It’s been an amazing month of football up on the hill at Olinda-Ferny Creek with five of the club’s seven competitive sides qualifying for finals.
An amazing effort in its own right, but how did the club go in finals?
Well, let’s recap.
U11s
The highly talented U11s team finished the season in fourth position, challenging every side in the comp through the season. They played Emerald at home in a tight seesawing first finals match with goals a precious commodity. The Bloods went in at half time seven points up with goals to Will Francis and Syd Higgins, but that would be the last time they troubled the goal umpires to wave both flags. Emerald kept applying the blow torch to go into three quarter time within two points but the boys knuckled down to a dour last quarter and kept the game scoreless for both sides. A ripping effort against quality opposition and Olinda-Ferny Creek were alive for another week.
Week two of the finals saw us travel down the road to Talaskia Oval against the unbeaten Upwey-Tecoma Tigers. A tough ask, but coach Tim Francis was happy to challenge the best teams knowing that a flag couldn’t be won without beating them. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t going to be Olinda’s day with a bigger and more skilful Upwey outfit controlling much of the game. Late goals showed the boys that they could mix it with the best sides but unfortunately, it was too little too late.
Interestingly enough, Mt Evelyn were able to get over Upwey in the grand final given Olinda-Ferny Creek had beaten Mt Evelyn in round 13. Just goes to show how even the comp is amongst the top teams.
U12 Girls
Olinda-Ferny Creek’s U12 Girls have had a great season and have been a revelation with their mosquito fleet.
With many players also playing U9s, it’s fair to say that they are undersized most games; but as they say, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, it’s the size of fight in the dog.
The first week of the finals saw them play Wandin at home in front of a massive crowd of fans. And the girls responded with some quality football highlighted by two quality goals by Ruby Thornton. The girls proved far too strong for the Wandin outfit as they registered a 33-point win to keep their finals hopes alive. Lili Denovan was dominant in the ruck and around the ground with two goals of her own. The linking play was a highlight and unmatched by the Wandin outfit.
Like the U11s, though, week two of the finals saw the Bloods head to Talaskia to face the also undefeated Upwey with a similar result. The Tigers were just too strong against the younger and lighter charges and were able to control the game and score at will.
The girls should be proud of their efforts all season to make and win a final for the first time in many years in girls’ footy in Olinda.
U13 Boys
Finishing on top of the ladder, the U13s had the first weekend of finals off to strategise and build for their finals assault.
Week two saw the Bloods head out to Emerald to play Woori Yallock for a shot at the grand final. Woori came out hard to lead into the first change but then coach Paddy Ford’s charges put the pedal to the medal and poured on 51 points to Woori’s solitary point in the last quarter to emphatically book their spot in the grand final. Jesse Desta’s class in front of goal being a highlight with three majors.
And so we Olinda-Ferny Creek were off to the big dance.
Mt Evelyn had been the only side to beat the Bloods all year and we knew the Belgrave oval would be a fairly neutral ground for the match being in beautiful condition under sunny late winter skies. The Bloods got out to an early lead and looked to have control through the first three quarters, Kadin Johnston being dominant through the middle. The Rovers were wasteful in front of goal, but to their credit, they kept themselves in the game and, with just a couple of minutes left in the game, snatched the lead. The huge Bloods crowd collectively gasped as we faced the unthinkable.
Enter clutch forward Jesse Desta…
A mark inside 50 with just seconds left in regular time saw Jesse slowly walk back to his mark, his composure under the pressure remarkable as he calmly slotted the goal to level the scores at full time.
Extra time:
It seemed that the Rovers had possibly fired their last ammo as the Bloods dominated possession through the midfield to create scoring opportunities. Jesse was unstoppable kicking another two goals and clinching the win. Back to back grand final wins for the magnificent Under 13 Boys.
U15 Boys
Olinda-Ferny Creek’s U15 boys have had a remarkable season. Under pressure to find numbers to field a side early on, the team rallied to be an unstoppable force in the Ranges Division. Things would get somewhat tougher after a re-grading to Yarra meant that the team were challenged in every game. The Bloods came to the finals in fifth place with coach Cam Tudor rapt with the boys’ effort and development over the season.
