By Tara Murray
Melton was left to rue poor ball use as a grand final spot went begging in the Ballarat Football League.
The Bloods looked good early against Sebastopol on Saturday and were 22 points up in the first quarter.
However, the Burras worked back into the game and it was an arm-wrestle for the rest of the match.
The Bloods kicked two goals early in the last quarter to hit the lead, before the Burras settled, kicking the last three goals.
It would be enough to seal the win and the grand final spot, the Burras winning 12.12 (84)-10.6 (66).
Bloods coach Aaron Tymms said the most disappointing thing was knowing they were in the game and had a shot to win it.
He said after their start, during which they kicked five goals in a row in the first quarter, things started to go wrong.
“We didn’t use the ball well,” he said.
“They then won the aerial game. They were better than us and they deserved to win.”
Liam Carter kicked three goals for the Bloods, while Braedan Kight and Ben Archard kicked two goals each.
Tymms said they didn’t have any standouts, with a couple of players “OK”.
The loss leaves the Bloods falling one match shorter than last season when they made the grand final.
While bitterly disappointed with the result, Tymms said it wasn’t all bad for the club.
“There’s still a lot of positives for us from where we came from last year.
“To make a preliminary final having made the grand final last year, you would still take that.
“We had our chances to win, that’s the most disappointing thing.”
Sebastopol now faces East Point in the grand final on Saturday.
East Point is hoping to go back-to-back, while Sebastopol is going for its first senior premiership since 1975.
Melton’s E-grade netballers are through to the grand final after beating East Point, 30-18. Melton faces Ballarat in the grand final.
