Roos snap 11-year hoodoo

BFL

Preliminary final — Modewarre v Anglesea Saturday, Mortimer Oval, 2pm ANGLESEA coach Paul Carson has declared the “monkey is off the back” after a spirited 17-point win in yesterday’s first semi-final.

The ‘Seas snapped an 11year hoodoo, beating powerhouse Geelong Amateur for the first time since 2007 to secure a place in next week’s preliminary final.

The atmosphere was fever pitch inside the rooms postmatch and Carson urged his charges to “soak it up”.

“The boys have felt the weight of expectations, so I just want them to ride the emotions of this a little bit,” Carson said.

“They’ll get a reality check on we’ll pull them back to earth on Tuesday, but I think it’s important that they soak this up and take a lot of belief, because it’s a ripping feeling around the rooms right now.

“It’s a big monkey off our back. It’s been 11 years since Anglesea beat Ammos. That’s 22 home-and-away games and that’s a long time.

“So not only does this take us through to the prelim, but the monkey is gone.”

Leading virtually from start to finish, Anglesea split the game open in the third term to eventually run out winners by 17 points.

Jordan Erskine was at his brilliant best, bagging four goals, while Dyson Bell-Warren had the ball on a string for the ‘Seas.

Carson was relieved to win, admitting the stress of a straight-set exit had been a burden for his team.

“There was a little bit of (relief) and we spoke about that, but it was nearly irrelevant because this is a new group,” he said.

“But it was a factor for the footy club, we’ve gone out in straight sets in the last three or four finals appearances, so it gives the boys big belief that it’s not the case anymore and we’re taking strides forward.”

Carson had a day out in the coaches’ box, restricting the influence of Adam Donohue and Daniel Lovick, while winning the clearances and allowing Anglesea’s runners to swarm forward.

“When we put a game plan together that we know holds up — and we execute it — we know what we can achieve,” Carson said. “We knew we had to restrict and nullify Donohue and Lovick, we had to half or better the contest, and we feel we did all three of those things.

“Watching the game last week, Donohue and Lovie were probably the difference after halftime so we put a lot of time into them and I don’t think they had any impact on the game.” Anglesea will now meet Modewarre in the preliminary final.