Week one of the finals saw Olinda-Ferny Creek head out to Woori Yallock to face Mt Evelyn. The Rovers finished just above the Bloods on the ladder but were a big strong outfit that would make it to the orelim final. They were too much for Olinda on the day.
In Cam’s words:
The first elimination final saw Olinda and Mt Evelyn face off on the wide expanses of Woori Yallock football oval in perfect conditions.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the Bloods and Mt Evelyn jumped out of the blocks, kicking the first four goals of the game until Tom Ford marked strongly and converted to record Olinda’s first.
The second quarter was similar with Mt Evelyn kicking four goals to Olinda’s one, courtesy of a hard earned free kick to James Dixon who kicked truly.
After half time it was all Mt Evelyn who recorded a big win as Olinda just couldn’t match their run and carry. Fletcher Brown (up from U13s) was terrific at full back for Olinda, as were midfielders Lenny Barry and Tom Ford who never stopped trying.
It was a hard day at the office for Olinda but they can be very proud of the season they’ve had.
U17 Boys
It’s been a mixed year for the U17 Boys as coach Scott Tonkin knew that we had a talented group of kids that had played off in the grand final in 2022 and retained many of the players. Their best was awesome but they had also been found wanting in some games. As final approached though, with a near full list, the boys clicked into gear and their last month of football has seen some great results. Finishing fifth meant they had to win their way through finals against the toughest opposition.
Week one of the finals had the boys out to Woori to play Upwey-Tecoma. The Tigers had beaten the Bloods both times the teams had played over the home and away season, so Olinda knew they had to play good footy to get home. The Tigers got away to a flyer with a three-goal first quarter and by half time were the best part of three goals up. The Bloods snapped into gear in the third keeping Upwey goalless but failed to capitalise on their own entries with 1.4 for the quarter. The momentum had changed though and the boys romped home with a four-goal final term to snatch a nine-point victory.
Week two meant a trip out to Healesville to play Mt Evelyn who had finished second on the ladder and had had Olinda’s measure when the sides last met in round 11. This time, though, Olinda were never headed as they romped home as six goals winner with Ned Ford kicking five goals. Coach Scott was really pleased that the boys were playing the footy their potential suggested they should.
The next match, though, was to be ladder leaders, Healesville. A magnificent late Winter’s day met the group on the beautiful Emerald ground. After the thrill of the U13s win, the massive Olinda crowd weren’t sure they could handle another nail biter.
The first quarter was a tough and physical encounter. The Worrell Reserve is a fairly small oval for U17 football and the ball shot from end to end like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic rallying at Wimbledon. Quarter time had Healesville with their noses in front both on the scoreboard and generally in play. The second quarter, though, saw the Bloods clean up their ball usage and movement whilst Healesville were more focused on their opponents and the Bloods piled on four goals to one.
After half time, the game continued in much the same way as the Bloods scored at will against a frustrated Healesville outfit and ran away with a 54-point win. This was an emphatic win that proved this Bloods team was as good as any.
Next, the grand final:
Beautiful conditions met the team and the massive Olinda crowd out at Yarra Junction as the boys prepared to meet arch-rivals Woori Yallock. A rematch of last year’s grand final, hopes were high that recent form would turn the tables and carry the Bloods to victory.
The game started in a blaze of goals for both sides in entertaining, fast paced and highly skilled footy and they went into the break fairly evenly matched. Coach Scott Tonkin must have had a few tricks up his sleeve at the break because the boys came out firing in the second quarter with the ball in their forward half most of the quarter. Wayward kicking kept Woori in the game and the Olinda fans were hoping the missed shots wouldn’t come back to bite them.
After half time though, led by some crafty forward work by Aden Bates and Charlie Hooper with seven goals between them, the goals started to flow and the players and fans started to believe that this could be their day.
The defensive work of Blair Wilson and Tommy Ford with intercept marking and deft movement and kicking also prevented Woori from being able to return fire. Clever ruck work by Darcy Blackman saw repeated forward entries via Luca Smith, Isaac Tonkin and Ned Ford in the last as the Bloods were able to blow the game open and seal a fantastic 46-point win.
Amazing work boys! Hats off to Scott and his captains Bon Sullivan and Tav Aitken – a brilliantly planned season that saw the boys peak at the right time to seal a flag 10 years in the making for many of them.
