Anglesea have stormed into the second week of the Bellarine finals with a commanding 71-point elimination final victory over Drysdale at Portarlington Recreation Reserve.
In a re-match of last year’s qualifying final, he Roos set the tone with five goals in the opening term and never looked back, leading at every change and methodically breaking Drysdale down with repeat forward entries.
Anglesea coach Jordan Keras said the performance was close to the complete four-quarter display he had been waiting for.
“Looking at our side, it was probably the best we’ve had on paper all year,” Keras said.
“We were pretty confident that if we had 22 contributors, we could take it to Drysdale — and it worked out that way.
“I’m really proud of the boys today.
“When we’re up and about, we’ve got some really great ball users.
“We spoke during the week about keeping speed on the ball and getting it in the hands of those guys. On a nice big deck and a beautiful day, it really suited us.”
Anglesea will face qualifying final losers Queenscliff for a spot in the preliminary final next Sunday.
The match-up will come just 15 days after the teams played out a pulsating final round draw at Ellimatta Reserve.
“If we play like (today) every week, it should hold us in good stead for another really good finals campaign,” Keras said.
Drysdale briefly threatened in the third quarter, trimming the margin with goals to Jake Hargreaves and Tom Ruggles, but ultimately, they couldn’t sustain the pressure.
Hawks coach Ben Carmichael admitted Anglesea’s fitness and execution overwhelmed his side.
“Probably the first six or seven minutes we looked really sharp,” Carmichael said.
“But once they got that chip-and-charge game going, we didn’t work hard enough to get the footy back. They just outworked us.
“Anglesea are a super fit side and they showed that today.”
The Hawks were also hampered by injuries, with Luke Preece leaving the ground early with a suspected broken collarbone and James Robbins battling groin soreness.
Despite the disappointment, Carmichael remained proud of his group’s effort across the season.
“We’re disappointed with the result, but I’m proud of the boys,” he said.
““That’s four finals series in a row now. We’ve got a lot of young guys who will learn from this, and we know the work we have to do if we want to take the next step.”
X: @krockfootball
DRYSDALE 1.0, 2.2, 4.5, 5.7 (37)
ANGLESEA 5.4, 8.9, 11.13, 15.18 (108)
GOALS: Drysdale: J. Hargreaves 2, M. McGuire, T. Ruggles, B. Henderson
GOALS: Anglesea: A. Gras 4, W. Batson 4, J. Walters 2, D. Kerr 2, J. Anderson, R. Baker, S. Umbers
BEST: Drysdale: B. Fennell, M. Pigott, B. Henderson, J. Paatsch, J. Jenkins, J. Hawkins
BEST: Anglesea: I. Hardman, D. Kerr, W. Batson, T. Nofi, S. Umbers, A. Gras
NEXT WEEK – FINALS WEEK TWO
FINALS WEEK TWO
Saturday, August 30
Second Semi-Final
- Geelong Amateur vs. Torquay @ Portarlington Recreation Reserve, 2:00pm
First Semi-Final
Sunday, August 31
- Queenscliff vs. Anglesea @ Portarlington Recreation Reserve, 2:00pm
