, Sharks coach Josh Bourke was full of praise for both the opposition and for his own club, after an impressive season in Premier B.

“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved,” Bourke said. “I’m excited with where the club is at. The energy and build is really positive.

“I think the players’ reaction was that it was a missed opportunity. I wanted them to hurt a bit, because they were good enough to win.

“But congratulations to De La. They’re pretty young too but do what they’ve done this year is pretty incredible. We have a lot of time and respect for Nick and his group.”