Tara Murray
Melton was able to make the most of its opportunities in the second half to win through to a Ballarat Football League grand final.
There wasn’t much between the Bloods and Darley in a semi final at Darley Park on Saturday, who only last played each other in the final round of the season.
The Bloods led by 13 points at quarter time and managed to increase the lead to 25 points at half time.
A four goal to one third quarter broke the game open with the Bloods leading by 47 points at three quarter time.
The Bloods were able to maintain the lead and come away with a 12.12 (84)-6.5 (41) win.
Bloods coach Troy Scoble said it was good to wake up the next day and know they were in a grand final.
“We’ve had a strong list the last few years,” he said. “I know they were really disappointed last year.
“This year it was a new group and a new coaching group. It’s so hard to make them, we are really happy to be there.”
Scoble said the match was an arm wrestle all day and the Devils gave them a real test.
He said early they didn’t get enough scoreboard pressure but were able to hold strong defensively to be in a strong position.
They then started to get that scoreboard pressure they were after.
“We are generally efficient going forward,” he said. “We have a large amount of inside 50s and we were able to get a good score on the board which makes us hard to beat.”
Scoble said while in a good spot at three quarter time, they were still wary of the Devils in the final quarter.
“Darley kept coming at us and we had to coach until late in the game,” Scoble said.
“We didn’t plan for that margin, it surprised me. The margin surprised me a little bit, it didn’t reflect the game.”
Ryan Carter, Ryan Davis, Jordan and Braedan Kight, and Jack Walker kicked two goals each for the Bloods.
Scoble said it was another of those games where it was hard to pick who was their best.
“I don’t even know who we put in our best,” he said. “Jaycob Hickey, Jack Walker and Lachlan Phillips were good through the midfield.
Our captain Braedan Kight kicked two early goals and really set us up, while we were defensively really strong.”
The Bloods will now get the weekend off before the grand final the following week.
Scoble said the break came at a good time.
“We’ll enjoy the week off,” he said. “We’ve played the top three teams the last three weeks.
“It feels like we’ve played three finals in a row. It’s a good opportunity to refresh before the grand final.”
