By Tyler Lewis
A book-end inspired force from Narre Warren has steered the Magpies through to the Outer East Premier Division grand final.
Gabrielle Dwyer (GK) and Erin Bell (GS) have peeled off stunning performances on the competitions second biggest stage on Sunday to secure a 50 to 45 win over Olinda Ferny Creek.
Dwyer spent a fair chunk of her afternoon playing on dangerous Blood’s goal-shooter Hayley Howard, who has proved an unstoppable outlet for many opponents in her 597-goal season.
Erin Bell, meanwhile, led the way at the offensive end, scoring 29 of the Magpies 36 goals to three-quarter time.
The final period opened up, with the Pies ultimately holding on to record their third win over Olinda Ferny Creek this season.
Olinda Ferny Creek will play Wandin this weekend, after the fifth-seeded Bulldogs sent ROC packing in straight sets.
Wandin once again expressed its scoring strengths in the 60 to 43 triumph – it comes after the Doggies put 57 goals on Monbulk in the previous week.
The Bloods and the Dogs go in with a one-win and one-loss record against each other this year, the most recent being a nail-biting 43 to 40 win for Olinda Ferny Creek.
The preliminary final will be played at Healesville and will commence at 2:30PM; the winner will play Narre Warren in the grand final.
In Division One, Berwick and Seville will play off for a place in the grand final in this Saturday’s second semi-final.
The Division One top four has been settled for some time, with Emerald (third) and Yarra Glen (fourth) rounding out the contenders.
The Bombers will play the Bulls in a do-or-die first semi-final, with the winner boosting to the preliminary final.
Berwick and Seville played only a fortnight ago, with the Blues overcoming the Wickers 44 to 38.
The Bombers and Bulls last met back in July, where the Bombers collected the points in a tight 39 to 37 contest.
In the final round of the home and away season, Emerald torpedoed Belgrave 73 to 47, Berwick Springs out-played Gembrook Cockatoo 38 to 33, Berwick defeated Yarra Glen 49 to 12 and Seville had the bye.
