Parkside has flexed its muscle at the right time to be the first team to advance to the Western Region Football League division 3 grand final.
The Magpies lost to the second-placed Wyndham Suns in the middle of the season, but have belted them twice in the past three weeks, including Saturday’s 54-point second semi-final win at Dempster Park.
The Nick Condos-coached Magpies will get a week’s rest, while they await the winner of the preliminary final between local rivals Wyndham and Tarneit, who advanced with a three-point win over Sunshine Heights.
Parkside blew Wyndham out of the water in the second half on Saturday.
Leading by just six points at half-time, the Magpies went on to kick 11 goals to four in the second half for a convincing win. Had it not been for the Magpies’ errant kicking for goal – they kicked 16.20 from 36 scoring shots – the margin would have blown out even further.
Star forward Jason Cloke had a game-high five goals for Parkside.
Cloke has kicked 115 goals in 19 games for the Magpies this season.
Thomas Deutschbein, Brent Kelly and Joshua Shaw were named best for Parkside.
It will be Parkside’s sixth grand final in a row, spanning two divisions.
The Magpies were on the losing side of the ledger in 2012 and 2013 in division 2, before winning in that division in 2014.
They backed up with grand final losses in 2015 and 2016 in division 3, but will get their chance for redemption in a fortnight.
