Finals Round 3 - SportingPulse

DIVISION 2 GRAND FINAL TIPSPeter Baird (EFL Media Team): Some people willsay I'm tipping from my heart but this is straight frommy head. I think Rowville will bounce back after itsloss to Montrose in the Second Semi-Final. This wasthe wakeup call the Hawks needed and they will beready to run Montrose off its feet. Rowville provedit is the best side all year by finishing on top of theDivision 2 ladder and will prove it is ready to take thebig step to Division 1 for 2013. Rowville by 63 points.Blue Ribbon Medallist: Damian Garner (Rowville).Ray Baird (EFL Media Team): The Hawks will winbecause it has a midfield that is fast and back in formafter last week. Along with their backline who havebeen the standout of Division 2 this year, they willminimise the amount of ball Montrose will get into itsforward line and restrict the Demons to a losing score.Billy Schilling has always struggled against Rowvilleand other than his four goals a fortnight ago, has neverhad an impact. Rowville by 24 points. Blue RibbonMedallist: Nathan Hicks (Rowville).Daniel Cencic (EFL Media Team): Rowville will gointo this Grand Final with confidence through the roof.The Hawks hold a 2-1 record against Montrose thisseason, and, to date, managed to shake their recent poorfinals record last weekend. With a mix of young starsand seasoned performers, Paul Mynott and his men areready to take the next step. Hawks by 23 points. BlueRibbon Medallist: Nathan Hicks (Rowville)Braden Ingram (EFL Media Team): Montrose madean outstanding run at the flag in 2011 only to just missout. The Demons have backed that up this year with aneven better home and away season. Their win againstRowville in the first round of the finals will also givethem a huge amount of confidence going in to theGrand Final. Having said all that, I think Rowvillewill be driven by last year’s finals performance and iflasts week’s win against Mooroolbark is an indicator,they are playing their best footy at exactly the righttime. Rowville by 9 points. Blue Ribbon Medallist:Steven Georgiou (Rowville).Noel McPhee (EFL Media Team): The Demons’stronger scoring power, as shown by the highestpoints for this season, and with several avenuesto goal, will take them into Division 1 in 2013.Montrose by 23 points. Blue Ribbon Medallist: BillySchilling (Montrose).Geoff Manolitsa (EFL Media Team): It's littlesurprise that Rowville and Montrose find themselvesin the Division 2 Grand Final after being in the topechelons of the ladder for much of the season. Thisgame is going to be one for the ages. Montrose isan extremely well-rounded team with the likes ofSchilling and Cook up forward, a deep midfieldincluding quality such as Stephen, Sam and JyeGoodman, Johnson and Rickard and two powerfulbig men in Andy Knee and Haining. That beingsaid, Rowville has no shortage of talented players:Georgiou, Stanley, Davey, Frawley, Bussey andSchoenmakers to name a few. Schilling and Cookare clearly the key to this game. If Rowville cannotrestrict the pair to under five goals (in what I thinkwill be a low scoring affair), I believe this game willbe won by the Dees. Montrose by 18 points. BlueRibbon Medallist: Billy Schilling.Paul Semertzidis (EFL Media Team): The Demonshave been the toast of Division 2 for the majorityof 2012. They're multi-pronged forward line will bethe difference and I'm predicting a handful of goalsfrom spearhead Billy Schilling to propel Montroseinto Division 1. Montrose by 35 points. Blue RibbonMedallist: Billy Schilling (Montrose).Will Taylor (EFL Media Team): Montrose willhave the hunger going into today’s grand final afterfalling just short against Lilydale last year. Eventhough Rowville has won the head to head 2-1 thisseason including finals, I truly believe that Montrosehas more dangerous players around the field andthe desire to turn its fortunes around from last year.Montrose by 12 points. Blue Ribbon Medallist: DeanStephen (Montrose).Ben Waterworth (EFL Media Manager): Hard toget a read on this game. Rowville gave Brett Johnson’smen plenty of headaches during the home-and-awayseason, but vice versa a fortnight ago. Matt Stanley’sabsence will hurt the Hawks, especially with the likesof Dean Stephen and the Goodman’s in the middle ofthe ground. With Billy boy in good touch up forward,hard to go past the dees. Montrose by 18 points. BlueRibbon Medallist: Brett Johnson (Montrose).Lauren Wood (EFL Media Team): You knowwhat they say: you've got to lose one to win one.And last year's loss to Lilydale crushed the Demons.There's been some pretty big personnel changesup the mountain, but Montrose has what it takes tomake the jump to Division 1. Rowville shouldn't beunderestimated, though. The likes of Cody Morris,skipper Matt Jackson and Gavin Willoughby workedthemselves into some form against the Mustangs lastweek. If Billy Schilling can hit the scoreboard earlyand Montrose's midfield fires like it can, the Demonsshould run away with it as they did two weeks ago.Montrose by 28 points. Blue Ribbon Medallist: BillySchilling (Montrose).7 THE EASTERN FOOTBALLER 2012