The Maitland Saints steamrolled their way into the Black Diamond AFL grand final with a stunning 32-point win against Newcastle City on Saturday.
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The Saints took full advantage of inaccurate Blues kicking in the second term to establish a nine-point lead at the break after trailing by two points at quarter time.
Maitland’s backline got on top of their Newcastle opponents and held them goalless in the second and third terms. The Blues got two goal in the final quarter but the Saints matched them on the scoreboard and ended 13.6-84 to 6.16-52 winners.
The Saints are the last Maitland senior team standing in the finals race after the Maitland Magpies fell agonisingly short of a grand final spot and the Blacks were denied a spot in the finals by The Waratahs.
The only downside of the win was an injury to star midfield and dual BDAFL Division 1 best and fairest Jim Taranto, who is likely to miss the grand final.
The Saints will play Singleton in a Lower Hunter derby and will need to be at their best to overcome the minor premiers, who beat them by 20 points in the second semi-final.
But Saturday’s grand final is at Newcastle No.1 Oval, a ground the Saints like to play and which suits their hard-running game.
Coach David Ross and his support staff will have learnt a lot from the semi-final loss as well.
Star forwards Wade Beard and Pat McMahon will be keys to the Saints kicking a winning score.
Beard in his third week back from a collarbone injury is returning to form with five goals on the weekend.
But on his day he is capable of kicking a bag and always provides a contest in the aerial duels, which the Saints small forwards can crumb off.
Josh Button is continuing to be dangerous in the forward half, kicking two goals on Saturday.
Chris Pedler, who is likely to be a key ingredient in the midfield mix in the grand final, found himself up forward and kicked a bag of three on Saturday.
While Taranto’s likely absence is a blow to the Saints, they have steadily built up depth in the midfield and there is pace to burn across the field with Aiden Damico again in the best for the Saints on Saturday.
Mitch Greaves and McMahon also have plenty of space and can be a handful for opponents with their height and marking ability.
Both also have penetrating kicks which will be important on No.1 Oval.
Premier division recruit Ben Stewart has been excellent all year and was in the Saints best again on Saturday.
Ruckman Hayden Taylor was best on ground and the Saints will be looking to him to again give Maitland first use of the ball at the centre bounce in the grand final.