IT was a big win for little result and now hard-charging Nangiloc have to do it all over again on Sunday when they meet Werrimull in the A Grade elimination final at Gol Gol.
Nangi pounded the Magpies at home by 26 goals last week in a game which could have decided which team snared the double chance alongside undefeated Bambill.
If the Pies won, it was theirs, while the Demons needed a victory and a Cardross loss to claim the prized position.
However, Cardy put paid to those ambitions with a strong win at Meringur which relegated Sunday’s combatants to the knockout game.
Now they meet for the fourth time this year with the Dees holding a 2-1 advantage and the momentum with eight wins in their past 10 games and coming off last week’s beatdown of the team with whom they shared the same regular season record (8-7), but with a far superior goal difference.
Nangiloc goalers Amber King and Chloe Nelson gave the Pies headaches all day and Werrimull have only had a week to sort out an answer to that double-headed problem.
Meanwhile, the coach of the reigning premiers, Ginine Sluiter, anchored a defence which restricted the Magpies to 30 goals and only four in the last quarter while Nangi banged on another 20.
Ever reliable centre Erin Sell, experienced campaigner Brooke Watson and Tammie Ehms were among the 2024 runners-up’s better players, but they are going to need a lot more support to reverse last weekend’s result and keep their season alive.
In Saturday’s qualifying final, undefeated Bambill should book their place in the grand final and get a week’s rest when they tackle Cardy at the same venue where they trounced hosts and bottom side Gol Gol by a massive 52 points last week.
The Saints nailed a whopping 70 goals while holding the Hawks to just 18 – and no more than eight in any quarter.
Centre Kaylie Monaghan was outstanding in the rout with plenty of help from veteran defender Breigh Hammet, Tayla Davison-Amao and a host of others in red, black and white.
The Lions did deny Bambill a perfect season when they held the all-the-way ladder leaders to a 50-50 stalemate in round six, but that was probably their high-water mark of the season as they have struggled for consistency since then.
Cardy did knock off Meringur down at the Lake by 20 goals in the final round with defenders Lily Thompson and Gypsy Gange conceding just 26 goals and only 12 in the final half and Georgia Leutner impressed yet again, but this is a far tougher assignment against a fired-up Bambill squad.
PREDICTIONS: Saints by 17 goals, Demons by 12
