The Demons proved too strong for Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers in Saturday’s preliminary final at Charlton, winning by 21 points.

The 13.11 (89) to 10.8 (68) victory has given the Demons a second crack in as many seasons at winning the premiership after they lost last year’s grand final to Charlton.

After the Tigers led by six points at quarter-time the Demons began to take control of the contest in the second term, kicking 4.6 to 2.1 to build a 17-point advantage at the main break.

The Demons’ lead got out to as many as 34 points during the second half.

“Our key indicators showed we were dominating general play and around the stoppages a fair bit, but we probably didn’t capitalise as well as we could have,” Demons coach Julian Bull said.

“We missed a lot of easy shots… there were probably three or four we missed from 20 to 30m out straight in front, so we should have kicked away a little more than we did.

“It was a very physical game, which is how Sea Lake plays and it’s the way we like to play as well.”

In what’s a massive blow for the Demons, vice-captain and key midfielder George Turner, who finished runner-up in their best and fairest, won’t play in the grand final after suffering a broken jaw in the first quarter.

“It’s really disappointing for George… unfortunately the way it happened was just bad luck more than anything,” Bull said.

Ruckman Chris Howgate was named best for the Demons in his battle with the Tigers’ Feeny medallist Ryan O’Sullivan.

Bullocking midfielders Joel Turner and Tim Holobowski were also among the standouts for the Demons, who had Matt Riordan, Ricky Allan and Andrew Mead-Harding kick three goals each.

The Demons remain the only team Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers haven’t beaten since they joined the competition last year.

Veteran Jordan Doering kicked five of the 10 goals for the Tigers, whose best included Jason Collins and Ryan Craig.

Next Saturday’s grand final will be played at Boort.