FOOTBALL

GIPPSLAND LEAGUE

By LIAM DURKIN

 

SOME last round shuffling saw finals-bound teams and short colours confirmed in the Gippsland League at the weekend.

Sale secured a fifth successive finals qualification, nudging in by two premiership points at the expense of Morwell.

Wonthaggi, needing to win to make finals an absolute certainly, did so, while their South Gippsland counterparts Leongatha confirmed the minor premiership.

Latrobe Valley rivals Moe and Traralgon could not move from the top three, yet a last-round switch saw the Maroons swap places with the Lions in second.

 

Traralgon 12.11 (83) def Morwell 9.10 (64)

LIFE can be so cruel.

Having been in the top five for 11 straight weeks, a loss in the last round meant Morwell dropped out of the finals race.

The Tigers season came to an end in fairly tame circumstances, going down to Valley rival Traralgon 12.11 (83) to 9.10 (64).

The visitors were well in the game at the main break, trailing the Maroons by only 14 points.

A three-goal to one third term however gave Traralgon a 31-point lead, which ultimately proved to be more than enough.

Traralgon was well-served by Luis D’Angelo, Mitch Membrey, Jordan Cunico, Max Jacobsen, Tye Hourigan, and former Morwell player Tristen Waack, adding salt into the Tigers wound.

Waack, who has been with Northern Bullants in the VFL for most of the season, got his fourth game in for Traralgon at the weekend, meaning he is now qualified for finals.

Burkely Macfarlane, Zac Anderson, Judah Leak, Aidan Quigley, Boyd Bailey and Cody Macdonald played well in the loss for Morwell.

The Maroons have another assignment against a Valley side coming up.

Traralgon will play Moe in the Qualifying Final, and will go into the clash as the higher-ranked side and truckloads of confidence having beaten the Lions on both occasions this season – the most recent by 53 points.

For Morwell, it was a disappointing way to end the season, although a win/loss/draw record of 9-7-2 showed what might have been.

That those two draws came against finals-bound teams in Traralgon and Sale must have added to frustrations, not to mention the fact the Tigers were the only team to beat Leongatha twice this season.

While those victories deserve credit, the fact Morwell has finished mid-table in the last three years with relatively the same list might have some supporters wondering when performance is going to spike.

Most university degrees take three years. Anyone who is as smart as they were in their first year compared to their third probably isn’t going to graduate with distinction.

Perhaps more alarmingly for the Tigers, the fact remains: Morwell has not won a final since the 2014 Grand Final.

 

Wonthaggi 8.8 (56) def Moe 7.4 (46)

WONTHAGGI continued their journey as premiership smokey.

The Power made it five wins in a row after edging past Moe in an 8.8 (56) to 7.4 (46) arm wrestle.

Needing to win to guarantee finals, Wonthaggi got the result they desired after overcoming a slight halftime deficit at home.

Leading by nine points at the last change, the final scoreboard returned virtually the same margin.

Isaac Chugg was best for the winners, followed by Ryan Sparkes, Jack Blair, Josh Bates, Fergus O’Connor and Kaj Patterson.

Wonthaggi has put together a barnstorming run, losing only one game since the halfway mark of the year.

The Power seem to have all their ducks lined up for the most important time of the year, after suffering a shortage of availability in the first half of the season.

Wonthaggi however doesn’t have much, if any, wriggle room to change the side that ran out on the weekend.

The Power were at maximum player points (38/38) against Moe, with the likes of former Collingwood players Chugg and Nathan Brown boosting the total.

Players that could come back in are Tom Murray and Troy Harley.

The pair are senior Grand Final players for Wonthaggi, and would only attract one point each. Murray and Harley made the four-game qualification by playing in the reserves last Saturday.

Subconsciously perhaps, the Lions had less to play for given they had the double-chance secured, and might not be too worried given the final margin was only 10 points against the in-form team of the competition.

Moe senior leader Riley Baldi did not play at the weekend, nor did leading forward Harry Pepper.

In what is looming as the proverbial good problem to have, Pepper’s replacement was Tom Blackshaw, who ended up getting in the best.

