World Footy News

The 2009 AFL Grand Final participants have been decided, with St Kilda scraping home in a thriller against the Western Bulldogs and Geelong running away from Collingwood. The sides will enter the big game with those contrasting preliminary final wins, both tight early but very different margins at the end.

In Friday night's match the Western Bulldogs got off to a good start and the minor premier St Kilda looked in a little trouble. Not only did they fail to score a goal in the opening stanza but throughout the first half their most important player, star captain Nick Riewoldt, sported a very heavy limp from a knee injury.

Down by 15 points at quarter time and 11 points at the main break, the mental pressure on St Kilda would have been building. But four goals to two in the third quarter set them up and in a pulsating last quarter it was that man Riewoldt who confirmed his status as their key player, kicking two goals and roaming dangerously all over the field. Gut running from a player of that size is unprecedented in Australian Rules football and sets a new standard. In the end it was the difference as the Saints won by 7 points.

It was heartbreak again for the Doggies. The two combatants have been historic underachievers, with neither winning premierships for decades stretching back into the VFL era - 43 years for St Kilda and 55 years for the Western Bulldogs (then known as Footscray). Sadly for the Dogs, preliminary finals have now become a real stumbling block

Early on in Saturday night's preliminary final the Magpies played at a tempo befitting a preliminary final, something Geelong didn't match, possibly a result of having a week off. Their ball use was also poor under pressure. Collingwood drew away to a 14 point lead with the Cats yet to score, but then a poor umpiring decision helped settle the Cats' nerves. Almost every week we see Joel Selwood duck into tackles or bend at the knees to draw high contact, and as usual he was awarded a free, and his kick to Brad Ottens was converted with a good long goal and Geelong's first score. It was all Cats thereafter, starting to show their customary skill and flair. Going into quarter time they were ahead by 10 points.

The second and third quarters saw the typical dour struggle often seen in finals, with wet conditions making it slippery. Once they had settled Geelong always looked the slightly more potent side, drawing away several times, with the Pies always having to fight back. At the half the lead was still only 11 points but by three quarter time it was out to 34 points and the writing was on the wall for Collingwood.

The Magpies needed the first couple of goals of the last quarter but the classy Cats instead sank their hearts and it was obvious there would be no comeback. One of the hardest periods in footy is late in a game in a big match when a team knows their season is coming to an end, and although the Pies fought on, it became a procession as Geelong piled on the pain, kicking 6 goals to none to win by 73 points.

The scene is set for an epic Grand Final between Geelong and St Kilda.