AFL Canberra: Ainslie Tricolours take 41-point win over Eastlake Demons in elimination final

The Eastlake Demons led the elimination final by 11-points heading into the sheds at half-time, before Ainslie Tricolours marched a comeback and took the game by 41 points.

Ainslie's 11.18 (84) to 6.7 (43) triumph makes them one win away from the grand final, with the Belconnen Magpies the only thing standing in their way.

It was a close hit out in the first, as the visitors led 2.2 (14) to 1.3 (9). In the second, however, it was all about Eastlake.

The Demons midfield were running over the home side, allowing them to kick three goals in under five minutes before a crucial goal came via Ainslie's Henry Delves moments before the half-time buzzer to give some hope and make it an 11-point chase heading into the sheds at 6.4 (40) to 4.5 (29).

Demons coach John Harper said it was here Ainslie showed their experience.

"We played a really good first half, and took it right to them," he said.

"We probably just ran out of puff in the second half. Their experience kicked in and they kicked the goals when they had to, and we couldn't sustain that pressure on them to turn the footy over.

"But look the positives are we've got a lot of players who it's their first year of senior footy, they've got finals experience. So that's only positive for the future."

From there it was an Ainslie affair, as the home side belted home seven goals and kept the Demons to three points during the next two quarters.

The third quarter proved to be the biggest for the Tricolours, as they kicked five goals and seven behinds to Eastlake's one behind for a 9.12 (66) to 6.5 (41) result.

Ainslie took a 25-point lead, and coach Jordan Doering said there was some relief heading into the final quarter.

"In the second half we started to play the way we wanted to, and our brand of footy," he said.

"Eastlake to their credit were just beating us around the contest and I just said to our guys, 'We just need to be better in the contested ball and our ball movement too'.

"We started to do that and in the third quarter, we had nine scoring shots. So that was a real positive."

A further two goals in the final, to stretch their lead out to 41-points, secured Doering's side a ticket to the next final against the Magpies.

The two sides will battle it out next weekend in hopes of earning themselves a spot in the grand final against the Queanbeyan Tigers.

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