A less than ideal week in the lead up to Essendon District Football League division 2 finals was soon forgotten as Rupertswood won through to a semi final.
There were no second chances for the Sharks and Coburg Districts on Sunday as they faced off in an elimination final.
The Sharks took an early lead but weren’t able to break the Lions as they stuck around.
Scores were level in the third quarter after the Lions again halted the Sharks momentum.
Someone needed to step up in the final quarter and that was Fraser Phelan-Smith.
He kicked four last quarter goals to help the Sharks get over the line 16.8 (104)-12.7 (79).
Sharks co-coach Clayton Bonello said it was really good to be able to knock them off.
“We’ve come against them twice and had good games both times,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a tough contest going in.
“For the majority of the game we played the way that we wanted to play and got the result in the end.”
After struggling for consistency in the back half of the year, a win against minor premiers Glenroy in the final round gave them confidence.
Bonello said the focus had been on making sure they were able to control the game.
“You always want to be in front, especially in a final you don’t want to be behind,” he said.
“We’ve done the scenario training for how we want to play when we’re in front and we do pretty well with that and not give them too many more looks once the clock is winding down.”
Bonello said the message at three quarter time was to keep the pressure up and do what they do well.
He said Phelan-Smith, who finished with six goals in a best on ground performance, was outstanding and it was unbelievable what he could do.
Daniel Kavanagh and Jackson Cardillo were others named in the best.
The Sharks now face Glenroy on Sunday for a spot in the grand final.
