PDFL | Picola United finals-bound after key win

The result means the top eight in the PDFL is now locked in — United sits in eighth spot, six points ahead of Berrigan in ninth with just one round remaining.

Blues coach Darby Walsh said he was pleased for his side to have its finals status confirmed.

“I was super relieved that we got the result and super happy that we have finals to look forward to in a couple of weeks,” Walsh said.

“It’s a big achievement for the club to be able to get back up into finals after a pretty ordinary year last year, only winning the four games.

“With all the hard work we have been doing, we finally got the reward for it on Saturday.“

With finals football just around the corner, Saturday’s clash at Picola Recreation Reserve was essentially an elimination final itself, with both sides vying to finish in the top eight.

A win for the Blues would see them clinch a finals berth, while if Berrigan had claimed the four points it would have seen the Saints move ahead of United into eighth heading into the final round of the season.

With its finals destiny riding on the result, Walsh said his side knew the clash was a big occasion.

“We knew exactly what was on the line. We knew the importance of the day and our players responded well to it,” he said.

“It was very, very finals-like. There were no passengers — everyone contributed and everyone held their own. That’s what we went into the game needing and that’s what we got.“

It was a hot start in the do-or-die contest, with the two sides still deadlocked at the end of the first quarter.

But United pulled away with five goals to two in the second term before booting seven goals to three in the second half to triumph by 44 points.

Taylor Beard was United’s leading goalscorer with four majors. His teammates Connor Langley and Cody Haub each kicked two, while Jack Andison had three for Berrigan.

Walsh said it was a great all-round effort from his side.

“That four-quarter performance was really pleasing to see,“ he said.

“It was a good spread of contributors. I could genuinely name everyone — we all contributed and all performed, which was awesome.

“Sam Boyd on the wing was fantastic. Our best-on-ground was our winger, which was a really good result for us and awesome for him.

“Dylan Cunningham and Taylor Beard provided some really good targets up forward for us. Jai Morrison and Sean Solar down back were really good as well.“

After playing in what was essentially an end-of-season final, Walsh said he hoped that experience would serve his side well in the coming weeks.

“I’m really glad that we had a tough, finals-like game. We have another big challenge against Deni next week, and I think two hard games coming into finals will hold us in good stead,” he said.

"I think the more you can expose yourself to those high-pressure environments, the better. Hopefully when the time comes, we’ll be ready to rock and able to perform how we know we need to.

“The good thing for us is we aren’t finishing the last round of the year and checking our phones to see if the ladder has updated, we know that we are in.

“Come the finals, if we bring the right attitude and bring our pressure and our game, I’m confident we can get the result no matter who it is against or where it is.”

Elsewhere in the PDFL, Waaia continued its recent run of good form with a 40-point win over Strathmerton.

Tungamah bounced back from its first defeat of the season with a 29-point win over Katandra, while Mathoura fell to Rennie 185-30.