The Phoenix had their season cut short on Sunday, going down to Old Melburnians by ten points in their semi-final clash at Trevor Barker Oval.
Persistent rain throughout the morning made conditions greasy and difficult for either side to find clean possession, but the Blacks were able to trim a nine-point quarter time margin to just one point at half time.
It was OMs who found the going a bit easier in the third quarter, booting three goals to the Blacks' two to put a small amount of breathing space between the two teams at the final change.
The Blacks were able to kick another goal in the final term to offer hope of a win, but OMs would answer with one of their own and hold on for a gritty ten-point win.
Ethan Etheridge, Brayden Poole, Josh Dawson and Rohan Cleary were among the best players, while Julian Di Nezza finished with a couple of goals in a solid display up forward.
Although the Phoenix are out of the running from a finals point of view, they should be immensely proud of their efforts in 2018. Sitting sixth on the Premier Thirds ladder after Round 13, they won five games in a row from Rounds 14 to 18 and built some real momentum heading into Sunday. Hopefully they can carry that momentum into 2019.
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
University Blacks | 2.1 (13) | 3.4 (22) | 5.4 (34) | 6.5 (41) |
Old Melburnians | 3.4 (22) | 3.5 (23) | 6.7 (43) | 7.9 (51) |
Goals: Di Nezza 2, Leviston, Prendergast, Etheridge, Muller
Best: E.Etheridge, Poole, Dawson, Cleary, Robinson, McIntyre