Tara Murray
North Footscray showed some signs it was returning to form on Saturday just in time for the Western Region Football League division 2.
The Devils have been inconsistent in the back half of the season, but have done enough to finish the regular season in third.
Devils coach David Battistella said they were thrilled to have achieved their goal of making finals, but still have a bit of work to do.
“At the start of the year we wanted to make finals,” he said.
“From where the club was in 2019 and then COVID. Last year was better than expected, so the goal was to definitely make finals.
“The last two months, eight weeks, we’ve gone 3-7 or something like that. That’s not exactly the form line you want to be going in with.”
Battistella admits while they had key personnel missing in some of those matches, they know that they have to get better.
He said they had been competitive in most of the matches as well.
“We’ve struggled to stop the momentum,” he said. “Sides get away from us in 15 to 20 minute bursts.
“We spoke about limiting the damage. When sides get momentum we need to create stoppages so they’re only getting two to three instead of four or five goals.”
On Saturday, the Devils were made to pay for a poor third quarter against Parkside, losing 12.15 (87)-8.10 (58).
Battistella said it was a fair representation of where the two sides were at.
“They hurt us in the third quarter,” he said. “Outside of that it was fairly even.
“We kicked 3.7 and two of those misses were directly in front. If we were 5.5 it’s a different aspect to the game at the end of the day.
“Parkside is a top side for a reason.”
North Footscray will face Wyndhamvale in a knockout semi final on Sunday. Point Cook Centrals will play Parkside for a spot in the grand final in the other semi final.
Battistella said they were confident that the form line they had started to show against Parkside would stack up against Wyndhamvale.
“It’s a good competition and anyone can win on their day,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of close encounters this year.
“I think it will come down to which side is the best on the day that will win.
“We have to make sure we stop a fair bit of their run and carry and hope it’s enough to get us over the line.”
In other matches on Saturday, Newport fell just short of making finals.
Needing to beat the Point Cook Centrals, Newport fell just short, losing 14.7 (91)-13.9 (87).
Wyndhamvale beat Albion, 15.15 (105)-12.12 (84) to secure its finals spot.
Glen Orden finished its season with a big win against West Footscray, 28.8 (176)-7.3 (45).
In division 1, Spotswood’s finals hopes are over after losing to Hoppers Crossing, 18.9 (117)-9.6 (60).
In other matches, Altona beat Deer Park, Caroline Springs beat Point Cook, Werribee Districts smashed Sunshine, and St Albans snuck home against Yarraville Seddon.
