Flinders Park are going into the game full of confidence after a month of great performances. North Haven go in as hot favourites but the Reds should make it eight wins on the trot as they account for the Magpies
By Ben Lennon

Golden Grove 18.16 def North Haven 16.13

It was a windy day at Harpers Field and North haven very nearly took full advantage of the conditions to storm homoe with the win. Golden Grove managed to hold them off, running out 15 point victors but it was not without a considerable last quarter scare. The Burras went in to three quarter time six goals to the good and extended that margin early in the fourth quarter, however North Haven came home like a house on fire, booting eight last quarter goals and nearly snatching the win. The Magpies were on the backfoot early and were playing catchup all day, Grove taking a29 point lead into the first break, but North Haven refused to be blown out by a strong Golden Grove team and almost did enough to come back and steal the win. Make no mistake, though, Grove flexed their muscle this weekend and have proven why they were top of the table for the whole season. Morris kicked four goals and was best on ground while Luke Barmby managed three majors from midfield. Merrett and Smithson kicked three each for the travelling Magpies but it was Merrett who walked away with best on ground honours. Golden Grove will be slightly concerned with how close this one got towards the end but the bottom line is they have booked themselves a spot in the grand final and deservingly so. They have lost only one game all year and have been the standout team of the competition, congratulations to them. North haven return home to Largs Bay and face a massive test next week against a rampant Flinders Park who will be coming off of an impressive victory against Modbury. 

Modbury 5.8 def by Flinders Park 17.17

Flinders Park were firing on all cylinders this weekend and were about to dismantle Modbury to the tune of 81 points. The Hawks struggled from the get-go, registering only a minor score in the first quarter and it dind’t get much better from there. Trenorden was once again influential for Flinders Park, kicking five goals along with a host of other players kicking a couple each. Trenorden has now kicked 25 goals in his six games since coming to the Reds in round five. Stanton was the only player for the home side to kick multiple goals and Philips was given their best on ground honours. For Flinders Park, Daniel Blythe was judged their best player and Schwarz a close second. The Reds will be happy with the display and were on top for the whole game, keeping Modbury goalless in two quarters. Modbury end their year in the worst way possible, going out in straight sets. There are a lot of positives they can take out of the year, though, finishing in third position and playing some good football along the way. A good year overall but this will definitely leave a sour taste in their mouth. It feels like Flinders Park haven’t lost in years at this point, their last defeat coming in round three. Since then, they have been on fire and this victory is the culmination of plenty of hard work, however the job is not done. This weekend they travel to North haven in a win or go home situation.

Preview

North Haven vs Flinders Park

It doesn’t get any better than this. We could not script a more evenly matched contest to decide who claims their spot in the grand final. For both sides it has been a tumultuous year. Flinders Park started off poorly and looked like finishing at the foot of the table but a turn around in form has lead them to seven straight wins. North Haven have ridden the highs and lows this year and have been hurt by injury at times but they are still the only team to have beaten Golden Grove all year and in doing so claimed second spot on the ladder, rightfully so. One of the main things we have to draw on is the last time these two met. They both had everything to play for heading in to the back end of the season and it was Flinders Park who came out on top away from home in what was a very tough game of footy that left a lot of guys banged up. North Haven will be out for revenge and after finishing in second position there is no doubt that they deserve a spot in the grand final, but it’s also very hard to argue with seven straight wins. Had the Modbury vs Flinders Park game been close, I would be inclined to tip North Haven in this one however the Reds absolutely blew them out of the water. I’m going to go for an upset and tip the Parks to get over the line in this one, just as they did earlier in the year, but it could go either way. Flinders Park by 11.

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