Like most of his team mates, Aisake O’hAilpin enjoyed a dominant day in the ruck. 69529 Picture: EMILY LANE
By Liam Twomey
MARIBYRNONG Park had the ideal tune up for finals in the Essendon District Football League on Saturday, thrashing Keilor by 113 points.
The clash was a dead rubber in every sense of the word with Maribyrnong guaranteed a finals’ spot after its crushing victory against Aberfeldie last week and Keilor unable to move from sixth position on the ladder.
Both sides started slowly in the first quarter with neither able to make inroads on the scoreboard.
However, the Lions found their first gear after the break and produced a completely dominating performance for the rest of the match, ensuring that the Blues experienced a nasty defeat.
Maribyrnong Park coach Craig Clinnick was rapt with his team’s performance and the way they have finished the season.
“We went about really preparing for this game like it was a final. We have been in elimination games for about a month now and we are gradually getting better week by week, quarter by quarter,” Clinnick said. “We have won 16 quarters of footy in a row now and we are back to playing the sort of footy we want to be playing in finals.”
Kane McKenzie, Brodie Holland and Heath Ayres were outstanding for Maribyrnong in the win, kicking 12 goals between them and gathering possessions at will across the ground.
Kieran Prowse was the shining light on a dark day for the Blues, kicking three out of a possible six goals in the 13.18 (156) to 6.7 (43) loss.
The result was revenge for the Lions, who lost to Keilor by six points when the teams last met in round nine.
“For the first time in A grade for three seasons we have beaten every team in the competition. We have won two premierships in 2009 and 2010 in those years,” Clinnick said. “To have beaten everyone once shows that we have got the game plan and the personnel and ultimately we have the skills required to beat everybody.”
Clinnick is confident there is still improvement left in his team, which welcomed back key position players Luke Livingstone and Kade Carey for the match. The win is sure to send out a warning to next week’s elimination final opponent Greenvale that the Lions are officially roaring at full voice.
In other EDFL results, Taylors Lakes had a disastrous end to their season, going down to Craigieburn by 225 points.
Lance Whitnall kicked 14 goals in a day to forget for the Lions, 44.15 (279) to 7.12 (54).
