It was clear from the outset that Old Paradians were definitely "on" for this knock-out final against the Warriors from Old Westbourne. Having lost to them both times in the home and away season, the Raiders had something to prove. The poor condition of the ground had the potential to bring the standard of this final down, but credit to the Raiders who played like it was a fast, dry track. Around the ball, the boys were hard and tough and the tackling pressure was relentless. Up forward Dave Boundy was causing all sorts of headaches for the number 56, whilst Kieren O'Brien was proving an excellent backup slotting a nice goal from a tight angle early on, Peter Brabender was playing a bit further up the ground, but his experience and class was evident. As the game wore on, the gap between the two teams widened both on the scoreboard and around the ground. The backline was well and truly holding up their end of the bargain with Richo, Daniel Spitty and young Dave Huntley playing sterling games. There was a brief patch in the third quarter where the OPs kicked four straight behinds, and Westbourne kicked back-to-back majors, but this was a minor blip, as the team went on their merry way in the last with more goals to Boundy, who finished with eight, plus others to Matt Derham and Al Young. A tough assignment against Glen Eira now faces the team in the Preliminary Final, but with a Grand Final berth, and promotion to D1 up for grabs, the way the team played on Sunday showed that they are primed for the clash.

There was an air of confidence, but not arrogance, as the Reserves strode out onto the muddy expanses of Waverley Park for the early clash. Having beaten the Warriors by 45 points at their ground, and 71 points just last week at home, a similar result was possible if the boys kept to their gameplan, and to the same intensity as in the previous clashes. An early goal settled the nerves for the OPs, but it was slow going after that until halftime when OPs had pulled away to a five goal lead. In those conditions, it was going to be a hard one to peg back, and with Westbourne putting their best player loose in their backline from full-forward, their job was only going to be tougher. Up forward, Tommy Dintinosante was the focal point again and marking everything that came his way, whilst at the other end of the ground Warren Jeffrey was doing some sort of number on the aforementioned best player in a stellar display of full back work. Posterino, Licciardi, McKenna and Madden were getting on top in the middle and things were starting to click. In the end, it was a good team effort all over the field that led to the 56 point victory and now chance to avenge the narrow loss to Bentleigh a fortnight ago awaits.

A big thanks to all of the supporters who make the trek to Malvern and it was definitely noticeable to all those who were playing. Let's aim to get even more along to this important game on Sunday.