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ST MARY’S will be out to erase the demons of its past two consecutive grand final defeats after gaining a direct passage to this year’s decider with an upset 22point victory over minor premier Leopold on Saturday.
The Saints earned their place in a third straight grand final with what was a convincing victory, leading from the first siren to the last to win 10.7 (67) to 6.9 (45).
“It doesn’t matter what level of footy, to get to a grand final is a fantastic achievement,” St Mary’s co-coach Glenn Keast said.
“We executed better on some of the things we’ve been working on all year and we certainly wanted to play the way we have been all year.
“We’ve said all along our best is pretty good. (But) finals are one thing and grand finals are another, and I’ve been around long enough to know you’ve got to bring it when it counts.”
After an arm wrestle in the opening half in which St Mary’s only held a five-point buffer at the main break, the Saints flicked the switch with a dominant third quarter.
Leopold was held to a solitary behind as Aiden Grace booted three of his four goals for the afternoon in the quarter, including a scarcely believable snap from deep in the Players Stand pocket.
When former Cat Tom Ruggles slipped on the last line of defence to allow Jack Blood to run into an open goal to start the final term, the result was put beyond doubt.
Now Keast and co-coach Travis Robertson have a fortnight to try and prepare a formula to alter St Mary’s previous two grand final performances.
“We talked to the leadership group early when we took on the job about it, and we haven’t really spoken about it since,” Keast said of the grand final defeats.
“We haven’t made a thing about it — the guys that played in them don’t need to be reminded about it.
“The reality is Travis and I weren’t here last year or previous years, so for us we’ll just focus on what we’ve done all year and there’s nothing to suggest that won’t happen again.”