PAKENHAM is still well and truly in the hunt for back-to-back premierships after pushing aside Berwick in the do-or-die MPNFL Casey Cardinia elimination final on Sunday.
The Lions will now meet Narre Warren in the first semi-final this coming weekend after blitzing the opposition in the second half to record a 19.17 (131) to 10.3 (63) victory.
Things were tight in the opening half and very little separated the sides at the midway mark of the match.
But it was VCFL representative and Casey-Cardinia division star Luke Walker, along with Dean Blake, who turned the game on its head in the second hour.
Walker and Blake unleashed in the second half and turned a free-flowing contest into one-way traffic, dominating on each of their wings.
The Lions began to dominate through the middle of the ground and their key defenders Jared Goldsack and Nathan Brown began to dominate in the back half of the ground.
Twenty-year-old Chris Smith proved a pivotal target in attack for the Lions and his couple of goals in the third quarter helped set up the win.
Pakenham was superb in the third quarter, booting nine goals in 30 minutes to virtually end the contest.
Berwick, well and truly in the match in the first half, simply had no answers to the onslaught.
With leading goalkicker Grant Noonan out of the side through suspension,
the Wickers relied on ruckmen Stephen Finlayson and vice captain Dale Robinson to share the duties in the middle
and hold down full forward while resting.
It worked early, but they had little impact as resting ruckmen in the goal square in the second half.
There was good and bad to come from the win for the Lions.
Coach Ryan Cassidy didn't play as a result of a hand injury but is expected to be right for this week's final against the Magpies.
However, one of their finest, their captain and one of the best players on the ground on Sunday, Jared Goldsack, is heading overseas through the week and won't take any further part in September action – a massive blow.
In Saturday's game Beaconsfield stepped up to the plate when it mattered most and earned the right to a second semi-final showdown with Cranbourne after leading all afternoon to beat Narre Warren on Saturday.
Consensus was that Beaconsfield was the only side likely to challenge Cranbourne for the title.
Although Narre Warren has been the second-best team as far as ladder position is concerned for most of the season, its youth did make it look a little vulnerable on the big stage.
Beaconsfield has been consistent this season but certainly has the cattle to make a big impact on the finals, as was evident by the final score on Saturday, 12.11 (83) to 6.4 (40).
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