Above: Noble Park coach Shane Burgmann puts the acid on his Bulls during Saturday’s qualifying final win over East Ringwood.By Paul Pickering
NOBLE Park has emerged as the biggest threat to Vermont’s three-peat aspirations in the Eastern Football League after overrunning second-placed East Ringwood by 25 points in Saturday’s qualifying final at Bayswater Oval.
The win was bookended by periods of domination in the first and last quarters, but the final scoreline did no justice to the intensity of the contest.
Noble Park made its intentions clear in the opening minutes, overwhelming a nervous Kangaroos unit with superior leg speed and poise.
Kris Barlow again set the tone for the Bulls, racking up double-figure possessions within the first 10 minutes to a soundtrack of the escalating groans from the East Ringwood faithful.
Rookie defender Ziggy Alwan showed no sign of September jitters, repeatedly busting out of half-back to slingshot Noble Park into attack.
After the Bulls capitalised through goals to Benn Logan and Barlow, it was the physical presence of Wade Porter that settled East Ringwood midway through the first term. Barlow’s second extended the margin to 17 points shortly after quarter-time, but the Kangaroos hit back to whittle the lead down to five points by the main break.
The third quarter was a September special, with two divisional titans trading blows in front of an increasingly vocal crowd. Having wrestled the lead away from the Bulls early in the term, East Ringwood looked every bit a winner when 18-year-old Marty Ekers snapped truly to extend the lead to three goals.
Only late goals to Barlow and Peter O’Brien allowed the Bulls to remain within striking distance at three-quarter time.
Noble Park coach Shane Burgmann questioned the hunger of the side at the break, and his charges responded with a final-quarter feast at the Roos’ expense.
Having been comprehensively towelled up by Daniel Sheers for three quarters, Noble Park veteran Aaron Cole emerged to lead the Bulls’ charge in the fourth.
Cole formed an unlikely forward alliance with diminutive rookie George Angeloulos, with the pair linking up to generate the first two goals of the quarter.
The umpires rewarded Noble Park for its ferocious attack on the footy as the Kangaroos’ frustration boiled over into a series of crucial free kicks that led to goals.
With East Ringwood’s engine room running on empty in the last term, Bulls champion Craig Anderson burst out of the centre to chisel a pass to forward-drifting ruckman Matt Skehan for the sealer in the dying moments. The victory has catapulted the Bulls into a semi-final clash with Vermont this Saturday, with a grand final berth up for grabs.
While Noble Park will have to find another gear against the Eagles, Burgmann will be comforted by the fact that his Bulls have accounted for each of their remaining opponents – Vermont, Balwyn and East Ringwood – in the past month. Despite Noble Park’s rousing win at Vermont Reserve on 11 August, Burgmann maintains that the Eagles deserve to be favourites this week.
“We’ll always consider ourselves the underdogs against them because they’ve won more games during the season, but we’ve just got to go out and hunt them,” he said.
Saturday’s game at Bayswater Oval will start at 2.10pm.
