Greenvale will take the positives out of its semi-final loss to Aberfeldie as it regroups ahead of a preliminary showdown in Essendon District Football League premier division this week.
There hasn’t been much between Greenvale and Aberfeldie all season and Saturday’s second semi-final was no different.
In a see-sawing game, less than two goals separated the two sides all day at Windy Hill.
A Josh Pound goal nearly 24 minutes into the last quarter put the Gorillas back in front and that’s where they stayed, winning 12.14 (86)-12.5 (77).
For Jets’ coach Paul Chapman it was a disappointing loss, but not something they would dwell on ahead of a preliminary final this week against Maribyrnong Park.
“It was a high quality game and played at a finals standard,” Chapman said.
“We’ll get a lot out of it and will have to do it the hard way.
“You learn more from losing than winning.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The Jets made the most of their opportunities and remained in the game until the dying minutes, despite having nine less scoring shots.
Chapman said it could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for their defence.
“They had a fair few more entries and the scoreboard reflected that,” he said.
“Our back six were really good. Without them standing up as well as they did, Aberfeldie would have towelled us up.
“They were a bit smarter around the crunches and with their ball use.
“We’re lucky in some ways as we made the most of our limited opportunities.”
Chapman said Jacob Thompson was outstanding, kicking four goals with limited opportunities.
Addam Maric, who also kicked four goals, continued his season’s good form.
The Jets will be sweating on the fitness of former AFL players Courtenay Dempsey and Fabian Deluca, who both finished the game on the bench injured.
Chapman said they were hopeful both would be right for this week.
Chapman is confident the Jets can bounce back and get another shot at Aberfeldie in the grand final.
“There’s lots of positives and we’ll go through what we can improve on,” he said.
“Finals are a different game and it’s do or die now.
“We’ll control what we are doing and look to find a way to get our game plan going and play some good football this week.”
It wasn’t all bad news for the Jets, with their reserves winning through to the grand final with a solid 10.12 (72)-6.4 (40) win against Keilor.
“They’ve had a fantastic year playing a solid brand of football,” said Chapman, who has played several reserves games this season.
“They play for each other and it shows on the field. They deserve to go straight through to the grand final.”
