The Toronto Dingos have punched their ticket to the 2024 AFL Ontario Grand Final, beating the Toronto Rebels 8.5 (53) to 4.7 (31).
The Rebels got off to a scintillating start, winning the ball in the centre and going forward twice in the first two minutes resulting in a quick 2 goal lead to start the game. However, this would be the only easy ball movement out of the guts that either side would see for the remainder of the quarter, which remained tightly contested.
Mick Pearson Medalist, Ben Sinclair, opened the Dingos scoring account with a huge goal from long range. With this the Dingos began to gain ascendancy in the game, but were unfortunately were unable to capitalize on the scoreboard, going into the first break a goal down.
Going with the wind in the second quarter the Dingos started the second with the same form as they finished the first, winning the ball in the centre and getting it into the hands of their dangerous forward. French National Player Ludo Barrat nailed two goals from boundary, helping give the Dingos a one goal lead at the main break.
Backmen Chris Jepsen & Harry Shelton continued to dominate the aerial contests in the backline, using their iron fists to clear the ball of the contest and give the Dingos mids & backs good use of the footy. Alongside them, Marco Williams & Greg Gilbert continued to find the ball and hit up targets across the midfield, which has been a key aspect of Dingos footy all year.
The Dingos continued to put the foot on the gas in the third quarter, with midfielders Michael Ladd, Brayden Beks & James Talbot starting to break away from their opponents, frustrating the Rebels and bringing some ill discipline into their game. This allowed the Dingos to extend their lead to four goals going into the final break.
The final quarter became a slog as each team committed numbers to the ball, with the footy spending the majority of the time between the arcs and no goals registered.
The Dingos will now have a weeks rest whilst they wait to see who their opponent on Grand Final day will be.
Goals: B. Sinclair (3), L. Barrat (2), R. McNaughton, M. Hastas, M. McFarlane
Best: C. Jepsen, H. Shelton, B. Beks, B. Sinclair, L. Barrat, M. Williams
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