Great Northern colts have clinched a spot in the Country Championships division one grand final after two early wins, including an absolute nailbiter against South West on day one.
After going undefeated on defeated on day one, Great Northern are well placed to make a charge for the Division one title and will play South West tomorrow afternoon in the grand final at Scotch College.
However, a late leg injury to James Taylor in the second half of the day’s final match Peel ended the day on a sour note, with the forward taken to hospital for scans.
Taylor was a crucial part of his side’s early win over Regional Districts, kicking two goals in the first quarter which gave the GNFL momentum in the 30-point win.
The day belonged to Rhama Evans who was outstanding through the middle in all three matches and led from the front, especially during high pressure moments.
With five goals, Leon Jones Jr also excelled around the ground and finished as the day’s leading goalscorer with five goals to his name.
Great Northern set the tone for their campaign with a barnstorming 7.5 (47) to 2.5 (17) win over Regional Districts.
After Taylor slotted his two goals to give the boys in blue an early lead, Regional Districts attempted to take charge of the contest through two quick majors through Howie Clegg and Jai Wood to take a two-point lead.
From there, Great Northern found a reply through Nelly who started imposing himself on the contest late in the first term.
On the edge of half time, Jones slotted a superb goal from a stoppage to see Great Northern claim a 4.3 (27) to 2.2 (14) lead.
Bryce McDonald quickly opened the account in the second half, roosting it from 50m out to extend his side’s lead to 18 points.
Great Northern briefly took their foot off the pedal with play primarily locked down Regional Districts’ end, but the red-clad side was unable to take advantage and make a significant dent in Great Northern’s lead.
Instead, Great Northern found a breakthrough and powered forward with Steven Carnamah finding his side’s sixth goal, shortly followed by Nelly who sealed the 30-point win.
After a brief break, the Mid West-based side were back on the park against South West who looked to upset late but to no avail as Great Northern steadied the ship to bring home a 4.2 (28) to 3.6 (24) victory.
Leon Jones was superb with three goals, including two almost identical goals early in the contest, which set Great Northern up for the win.
Shortly after, Sheldon Nelly followed with a checkside goal from the boundary to establish a three-goal lead, as South West attempted to wrangle back some momentum.
Last year’s grand finalists didn’t get the goal they desperately needed, remaining goalless at half-time as Jones popped up again with a booming goal from a tight angle on the boundary to take a 4.2 (26) to 0.3 (3) lead.
The pendulum swung towards South West who controlled play in the second half and nailed three goals through Kalani Downes, Spencer Groenenberg and Noah Stewart, and suddenly Great Northern were under pressure.
But they remained composed and set up superbly behind play to keep launching the ball forward and cut off South West’s desperate inside 50s.
Despite not kicking a goal in the second half, Great Northern were able to bag a tight four-point victory and sat atop the ladder looking comfortable heading into the final clash against Peel.
However, last year’s champions who were fighting to stay in contention didn’t make it easy for Great Northern and pushed them until the final siren.
But Great Northern prevailed, again with a four point victory, after a late goal from Jones saw the blue-clad side to a 3.1 (19) to 2.3 (15) win.
It was a tale of two halves as Great Northern held the early advantage, but as the contest tightened up, Peel begin to claw the momentum away and chip into the lead.
Mathew Moore was busy with two early goals which put his side in a great position heading into the final quarter of the day, setting up the GNFL well with a 2.1 (13) to 0.1 (1) half time advantage.
After the main break, Peel put Great Northern under pressure, which showed at times as the current ladder leaders were forced into making errors that fortunately weren’t too costly.
With minutes remaining, Jayden Mitchell slotted a major which took Peel to a two point lead, but Great Northern were undeterred and knuckled down to keep possession of the ball down their end.
Eventually they were rewarded for their efforts as Jones popped up and slotted a crucial goal to deny Peel the comeback win and secure the four points.
Usually played forward in the GNFL, Josh Papertalk was a pillar in defence, taking several strong marks alongside Ajay Valli in defence.
Down the other end, Taylor and Nelly were excellent and had strong forward presence, while Jake Criddle served the midfield well in the ruck.
Through the middle, Eli Grigsby, Rex Heberle and Gus Osborn gathered plenty of the pill and impacted the contest well.
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