By Jonty Ralphsmith
Southern League Division 3 club Endeavour Hills will be out for its inaugural senior premiership when it takes on Frankston Dolphins this Sunday.
It is the thirteenth season the club has fielded a senior team, with the Falcons taking the competition by surprise with a rapid start to the season.
The Falcons won the first 12 games of the season, with the only losses being away clashes against top-three teams Frankston Dolphins and Carrum Patterson Lakes.
A bevy of recruits and the natural progression of incumbents such as Devlyn Hasler catapulted the club from nine-and-a-half wins and fifth spot in 2022 to minor premiers in 2023.
Sam McLean and Ryan Johnson have been reliable sources to goal, while John Rafferty has slotted seamlessly into the midfield to cover the loss of Nick Gay, who went to Division 1 side Springvale Districts to play a higher standard of footy.
Endeavour Hills dismantled Ashwood to reach the grand final.
The Falcons were up by 21 points at half-time thanks to some excellent conversion in the first quarter, which enabled them to pull away after halftime.
After being pulled away from what they were trying to do in the second semi-final against Frankston, Matt Peake’s side got back to the type of footy that has held them in good stead.
“I think there’s a real mental resolve in our group and we had to grind it out, and we were able to do that and get our game flowing off the back of that,” Peake said.
“We were confident we could get it done and we did.
“The cleanliness and ball use was a lot better.
“That was a bit of a theme, wanting to be more composed with ball in hand and communicating a little bit better, so it wasn’t exactly where we wanted it to be, but we won a preliminary final.
“We probably still weren’t great going inside 50 and that’s an area we need to tidy up, but it was much improved from the week before.
“Bailey Baumann added to our midfield this week having been injured for the second half of the season.
“There’s a few things we’ve worked on at training and we haven’t at any stage been the finished product, but our good patches I’ve really liked, so hopefully we can put it together this week.”
Endeavour Hills beat Frankston by 25 points in their first home-and-away clash, before managing just two goals in a 46-point demolition later in the season.
Last week in the qualifying final between the sides, Frankston played more of the game on their terms, with the seven-point margin flattering the Falcons.
What they have done well generally in all their meetings this season, though, is suppressed Frankston’s key avenues to goal.
Jordan Waite, Tyler Black and Richard Mathers each average more than two goals per game this season, yet, between them, have been kept to four, two and four goals in their three meetings in 2023.
Ricky Boccari and James Archer’s closing speed and calmness in the back half was a key ingredient to repel the avalanche of supply Frankston had two weeks ago.
It will again be a factor, but the coach will be hoping that the midfield can match the pressure they brought last time with better efficiency.
“We’re gunning for that first one,” Peake said.
“That’s what I really want for the club.
“I haven’t really talked about it a lot through the year because we wanted to get the wins on the board, but it’s been in my head a little bit so we’ll see what happens.”
The game will be at Carrum Downs Recreation Reserve on Sunday at 2.10pm.
