Maroons maul wounded Lions
Traralgon’s Chance Doultree was one of the Maroons’ best during their preliminary final win over Moe.
Right: Traralgon ruck Max Jacobsen taps the ball down against Moe’s Chris Prowse.
Traralgon will face off with Leongatha in this week's grand final after easily accounting for Moe in Saturday's preliminary final.
Playing off in a rematch of the Lions' thrilling qualifying final win just two weeks ago it was a very different story this time around as the Maroons dominated their way to a 10.17 (77) to 3.4 (22).
Things couldn't have gone much worse for Moe this time around. Already missing playing coach Declan Keilty's steady hand and height, the Lions were cruelled by further injuries on the day to star defender Scott van Dyk and small forward Harry Pepper.
It all added up to a rather limp showing where they managed just one goal past half time, the Maroons cruising to a date with the Parrots in this Saturday's decider.
A big part of Moe's scoring woes was their inability to get around Traralgon interceptor Tye Hourigan, who had yet another day out.
The league's premier defender was simply impassable at times, standing up in the absence of Joel Scholtes to deliver a best on ground masterclass.
Fellow big man Max Jacobsen also reigned supreme, along with Connor Ambler, Liam
Willaton, Chance Doultree and
Waack.
On a difficult day all around the Lions were best served by Riley and Trent Baldi, Ben Maslen, Jacob Wood, Tahj Eden and Ben Daniher.
The drought goes on for the Lions as they continue to wait for their first premiership since 1967.
They'll feel a bit hard done by this season after injuries left them wondering what could have been.
Traralgon, meanwhile, will eagerly anticipate their first grand final since their 2015 premiership.
This is a club that has historically won flags for fun and their current iteration will have enjoyed proving some doubters wrong by even making it this far.
Plenty of punters had them dropping down the ladder after the departure of key players like spearhead Brett Eddy from last year.
It won't be easy against a Leongatha outfit tailor made for big moments, but you have to be in it to win it and the Maroons will certainly be looking to add to their illustrious silverware collection come Saturday afternoon.
Tristen
Moe’s Matthew Heywood (right) looks to claim a chest mark while Traralgon’s Harvey Neocleous attempts to spoil.