By LIAM TWOMEY
SPOTSWOOD will take on Deer Park in the Western Region Football League Division One preliminary final after smashing Sunshine by 88 points last week.
The Woodsmen were at their brilliant best throughout the clash, conceding just two goals up until three quarter time.
The 21.15 (141) to 8.5 (53) win is the third time Spotswood has beaten Sunshine this year.
“I was very pleased with our first three quarters,” Woodsmen coach Chris O’Keefe said.
“In the last quarter … the intensity levels certainly dropped a little bit from both teams. I think both kicked six or seven goals. The first three quarters were pretty good and certainly set us up to win the game pretty well. For a first final, it was pleasing.
“We have put a really big focus on the last month and building some momentum.
“I felt that we have been able to do that pretty well. We have beaten a couple of the top sides and we seem to be getting players back at the right time. For this stage of the year, you need to be playing at somewhere near your best. We are getting there.”
Elliott Wood was outstanding for Spotswood to be named the club’s best player while Murray Boyd and O’Keefe were also dominant around the ground.
Up forward, Jason Cloke was well and truly in control and finished with a bag of six goals to the delight of his coach.
“Clokey has been fantastic for us for a long period of time,” O’Keefe said.
“The best thing about him at the moment is that he is playing all over the ground and playing a bit higher up the ground and even up at centre half back at different stages.
“He has that versatility and with that the even more pleasing thing is that we have a lot of avenues to goal now. We don’t rely on Jason to kick a massive bag every week. We have a number of guys who can stand up, and it seems to be working pretty well for us at the moment.”
Saturday’s result sets up a mouth-watering clash with Deer Park with a spot in the grand final on the line.
Despite convincingly beating the Lions last time the two sides met, O’Keefe is preparing for a much more competitive game.
“Finals are a different ball game, and it is a whole new season. There are different times throughout the year when you can catch another team on an off-day, and I think that is a bit of what happened earlier in the year.
“I expect Deer Park to be at their absolute best on Saturday. They are favourites for the premiership and rightly so. We will be there trying to serve it up to them, and if we can play some good footy, hopefully we get the result we are after.”
