Tara Murray
A first up finals win is the justification that Melton was seeking to show it had improved in the Ballarat Football League.
The Bloods were knocked out in straight sets 12 months ago, the Bloods thought they had improved this season.
A finals win against East Point, showed that was the case.
On Saturday, the Bloods managed to come from behind against East Point in a qualifying final to earn two shots at the grand final.
Bloods coach Troy Scoble said it wasn’t the easiest match.
“It was atrocious conditions and challenging for both teams,” he said. “We were fortunate to work our way in front.
“It could have gone either way. The wind was blowing to one end and it was really swirly. There were no goals kicked at one end of the ground.
“Shots were missed inside 20 metres. They were easy shots.”
The Kangaroos led by 23 points at quarter time, before the Bloods led by seven points at half time.
Scoble said the third quarter was about trying to limit the damage when they didn’t have the wind.
His side trailed by 14 points at the last break. According to Scoble, it was a goal further behind than they would have liked.
It meant little with the Bloods coming over the top to win, 9.9 (63)-7.9 (51).
“We felt with our strength and conditioning that we can run out games well,”he said.
“We were able to kick the three goals we needed to hit the front.it. It was after the 20 minute mark, it took a while.
“We weren’t sure whether they were going to attack or try and defend the lead, they decided to defend.
“We got the last goal with a minute we thought we had done enough and went into defence mode.”
Scoble said it was hard to pick the best players in those conditions.
He said Conrad Farrugia and Jordan Kight, who kicked three goals each, were among the standards.
Jaycob Hickey, Harrison Hanley, Lachlan and Jack Hickey were other good performers.
The Bloods now face Darley on Saturday in a semi final with a grand final spot on the line, with a double chance for the loser.
The match will be played at Darley Park.
“We love playing at Darley Park and we play well there,” Scoble said.
“Darley are the reigning premiers and when they have their best team on the park, they are the team to beat.
“It’s a huge challenge for us. They beat us in last year’s final series, so hopefully we’ll get one back.”
