After a resounding win against Albert Park in last week’s elimination final, the La Trobe Reserves headed to Preston City Oval looking to knock off Richmond Central and book their place in the Grand Final.
A howling gale was ripping down the middle of the ground heading towards the City End. Richmond Central won the toss and kicked with the strong breeze. Our defensive unit, led by Josh Horder, held up well but weight of numbers saw The Snakes take a 31-point lead into the first break.
The second term saw La Trobe take advantage of the breeze, and it was The Bryce Dowler Show, as “Brucey” kicked 3 goals for the term. Hard running wingman Jack Crowe finished off some good front and square work to add another major. The main break saw La Trobe trim The Snakes’ lead to 18 points.
The messaging from the half time break was to continue to bring the pressure and work hard to provide opportunities for our forwards into the strong breeze, which had not dissipated across the first half.
In the third term, the midfield lifted their intensity around the contest, led by veteran Ernie Fan & the hard running Brandon Grech. Richmond Central kicked 4 with the breeze, which could’ve easily been more if not for the defensive efforts of Captain Austin Bennett, Ned Uren & company. Another major to Bryce Dowler against the play saw the Trobers head into the final break trailing by 39 points.
The messaging head out of the three quarter time break was to attack, attack, attack! The Trobers started strongly, winning a number of clearances thanks to some strong play in the ruck by Cameron Marcroft. Cal Randell kicked 2 majors, and Austin Bennett added his first for the day, but unfortunately that’s where the scoring stopped. The Trober defensive pressure across the ground was strong only allowing a solitary behind for the term. The Snakes were able to hold on to win by 21 points and advance to The Big Dance next weekend as our finals campaign ended after finishing the season with a 12-8 win/loss record.