Ocean Grove booked a Under 19s Division Two grand final berth after it crushed Geelong Amateur by 66 points in their second semi-final on Saturday 31 August.
The Grubbers 14.6 (90) thrashed an inaccurate Geelong Amateur 2.12 (24) at Portarlington.
It will be a second successive grand final appearance in two years for the Grubbers’ Under 19s team.
Geelong Amateur which have won the last three Under 19s Division Two premierships in 2016, 2017 and 2018, defeated Ocean Grove by 11 points in last year’s decider at Drysdale.
Ocean Grove Under 19s coach Matt Tyrrell admits there was redemption and a point to prove after a heart-breaking grand final loss to the Ammos in 2018.
“In my mind there is (redemption),” Tyrrell told the Voice after the match.
“There is about five or six players who are top age (Under 19s players) – there is definitely redemption in their eyes.
“They want a different result.”
Jake Hargreaves was outstanding and finished with five goals, which included a miraculous snap on goal from the boundary line to seal victory.
It was Hargreaves’ best return in front of goal for 2019, while superboot Tom Richardson snared four majors and Ben Bennett kicked two goals.
Flynn Hardiman and Bailey Payne were also outstanding contributors for Ocean Grove.
The Grubbers got off to a flyer and kicked the first four goals and led by a whopping 36 points at quarter time.
Tyrrell was encouraged by Ocean Grove’s 38-point victory in Round 9 over the Ammos which gave his side confidence heading into the semi-final.
“The way we started we had them about six or seven weeks ago and we started in the same fashion and it was clear they (Geelong Amateur) were on the back foot from the very start,” Tyrrell
A goalless Ocean Grove had a lapse in the second term, though the Ammos only kicked one goal to reduce the margin back to 31 points at the main break.
The Grubbers slammed home seven majors in the final half and kept the Ammos to 0.8 to celebrate an 11-goal win.
Meantime Tyrrell has declared Max Sutton, who missed with an ankle injury, as a certain starter for the grand final.
Sutton who played eight senior games in 2019 for the Grubbers, has been sidelined for the last month and not played since 10 August.
“He will fit in – he is coming in,” he said.
OCEAN Grove’s Under 19s Division Two grand final takes place on Bellarine Football League grand final day at Spring Creek Reserve in Torquay on Saturday 14 September at 9.15am.SCOREBOARD
OCEAN GROVE 14.6 (90) def GEELONG AMATEUR 2.12 (24)
OCEAN GROVE
Goals: J. Hargreaves 5, T. Richardson 4, B. Bennett 2, C. Pickett, M. Taylor, L. Gibb.
Best: J. Hargreaves, F. Hardiman, B. Payne, K. Annand, B. Bennett, J. Nagle.
