By Callum Ludwig
Seville star forward Rob Petracca, brother of Melbourne Demons star and Norm Smith Medallist Christian, will be unable to take the field for the Blues Grand Final against Gembrook-Cockatoo on Friday 23 September.
Petracca’s suspension was upheld after an unsuccessful appeal on Tuesday 20 September, a ban which he received for striking in Seville’s first-round finals win over the Brookers.
Petracca only missed one of the Blues games this season and was a key player, featuring in the best players three times and bagging 34 goals, only behind Domenic Aloi on the Blues’ side and the eighth-best haul league-wide.
With Seville captain, legend and centre-half forward Nathan O’Keefe’s season ending with a major knee injury suffered in Round 8, Seville’s forward line will be under immense pressure in the final fixture of the Outer East Division One Season. Aloi (38 goals) and Dylan Broadway (31 goals) will need to have a major impact and it is likely the Blues strong midfield will need to make a contribution to the scoreboard. Could key defender Jack Nolan be thrown forward? It would not be the first time the tactic has been utilised this season.
Their opponents Gembrook-Cockatoo will not be lacking in firepower, hosting three of the league’s top five goalkickers; leading goalkicker Miles Wareham (68 goals), former North Melbourne player Michael Firrito (48 goals) and Jay Verhagen (47 goals).
With wet and cold weather predicted for gameday, it will be interesting to see how the two top goal-kicking sides respectively fare, with Seville just edging the Brookers for majors. Seville’s strong intercept and marking game (first for intercept possessions and marks inside 50) may revert to stressing the importance groundball gets, of which they were second to Gembrook-Cockatoo. The Brookers will be confident in their ability to get the ball off the deck in contested situations (first for contested disposals) and dish it out (first for handballs).
There have been four matchups between the sides this season, with Seville managing two comfortable wins in Round 2 and in the first final (75 and 21 points) but will be well aware that their opponents are the only side to beat them twice, by one point for their first loss of the season in Round 11 thriller, and again in Round 18 by 26 points.
It’s shaping up to be an absolute classic of a September Showdown at Woori Yallock.
