FOOTBALL
NORTH GIPPSLAND
By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
ONCE again, the best sides were at their very best in Round 16 of the North Gippsland Football-Netball League.
Well, three of the contending teams were afforded a bye this close to finals, meaning matchups were imbalanced once more.
Having said that, the final two rounds of the home-and-away season have been set up well, with plenty of favourable and mouth-watering games to take place over the next fortnight, which will determine who makes up the top five.
TTU 18.23 (131) def Churchill 6.3 (39)
ANOTHER day at the office for the Bombers.
Traralgon Tyers United knew what was required when arriving at Gaskin Park at the weekend, defeating Churchill to the tune of 92 points – 18.23 (131) to 6.3 (39).
Getting back on track the week before in response to their first loss of the season at the hands of Rosedale, the Bombers have gotten back to the way things were all year prior with two significant wins.
The lacking Cougars were simply no match for the premiership favourites, with TTU holding firm in the first quarter, ending already five goals up.
While the Bombers dropped in their output through to halftime with three goals for the second term, Churchill only managed one themselves, staring down the barrel of another sizeable defeat.
Further separation was seen once play returned in the second half, with TTU adding a further six majors, but could have been afforded more as they booted 6.9 for the third quarter – still enough to see them jump out to well over a 10-goal margin.
While the Cougars finished off somewhat strongly, the Bombers still found time to beat their opponent when it counted with a final quarter of three goals to one.
Michael Jacobsen was deemed best afield for TTU, followed by Frazar Brouns, Justin Savige, Zach Kilgower, Riley Denovan, and Hayden Willaton.
The Bombers shared the scoring load with Nick Fox leading the way with three goals, followed by Sam Duguid nabbing not just his first senior goal, but made it two for the day, alongside two additional multiple goal scorers in Jye Nielson and Flynn Shields.
TTU finish against Sale City and YYN, two formidable opponents ahead of finals.
Churchill had Blake Whykes, Sam Robinson, Joe Whykes, Nick Twomey, Ashton Busk, and Calen Hill amongst their best.
The Cougars end the year with matches against Rosedale and Yarram.
Rosedale 18.9 (117) def Yarram 5.9 (39)
ROSEDALE did what was necessary to keep their finals dreams alive.
The Blues capped off a brilliant second half when travelling to Yarram Recreation Reserve, defeating the Demons, 18.9 (117) to 5.9 (39).
In a position where their season is hanging in the balance, Rosedale are within close quarters with Sale City and Yallourn Yallourn North for the last two spots in the finals, the Blues knew they needed to handle business one step at a time.
Being on their home ground, the Demons weren’t going to be a pushover despite their finals hopes ending a few weeks ago, the match was there for the taking in the first hour of play.
A close knit opening quarter ended with the Blues leading marginally, 2.3 (15) to 1.1 (7) before they created a little bit more leeway with a five-goal second term to be ahead by 15 points at the main break.
Yarram seemingly gave their best they had in that opening half, as Rosedale hit stride in the second half with an 11 goals to one run.
The defence of the Blues has been something of a strong suit as they’ve made their finals push in 2025, only conceding more than 80 points twice (both losses to Woodside), while their forward line continue to do damage.
First-year Rosedale coach Michael Driscoll is something of a Swiss Army knife, after a strong stand in the backline for a majority of the season, he’s swung forward and booted eight against Yarram.
Driscoll also booted nine goals against Glengarry a month ago.
The best for the Blues included Harper Fox, Jake Pawley, Tom Northe, Declan Barnett, Blake Safstrom, and Caleb Barnett.
Currently in fifth position on the ladder, Rosedale finish off the season with Churchill and a do-or-die battle against Sale City in the last round to see who nabs that final spot.
The Demons had Boadie Motton, Tom Mattern, Matt Clavarino, Kayleb Pearce, Daniel Vardy, and Will Brunton play well.
Yarram will hope to finish the season strongly in a fortnight (a bye this weekend) facing off against Churchill.
YYN 26.13 (169) def Glengarry 1.6 (13)
ON a special day, with their season on the line, the Jets rose to the occasion.
While facing a side with only two wins to their name, YYN had to give their all, in an effort to salvage what could be a lost season.
The Jets were determined, defeating the Magpies 26.13 (169) to 1.6 (13) at George Bates Reserve.
Despite Glengarry getting on the board early, it seemed nothing would be able to waver YYN’s grit, with the first quarter ending with the Jets ahead 4.5 (29) to 1.1 (7).
YYN continued to give zero chance of conceding, while also pushing forth to pack on the goals.
Booting seven goals to nothing in the second term, the Jets had already sewed up their victory before the day was done.
However, in a big day for the YYN, plenty was still required to unfold to ensure all left the field fulfilled.
Celebrating the milestones of club legends Barrie Burnett in his 400th game and Owen Budge in his 300th, the game’s proceedings needed to offer a moment to recognise them during the course of battle.
Burnett finally nailed a goal as play returned, and while in a desperate attempt to let the supporters erupt by sending seasonal backman Budge into full forward to try and nab a major, he was unlucky not to do so.
The Jets did however, ride a wave insurmountable with 15 goals unanswered in the second half to keep themselves above water for the time being.
Josh Keyhoe was best-on-ground with a six-goal performance, followed by Jai Massese, Dean MacDonald (eight goals), Tyler Brown, Burnett, and Lucas Fry.
Jesse Lee, Nathan Larkin, Callum Mitchell, Xavier Taylor, Austin Blackford, and Tom Harris performed admirably for Glengarry.
The real work starts for the Jets in the final two rounds, where they face off against the two previous premiers in Woodside and TTU to ensure a spot in the finals.
Glengarry finish the year with matches against Gormandale and Heyfield.
Cowwarr 16.10 (106) def Gormandale 5.4 (34)
COWWARR got back on track.
The Saints passed Gormandale with little fanfare, winning 16.10 (106) to 5.4 (34) at Gormandale Recreation Reserve.
The Tigers opened fondly, nailing two of the first three goals of the match to create some excitement for the home crowd, but that ended soon thereafter.
Cowwarr piled on five goals in the second quarter, pushing the margin in their favour to 19 points at halftime.
Despite the Saints only adding two majors as play returned in the third term, Gormandale could only manage a single goal themselves, making the gap even wider.
Thankfully for the Cowwarr faithful, their side finished strongly with six goals unanswered in the final term to come out on top healthy winners.
Haydn Hector was best-on-ground for the Saints, followed by Ben Coffey, Michael Bloss, Brady Hood, Lee Bourke, and Matt Deering.
Cowwarr had four players amass three goals on the day, being Keenan Hughes, Timothy Johnston, Cooper Mitchell, and Shane Morgan.
That shared load could impact the league goal kicking, with YYN’s MacDonald (76) now seven goals clear of Hughes with two rounds spare.
The Saints finish their campaign this weekend, given they have a bye the final round, playing off against Heyfield.
Gormandale do battle against Glengarry (a potential first win for the side in over three years) and Woodside.
HEYFIELD, Sale City, and Woodside all had the bye.
