HDFNL: Saints win through to grand final at expense of Demons

HEATHCOTE has made a winning return to finals football in the Heathcote District league and is now just one victory away from a premiership.

In what was the Saints' first final for a decade on Saturday they defeated White Hills by 15 points in the second semi-final at Colbinabbin.

The Saints won 11.12 (78) to 8.15 (63) to book the first berth in this year's grand final in what has been a remarkable turnaround under second-year coach Andrew Saladino.

"It's fantastic for the club to be in a grand final and now only four quarters away from potentially winning a premiership, which would be incredible," Saladino said.

"I'm just so happy for all the Heathcote supporters who have had to go through some really tough times over the past 10 years when there were times we were a bit of a laughing stock of the competition.

"It's not just the playing group, but the whole club has been fantastic in supporting us and it starts at the top with Bec (Dickinson, president) who just works so hard and it filters all the way through.

"There is genuine belief that we can do it, so it's really exciting and I'm just so pleased to see that the club is going so well again."

In what was a game where both teams had 23 scoring shots apiece, White Hills was made to pay for a glut of missed set-shots.

Of the Demons' 15 behinds, eight were missed set-shots, including seven in the first half.

At one stage during the second quarter White Hills had 14 scoring shots on the board to the Saints' 10, but trailed by a goal as Heathcote led 6.4 to 4.10.

After both teams kicked three goals apiece in the first term, the Saints had the better of the middle two quarters kicking six goals to two.

The Saints had far superior connection going inside 50 across the middle two terms, while their backline was brilliant in stifling the Demons and launching attacking forays.

Heathcote forward Corey Grindlay always loomed as one of the X-factors going into the game and he certainly made his presence felt in the second quarter in particular.

In a six-minute period Grindlay nailed three set-shot goals - the first after receiving a free-kick for too high, the second after taking a diving mark to his right, and the third after marking on the lead and subsequently receiving a 50m penalty.

Grindlay would end the game with five goals and be named the best for the Saints.

The Saints at one stage kicked five unanswered goals from midway through the second term to time-on of the third quarter as they opened up a 26-point lead.

The run of Saints' goals was ended when White Hills' forward James Davies snapped from 25m as the Demons went into the final change trailing by 19 points.

The Saints kicked the first goal of the final term when Liam Birch converted a set-shot that capped a piece of brilliant transition play through the middle of the ground from skipper Codie Price.

The game looked safely in control of the Saints when at the 17-minute mark the Demons still hadn't kicked a last quarter-goal and Heathcote was 27 points ahead.

But rather than the game simply petering out, the Demons breathed life back into it with three goals in five minutes through Cohen Kekich and Nick Warnock.

Having again been a standout throughout the day with his intercept marking in the back half, Warnock was swung forward in the last quarter, took two strong marks and converted both set shots.

The three goals in succession closed the gap to just nine points at the 22-minute mark and with the Demons winning clearances and producing their best football of the day, it was game on.

However, the Saints stared down the challenge from the Demons and held firm, with a goal after the siren to new Cheatley medallist Liam Jacques clinching the 15-point win and Heathcote's first grand final berth since 2011.

The big injury watch for the Saints ahead of the grand final will be on defender Brayden Klemke, who had the match-up on the Demons' Davies.

Klemke, who has been with the Saints all through their journey from cellar-dwellers to now grand finalists, has injured his hamstring.

"Brayden is a really good lock-on defender, but it looks like he has done some damage to his hamstring," Saladino said.

"It's obviously only early days at the moment, but it's not looking great."

As well as Grindlay, defenders Bill Direen, who was matched up on Kaiden Antonowicz, and Joseph Beedle also featured in the Saints' best along with star utility Braden Padmore, who spent the bulk of the day in the ruck, Jesse Davies and midfielder Jacques.

The Demons' standout again was Warnock - a player every coach would love to have two of to play at either end of the ground given his reading of the play and marking ability.

Midfielders Ryan Walker and Tom Brereton also worked hard and mid/forward Mitch Dole was lively throughout the game.

Warnock, Cohen Kekich and Antonowicz all kicked two goals for the Demons, who now have to go through the preliminary final if they are to get another crack at the Saints in the grand final.

"I thought we played some good footy today, but the scoreboard says it all... we just kicked too many points," Demons co-coach Jack Fallon said.

"We saw what we could do when we put that 10 minutes of really good footy together in the last quarter and nearly ran over them, but it was just that kicking at goal that came back to hurt us.

"But this is why we finished top three, to be able to have another crack again next weekend."

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