Lakeshore Rebels Surge Into OAFL Grand Final

September 27, 2005 by Bill Frampton | View Comments (0)

The penultimate game of the 2005 Ontario Australian Football League playoffs was played Saturday at Humber North Oval in Toronto. The Toronto Eagles met the surging Lakeshore Rebels in the Preliminary Final under sunny skies and 21° temperatures.

The ground had dried up after Thursday's heavy rain as the teams' big men contested the opening bounce. The Rebels had the breeze at their backs and started faster, kicking three goals in the first 6 minutes to pull comfortably in front. Their defence also played well and they held the Eagles scoreless for the first 15 minutes of the quarter, and at quarter-time Lakeshore led 4.2 26 to 1.2 8.

During the quarter-time break Eagles' coach Mark Block gave his team a strong reminder of what their purpose was and they came out with renewed vigour, matching the Rebels kick for kick. The Eagles got the ball up to their forwards a lot more in the second quarter and matched the Rebels in the scoring, so at half-time the scores were Lakeshore 6.4 40, Toronto Eagles 3.3 21.

The game remained in the balance as the teams came back out to start the second half. The third quarter of a football match isn't called the Premiership quarter for nothing, as many games are effectively won in the third stanza. The Rebels came out determined to take their opportunity and they could do little wrong, totally dominating the Eagles all over the ground. The Rebels' forwards had scoring shots aplenty but their kicking was inaccurate, however the Eagles failed to score at all so the Rebels' inaccuracy didn't cost them. After three quarters the Rebels had a commanding lead, 8.14 62 to 3.3 21.

Trailing by 41 points, the Eagles had a huge task in front of them. A deficit of almost 7 goals is a lot to overcome, but the Eagles took the ball forward from the opening bounce of the quarter and kept their effort up until the final siren. This time their kicking for goal was inaccurate and they were only able to reduce the deficit slightly, leaving the final score Lakeshore 9.16 70, Toronto Eagles 5.7 37.

The emphatic win puts Lakeshore into their first OAFL Grand Final in four years and sets up a mouth-watering match between the Rebels and Toronto Dingos, the first time those two teams have met in a Grand Final. The teams split their regular-season series one apiece so either one could win the big game next weekend.