History could be repeating for Blackshaw, after exactly the same thing happened to him in Round 18 last year.

Lucas Forato was also in the best for the Lions, having re-joined the squad late in the season.

Others to attract attention were Scott van Dyk, Ben Daniher, Luke Mulqueen, and youngster Jordy Shields.

Mirboo North local Jesse Chila kicked a goal in his first senior game. Chila came to Moe this season along with fellow Mirboo North player Max Woodall, and in a nice touch, the two mates each featured in the goals.

Woodall could yet be on Gippsland Power duty during the finals, and the same might be applicable to Liam Masters and Tom Matthews.

 

Sale 19.10 (124) def Bairnsdale 9.10 (64)

SALE took percentage out of the equation.

The Magpies took a 10-goal win into the Elimination Final after trouncing Bairnsdale.

Sale was relentless in its attack, and ended with a score of 19.10 (124) to 9.10 (64) at Sale Oval.

The home side set the scene with a five-goal to one opening term, and continued to pile on the pain from there.

With the Redlegs out of finals contention, Sale possibly benefitted from an opposition that had checked-out on the season.

Needing to win to be any chance of playing finals, the Magpies did not take their foot off the accelerator as their fate hung on the result of the Traralgon versus Morwell game, and the match between Wonthaggi and Moe.

With the Power winning and the Tigers losing, the Magpies jumped from sixth to fifth to extend their season by at least one more week.

Shannen Lange did Shannen Lange things for the winners, and was helped by Hudson Holmes, Jonty McGuiness, Derek Eggmolesse-Smith, Mitch Dowse and Jake Hutchins.

Tom Campbell kicked four goals, as did Magpies skipper Jack Leslie.

Campbell now has 37 goals for the season, and is emerging as possibly the most unlikely small forward to every make a league Team of the Year.

Will Mitchell, Matt Corbett, Randall Stewart, Josh Lando, Lachlan Byrne-Jones and Bairnsdale playing-coach Logan Austin (in his last game for the Redlegs), saw out their seasons on a positive.

 

Warragul 13.11 (89) def Maffra 6.12 (48)

MAFFRA played for pride against Warragul.

That pride was somewhat dented, as the Gulls condemned the Eagles to the wooden spoon in the battle between ninth and 10th.

Maffra trailed at every change, bringing their season to an indifferent end at Western Park.

The Eagles were only 20 points down at three quarter time, but faded badly in the last, managing only 1.2 (8) to 4.5 (29).

Bayley Paul led the way with four goals for Warragul, while Mitch Smart, Riley Senini, Daniel Smart, Vinnie Caia (three goals) and Jesse Siddle were serviceable.

Henry Anderson, Alex Carr, David Adams, Darcy Gray, Jonathan Boyd and Zach Felsbourg were best for Maffra.

 

Leongatha 22.14 (146) def Drouin 3.5 (23)

THE greatest dead-rubber of all played out as predicted.

Leongatha, with the minor premiership sewn-up four weeks ago (virtually even earlier), warmed up for finals by annihilating Drouin 22.14 (146) to 3.5 (23)

The Parrots had 13 goals to one on the board at halftime, and a further nine to two by the last change.

Both teams appeared content to run the last quarter out at Leongatha Recreation Reserve, as one side turned its attention to finals, and the other to Mad Monday.

Kye Quirk, Seb Amorosso, Jordan Kingi, Jarrod Marshall, Jack Fraser and Ed Morris, in his last game for Drouin before taking up the coaching job at Garfield, battled hard for the Hawks.

Jenson Garnham had a day out, kicking 10, while Jarrod Stewart had to make do with four and Jack Hume three.

The trio received plenty of supply from Kim Drew, Tom Marriott, and Jay Walker.

Strength and mentality of the opposition aside, a win of this magnitude is sure to send off a huge warning shot to the rest of the top five on the eve of finals.

While this season has been one of the most competitive in Gippsland League history, two of Leongatha’s three losses have been against a team who are now out of the finals picture in Morwell.