DESPITE holding Trafalgar scoreless in the final quarter, Morwell East fell short by eight points in round 17 of Mid Gippsland football.
The Bloods’ third quarter performance was enough to get them over the line against the Hawks, 9.8 (62) to 8.6 (54).
Hawks coach Paul Henry said Trafalgar put in a “premiership quarter” in the third.
“I was trying to throw in a couple of things to stop their momentum because they looked like they were just going to run away with it,” Henry said.
“To the credit of our boys we ran it out real well and (if we had) another five minutes who knows?”
In an even first half Trafalgar held a slender one-point lead over Morwell East, 29 to 28.
Trafalgar won crucial clearances in the third quarter and started it with three quick unanswered goals.
The Bloods made it hard for Morwell East to score and also filled spots to close down the options and force the Hawks to make skill errors and cause turnovers.
Trafalgar held a 27-point lead going into the final quarter; however, the Hawks turned it around in the last but ran out of time.
Bloods’ coach Chris Kyriacou said his side played “dumb footy” on Saturday and Morwell East wanted the football more than his players.
“Probably a few individual efforts in the third quarter got us over,” Kyriacou said.
“We only played one quarter (on Saturday)… we were just happy to get the win.”
Yinnar v Thorpdale
THIRTEEN goals to Yinnar’s Thys Stanistreet was the highlight of the Magpies’ 163-point belting of Thorpdale on Saturday.
The 28.8 (176) to 2.1 (13) scoreline was “disappointing, according to Thorpdale coach Brett Sherriff, who said he wished his players had followed up with a good game following last week’s promising performance against Boolarra.
“We weren’t able to put them under enough pressure and they just ran and carried the ball a lot better than us and used it a lot better than we did,” Sherriff said.
Boolarra v Hill End
Hill End was no match for a fired up Boolarra, who defeated the Hillmen 21.6 (132) to 7.13 (55).
The Demons have climbed to seventh spot following their dominant performance against Hill End.
Boolarra coach Tony Giardina said the boys stood up when the pressure was on.
Giardina said it was an even team performance with a great start and both aspects had been a focus.
“It was just a totally different game to last week,” He said.
“Against Thorpdale (we played) more selfish football and this week they came out and backed their teammates up, supported the ball carrier, did all the team stuff.”
Boolarra had the Hillmen on the ropes early with a 45-point lead at quarter-time; this was turned into an 81-point lead at half-time.
After the main break the Hillmen lifted their game and Boolarra also suffered injuries and ran the game out without a bench.
A wounded senior list meant the Demons’ side included seven thirds players, four of which had played in the thirds that day.
Newborough v Yallourn/Yallourn North
Newborough forged out a win over Yallourn/Yallourn North, 16.13 (109) to 11.5 (71).
The Bulldogs shot out to 21-point lead at quarter-time.
They held the margin, widening it gradually for the rest of the day.
Newborough coach Allan Chandler said the boys were able to control the game except for a few lapses in the second and third quarters, when they allowed the Bombers to take control.
The Bulldogs were able to move the ball well down to their forward line, often getting it to Ashley Payne, who kicked nine goals.
Chandler said their strengths were across the ground and it was great to see individuals step up.
Mirboo North v Yarragon
Mirboo North kept up its momentum, knocking over Yarragon 20.13 (133) to 7.5 (47).
Yarragon lived up to its goal with a better performance against Mirboo North than last time they met, but it was still a comfortable win for the Tigers. The Panthers were on the back foot from the start, but fought back in the second half. Mirboo North was held tighter in the last quarter, kicking just two goals to Yarragon’s one.
