Bendigo Advertiser | STRATHFIELDSAYE is one win away from a perfect season and a second-straight flag after thumping Golden Square in Saturday night’s BFNL second semi-final.
The final scoreline of 15.13 (103) to 9.8 (62) flattered the Bulldogs, with the Storm unbackable for the grand final in a fortnight.
It was the third time this season the Storm has defeated Square by seven goals.
“We’re very happy to get back to another grand final,’’ Storm coach Darryl Wilson said.
“The boys were very good tonight against a quality opponent. We’re halfway there now… we’ll recover from this game and then get ready for the grand final.”
The Storm looked classes above the Bulldogs, particularly through the middle of the ground and forward of centre.
Despite not having a tough match for two months, the Storm set the tone early.
Kallen Geary, Shaun Everington and David Gallagher dominated the clearances and the Storm’s forwards did the rest.
Even without late withdrawal Matt Ferguson, the Storm’s forward line had too much firepower for Square.
Sam Mildren, Stephen Milne, Tom Bartholomew and Jake Hall took 11 marks between them in the first quarter – Square’s forwards didn’t take that many marks for the whole game.
Somehow the Bulldogs were only 21 points behind at quarter-time when the margin should have been six goals.
Already without number one defender Dale Young, the Bulldogs’ cause wasn’t helped by a game-ending back injury to star midfielder Simon Rosa early in the second term.
The Bulldogs’ intensity around the ball was better after quarter-time, but there’s no substitute for quality and the Storm had more of it on every line.
The margin ballooned to 55 points before the Bulldogs added some respectability to the scoreboard in the final quarter.
Mildren, who was hampered all season by back and hip injuries, reminded everyone of his class with 7.1 and nine marks.
Wilson said Mildren’s effort to play his best footy on the big stage was a credit to the full-forward.
“We’re very happy with Sam because he plays sore,’’ Wilson said.
“He just gets the job done. I thought he’d kicked three or four, but he finished with seven. He was very good.”
Wilson praised his midfielders for their offensive and defensive work.
“I thought our midfield group in general was fantastic tonight,’’ Wilson said.
“Our run and carry and spread was very important tonight. We kept running all night which was exciting.”
The Storm didn’t have a poor player, which makes life hard for Wilson and his selectors in the lead-up to the grand final.
Ferguson is certain to return from a thigh injury, while Wilson rated livewire forward Sharp a 50-50 chance to play in the grand final.
The Storm also have to weigh up the potential availability of Essendon VFL midfielder Sam Heavyside.
