By ADEM SARICAOGLU
KEILOR Park coach Rob McCluskey said he was not too concerned with his side’s dismal showing in their final home-and-away game of the year against Hillside on Saturday.
The Devils rested four of their prime movers, including Jordan Garita, Luke Walsh and Elliott Christopher for the Essendon District Football League Division Two clash and were punished for it on the scoreboard by the Sharks, who scored a whopping 122-point win at Hillside Reserve.
Despite the belting, Keilor Park managed to hold onto its place in the finals after Coburg Districts beat Roxburgh Park by a point to ensure the Devils remained fourth.
Had Roxburgh Park beaten Districts, Keilor Park would have slipped to fifth, but McCluskey remains comfortable with how his team is poised going into this Saturday’s knock-out final against East Keilor.
“We tried a few different things,” McCluskey said.
“If we meet them on the last day (in September’s grand final) I’m sure we’ll do a couple of things different, and when you lose your three best midfielders the whole balance of your side changes.
“They had their full-strength side in – and we knew they were going to be playing at full-strength – so we’ve got a lot to come out of it.”
On the scoreboard it was an ugly game from the start, with Hillside breaking out to an eight-goal buffer before Keilor Park even registered a score.
By half time the margin had already blown out to 83 and 99 by three-quarter time, before the Sharks kicked on with five of the six goals scored for the final quarter.
Fabio Di Lizia and Mark Micallef each kicked six for Hillside while Division Two’s leading goal-scorer Paul Edwards snagged three.
Keilor Park could only muster four goals in total for the day.
However McCluskey was buoyed by another good showing from key ruckman Ricky Misiti, who played in his third game back after a seven-week lay-off.
“He rucked all day yesterday and I thought he did a fantastic job against (Aisakie) O’hAilpin, and he rucked for four quarters,” McCluskey said.
“It’s a fair effort and it’s another positive for us, so we’ve got a lot to look forward to.”
Keilor Park beat third-placed East Keilor twice in their three meetings for the year to date and also knocked off second-placed Moonee Valley in early July, giving McCluskey plenty of confidence a grand final berth is well and truly possible.
The winner between Keilor Park and East Keilor this Saturday will play the loser out of Hillside’s clash with Moonee Valley for a spot in the decider.
