1st XVIII – Herald Sun Shield semi – SPC d SJC

St Patrick’s College through to Final

Score: St Patrick’s College 10.3 (63) d St Joseph’s College 5.10 (40)

Goals: Joel Cowan, Leigh Spiteri 2, Hamish Coulton, Jackson Carrick, Jordyn Cotter, Connor Byrne, Jacob Hopper, Tom Williamson 1

Best: Joel Cowan, Ben Lusby, Jacob Hopper, Hasker Dawborn, Joe Dodd, Tom Evans

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St Patrick’s College is heading to its seventh consecutive Herald Sun Shield grand final after beating a valiant St Joseph’s College, Geelong outfit by 23 points at Port Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon.

St Joey’s looked good early and was right in the game up until the likes of SPC’s Joel Cowan and Ben Lusby turned the match on its head by running ragged in the midfield.

The reigning Herald Sun premiers piled on six goals in as many minutes to take an insurmountable 27-point lead heading into the last quarter.

St Pat’s looked shaky early as St Joseph’s controlled the play and applied the brand of -‘unsociable’ pressure football that St Pat’s usually applies to its opponents.

Two crucial misses in the second quarter, both from SPC turnovers in their defensive 50, hurt St Joey’s as it kickstarted an inaccurate goal kicking trend for the underdogs.

They could not capitalise on the scoreboard despite having two more scoring shots for the game.

Meanwhile, the Paddy boys were extremely accurate and took the most of their opportunities.

The back six for St Pat’s was a brick wall early and absorbed the pressure St Joey’s applied.

The backline was led by the likes of Ben Hurley and Hasker Dawborn, who crashed packs all day, while Joe Dodd was lethal off half back with his penetrating left foot.

Jacob Hopper once again led by example despite being heavily tagged all game. A move forward in the third quarter opened up the midfield for his teammates.

-It’s very exciting to be through to the grand final, for some of us its number two but we tick this one off and onto next week now,- he said.

-St Joey’s definitely did their homework on us, they were tough all day and pressured us so we were lucky to come away with a win.-

-The third quarter was the turning point of the game and I was pleased we were able to get the game on our terms and take control of it.-

St Patrick’s College, will play Essendon Keilor in next Saturday’s final at noon on August 8, once again at Port Melbourne.

The boys in the green, white and blue will be aiming for a record six consecutive premierships.

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