Division 4: Bring your knife and fork, it’s time for the September feast

By Rich Hummerston – @Richie_Humm

Every year, in every footy league across every footy code, the tales of clubs making the big dance come to the fore. And while over time, with every telling, these stories become more and more embellished, the remarkable stories of commitment, perseverance and belief, will be etched not only into the walls of history of the competition, but the minds of every single individual involved, from the captain to the juniors helping run the boundary in the reserves.

Canterbury and Parkside have travelled vastly different paths to the Grand Final this year. Canterbury, after so nearly finding promotion in their first year were installed by many as favourites to take the chocolates this year. And true to form, they played up to the lofty expectations; however losses in the last round of the season and the semi-final were well-publicised blemishes on their record. Their strong win against Box Hill North allowed them to regain their credibility and win promotion. They’ve been the best team all year, and are deserved Grand Finalists. 

Parkside, on the other hand, were the great unknown at season’s start, and have gone about things a little differently. After losing to Canterbury by the smallest of margins in the first round, their stocks took a hit and their season was peppered with disappointing losses and a battle to even make the finals. A stark contrast to the season of their counterpart, who they are due to face on Saturday afternoon at Aquinas College.

After scraping through to the top six, many, myself included, didn’t give Parkside much of a chance. While we were all singing the praises of Canterbury and Westbourne, Parkside were unassumingly going about their business, and unbeknownst to the rest of the competition, taking serious aim at the ultimate accolade. 

With the stock to match their ambitions, Parkside have timed their run perfectly, sensationally knocking off Westbourne in the semi-final and then coasting through against the formidable North Brunswick in the preliminary final.

Parkside at no stage during the year cracked the top three on the ladder, they loss to sides below them, they loss to sides above them, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t matter now. On paper, they have been the best side in the competition over the past month, and like Canterbury, deserve their spot in the big dance. In fact, I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more. 

Editor’s note: Weirdly enough, there are many parallels between Canterbury and Parkside. Canterbury entered the VAFA’s bottom division two years ago when they transferred from the SFL to the VAFA, whilst Parkside re-entered the VAFA this season after a hiatus from the competition from 2002-2014 when they moved to the Northern Football League. They won the (then named) B Section Premiership in 1988 and participated in A Grade in 1989. These back-stories only increase the intrigue surrounding the contest.

Looking at last week’s preliminary finals, Parkside and North Brunswick headed out way North, to the impeccable surface of Highgate Reserve. With both sides coming off unimaginable shock wins last week, you could forgive either side for the emotion of the occasion getting to them. The two sides, who in theory should have just been making up the numbers of the top six, were now playing off for a spot in Division Three. 

Parkside got the jump early, and never looked backed. They kicked eight first quarter goals, with the usual crowd of Potter, McLaren and Gresham in frightfully good form. They went into the sheds with six-goal lead, soon to be eight goals, and then a final margin of 11 goals. They were too fast, too skilled and too strong for the Bulls. The Potter family combining for 10 majors while Scott McLaren, who surely must be the league B ‘n F winner, continues to impress everyone. For the Bulls it was the ever reliable Dimarco and Peter Butler who tried hard all day.

Also heading to the booming northern suburbs, Canterbury and Box Hill headed to Parade College. Canterbury looking to avenge their poor performance from the week before and Box Hill North hoping to extend their terrific season. With the breeze giving Box Hill a small advantage in the first quarter, they pushed Canterbury early and caused the once silky Cobra outfit to be plagued by the same skill errors from the week prior. The tension within the Cobra cheer squad could have been cut with a knife; such was the strength of the trepidation. 

Eventually, Canterbury chiselled in a four-goal lead, however the game was never out of Box Hill’s reach, the sides going blow for blow throughout. Box Hill got within a couple of kicks during the third quarter to place the pressure back on the Cobras. The scoreboard reads a comfortable Canterbury victory, however in reality, it was anything but. Scott Fitzgerald and Nick Szabo were sensational for Canterbury while Michael Tilly and Colin Osborn were courageous throughout. 

Canterbury have done it the easy way, excepting for their loss to North Brunswick, Parkside the hard way, but it means jack squat at 2:15pm on Saturday afternoon. Both sides have earned their place in this year’s Grand Final and it promises to be one for the ages.

Much to the despair of the Division Four pundits, I labelled Canterbury the juggernaut of the competition earlier in the season, and whether or not you agree with the embellished description, they’ve undisputedly been the best side this year. They’ve beaten Parkside twice this year, once by the smallest of margins, once by a fair whack. But they haven’t encountered Parkside in this type of form which will give Parkside buckets of belief. Who will win the battle of the Scotts? Fitzgerald and McLaren. Get down to Aquinas College for a magnificent day of footy on Saturday!

For what it is worth, my tip is Canterbury by 12 points.

Canterbury v Parkside 2015 fixtures

Round 1: Parkside 17.6 (108) defeated by Canterbury 16.13 (109)
Round 14: Canterbury 15.14 (104) defeated Parkside 9.8 (62)

Canterbury v Parkside