Bulls find fine form

By Paul Pickering
IF FORM counts for anything, Noble Park must now be the raging favourite for the Eastern Football League’s Division One premiership.
The Bulls crushed minor premier Scoresby by 63 points in Saturday’s semi-final at Bayswater Oval to earn a weekend off ahead of the 18 September grand final.
“It’s beyond your wildest dreams,” first-year coach Mick Fogarty later said of his side’s stunning run to the decider.
There they will meet either the Magpies or Balwyn, which Noble smashed by 58 points in the qualifying final.
Saturday’s result was even more impressive, given that Scoresby had defeated Noble by 45 and 63 in the two previous meetings between the sides.
This time it was the Bulls’ relentless pressure and discipline that made the difference. A seven-goal haul from star full-forward Tory Dickson didn’t hurt either.
Noble led by two goals at the first break, four at the half and six at the last change before icing it with a 6.8 final term.
Despite the amazing turnaround, Fogarty said there was no secret to his side’s game plan against the Magpies.
“We kept it uncomplicated,” he said.
“It was muddy and it required blokes to put their heads over the footy and be desperate, and our guys achieved that. We had 101 tackles.”
Fogarty may have been selling himself – and his assistants – short, because his side racked up 32 scoring shots against the stingiest defence in the competition. Clearly, the Bulls have now devised a way to unlock the Magpies’ much-vaunted rolling zone.
There was plenty of individual brilliance too.
Sam Monaghan, who shut down Balwyn’s Peter Summers the previous weekend, claimed another victim in Scoresby ball-winner Joel Cross.
Dickson was the only dominant forward on the ground, while George Angelopoulos patrolled the attacking zone like a rabid dog, recording 10 tackles for the afternoon.
Leaders Craig Anderson and Peter O’Brien were great again, as was their midfield protégé Kyle Martin.
It now appears that the Bulls, who finished the home-and-away season in third place after missing the finals last year, have timed their run to perfection in 2010.
Yet, despite the ease with which they have accounted for each of their prospective grand final opponents, the Bulls remains wary.
“We’ve really stepped up in our last two finals, but we’re under no illusions,” Fogarty said.
“We know that whoever we play is going to attack us in the grand final.”
Scoresby and Balwyn will square off in the preliminary final from 2.10pm at Bayswater Oval on Saturday – and the Bulls will be watching.