By Brad Kingsbury
DOVETON moved into the 2005 grand final and earned a week off after an impressive 36point victory over a shellshocked Narre Warren in Saturday’s second semifinal at Berwick.
The game was as good as over at quarter time after the Doves booted 8.4 to nothing to lead by 52 points at the first change of ends.
The process of retaining that advantage was clinical from then on, with Doveton answering the challenge put to it for the rest of the day.
Narre Warren coach Paul Hamilton was perplexed by the Doves’ barnstorming start to the game, but said his players had shown courage to outscore the Doves after quartertime.
“We knew that they would come out firing and that’s the way they play, but they basically just attacked and we couldn’t counter it in the first quarter,” he said.
“We took some positives out of the rest of the game and now we’ll concentrate on next week. I’d love another crack at them though.”
Gun centre halfforward Ryan Brown did not come up after missing the last six weeks for the Doves with a groin complaint, while key Magpie big men Garth Pickford and Michael Collins were also omissions due to injury.
Conditions were perfect and there was no wind advantage, making the Doves’ devastating start more impressive.
Magpie defenders Steven Kidd and Jesse Edmond went to prolific goalkickers Danny Casset and Ryan Hendy, while key matchups at the other end included Brad Downe on Lee Clark, Nathan Wilson on Shane Dwyer and Ricky Hayes on dangerous Magpie Brett Evans.
The fastpaced opening saw the Doves slam on four goals in the first 10 minutes of the game and then add another four between the 20minute mark and the 28 minutemark, without allowing a Narre Warren score.
Doveton captain and ruckman Clint Wilson was at his bullocking best in the middle and the drive created by David George, Trevor Davies, Callum Pattie and Michael Henry was overwhelming.
Narre Warren was second (and sometimes third) to the ball in the first quarter and basically blew any hope of victory with its inability to counter the Doves’ run and pressure.
The Magpies first score, a point, came at the fiveminute mark of the second term and Evans kicked their first goal, two minutes later.
Lee Clark stood with three goals late in the second term, but the difference at halftime was still 50 points and the Doves were cruising.
The second half was more competitive, but how much that was down to the Doves easing up is the question.
The difference at the final change was 51 points before Narre Warren made a dash at the end and reduced it to six goals, as the heat went out of the contest.
Clark finished with five goals and Evans four for the Magpies, while Doveton’s 19 majors were spread between nine players with Aaron McIver and Hendy kicking four each.
David George was awesome across halfback and in his occasional forays up field and Doveton coach Steve Henwood agreed that he was a key to the side.
“David is 32 and we’ve used him as a centre halfforward in the past because we’ve had to,” he said. “He’s always up our sleeve if we need him up forward, but his role at halfback has worked well this year.”
Casset was obviously restricted at fullforward for the Doves, but his work at ground level was superb and, while he only kicked two goals, assisted in three others.
Henwood said his side’s first quarters had been good this year and put it down to the right attitude.
“I was very happy with their approach before the game. I was hoping we would get off to a good start and it’s something we’ve worked on this year,” he said.
“After not playing for a fortnight it can be a problem, but the attitude before the game was excellent and it showed out with our attack on the ball early.”
Henwood said he expected Narre Warren to lift and slow the run off halfback after quarter time.
“If you get off to a real flier in a game of footy, it’s hard to maintain it for four quarters, especially against highquality opposition,” he said.
“We played against a quality unit that has proved they can be outplayed and then come back. You can’t underestimate your opponent in finals footy and to our credit, I don’t think we did.
“We played our game and I think we controlled it fairly well.”
Hamilton agreed that the opening told the story of the game, but praised his players for their resolve, singling out Lee Clark, Evans and Jack McTaggart.
“For us to have a chance against a side like Doveton, we had to be with them,” he said. “I thought the second half was encouraging but they took us out of it before that.
“When Jack (McTaggart) went into the ruck, he provided us with some drive around the ground. He’s underrated and always provided a contest and that helped us get back a bit.
“Lee Clark has really lifted his game to another level and I was very pleased with the way he and ‘Birdman’ (Evans) worked their way back into it too.”
RESERVES
PAKENHAM reserves steamrolled its way to a grand final berth with a resounding 40point win over a lethargic Narre Warren.
The Lions opened the game the way they finished the week before, full of running and slammed on six goals to one in the first term to put the issue beyond doubt.
The Magpies never threatened after trailing by six goals at halftime and capitulated, despite maintaining some pride with a better secondhalf showing.
Ben Kitchin, Sam Paynter and Joel Lenders were among Pakenham’s best, while Mark Winterton, Manny Peresso and Glen Clark tried hard for the Magpies.
UNDER 18
DOVETON had to work hard to stave off a determined Narre Warren in the under18 second semifinal, finally winning the match by 27 points.
The topofthetable Doves were seriously challenged throughout the contest and trailed the Magpies by seven points at the final change, with an upset on the cards.
Doveton steadied through the composure of Michael Davies in the midfield and Shannon Henwood who was elusive in the forward half with four goals and kicked seven goals to two in a hectic last quarter.
Better performers for Narre Warren included Nick Scanlon with five goals and Peter Hicks.
The win puts the Doves within one victory of historic backtoback flags in the junior grade.