FOOTBALL
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
Sale have added Morwell to their list of 2018 scalps in round four with an impressive win on the road, 11.14 (80) to 6.11 (47).
The Tigers were allowed just one first-half goal during the 33-point defeat and are the latest of last year’s finalists to fall victim to the rampant Magpies.
Sale’s opening round loss to Maffra was the only glitch in an otherwise impressive run to date with wins over Moe and Traralgon in rounds two and three, respectively.
Magpies coach Shane Fyfe earmarked preseason preparations and a spike in his side’s belief as key in its strong start to season 2018.
“I think having our best players on the park has helped … over preseason training more players were getting out there and I think the new and young players coming in are getting games under their belt and having belief in what we’re doing,” Fyfe said.
“Our preseason was the best its been for three or four years.”
Despite the final margin of 33 points, Fyfe complimented the Tigers, saying the Magpies had to “grind Morwell down” to get the win.
“Morwell played really well and they pressured us, so to put in four hard quarters was really good,” he said.
Ruckman Jack Lipman was a standout for the Magpies in the win and amassed 54 hit-outs while Kane Martin enjoyed form on ball and Brad Dessent was a key target up forward.
Morwell are now the only side yet to get off the mark in season 2018 while Sale sit pretty in third spot behind Maffra and Moe.
Leongatha v Maffra
The unstoppable juggernaut that is Mitch Bennett has again paved the way for a Maffra win in the Gippsland Football League, this time over defending premier Leongatha, 13.6 (84) to 6.6 (42).
Bennett’s six-goal haul rockets him to the top of the league goal kicking leader board with 24 for the season to date at an average of six per game.
Kade Renooy kicked three and last year’s best and fairest Jack Johnstone two, while Sam Pleming, Hudson Holmes and Edward Carr were a handful of the best for the Eagles.
The Parrots looked a shadow of the side that won last year’s flag and could only manage six goals in the 42-point loss.
Cade Maskell was the only multiple scorer for Leongatha while Luke Bowman, Sean Westaway and Joel Norton were among the best performers on the day.
Maffra will host Morwell in round five this weekend while Leongatha will travel to take on Moe.
Moe v Bairnsdale
Moe have survived a first-quarter lapse in their round four match-up with Bairnsdale at the weekend to run over the Redlegs, 17.12 (114) to 11.11 (77).
It was all Bairnsdale in the opening term and the away side stacked on five goals to Moe’s three and had the lion’s share of forward entries with double the shots on goal to lead by 16 points at quarter-time.
In stark contrast to the first term, Moe made the second their own from the get-go.
James De Virgilio goaled in the opening minutes and opened the floodgates for a barrage of Lions goals.
Moe stacked on eight majors to none in the second term to more than make up for a slow opening quarter and led by 33 points at the main break and 37 at the final siren.
Darnell Grech scored three in the second and the first one of the third to make it four for the day while Jayden Van Dyk, Jacob Wood, James Blaser and Thomas Fleming all scored two.
Wonthaggi v Traralgon
Wonthaggi secured a minor upset and their first win of the 2018 season at the expense of Traralgon in round four, 10.10 (70) to 9.6 (60).
Power led all day until a four-goal to one third term in favour of Traralgon turned the tide and had the Maroons up by three points at the final break.
Wonthaggi kicked into gear in the run home and bagged four goals to run out 10-point victors on the way to their maiden win of season 2018.
Troy Harley was key for Power at full forward and scored three majors to earn four votes for best on ground and Lachlan Jones assisted at half-forward with two.
Traralgon’s Lee Stockdale kicked two goals in his first game back since a 2017 carry over suspension and while young gun Connor Ambler and Conor Little were among the best for the Maroons.
Drouin v Warragul
For the first time since the 2016 elimination final, Drouin has tasted senior victory in the Gippsland league, overcoming Warragul by a single point on Sunday, 11.18 (84) to 11.17 (83).
The Hawks nearly gave up a 22-point buffer on several occasions throughout the last quarter but hung on to clinch their first win in more than 600 days.
Liam Anderson’s three-goal haul was enough to earn him best on ground plaudits for the Hawks for the second week running while Rhys Salter, Ed Morris and skipper Bob McCallum were also key players.
For Warragul, Tyssen Morrow scored three majors and Nathaniel Paredes and Jedd Serong two each.
