FOOTBALL
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
By LIAM DURKIN
THERE could be some very long quarters in the Gippsland League this season.
Much as these reports should be analytical and take readers ‘into’ the game, there are some weeks where this is not possible.
That’s because certain match-ups are so predictably lopsided from the outset, there can be little point providing a detailed play-by-play.
These are the sort of games that can be summed up by basically saying “one team has more better players”.
So it was at the weekend, where three of the five games played were decided by the best part of 15 goals, and another would have been had it not been for poor conversion.
Round 2 was hard to get very excited about, and the talking point in the aftermath centred not so much around who won, but what could be in store for those who didn’t.
Just two weeks in, it is already relatively clear who will be finishing where on the ladder – not healthy for any league, let alone a major one.
Much like the AFL, it is hard to recall a Gippsland League season where the bad teams are already standing out so much. (Who wins first, Sale or Richmond?).
For the Latrobe Valley’s sake, at least Traralgon, Morwell and Moe were able to celebrate sizeable wins at the weekend.
Morwell 22.23 (155) def Sale 3.4 (22)
MORWELL got its first points on the board in season 2026.
Points came in more ways than one, after the Tigers won by 133 of them against Sale, 22.23 (155) to 3.4 (22).
The Tigers set a new record winning margin against Sale, blasting the old one of 101 points out the park. The previous record lasted all of one season.
Morwell’s final score was also just a goal short of its highest score against Sale. The Tigers kicked 23.23 (161) during its famous premiership season of 1985 (35 points down in the last quarter).
Travelling to Sale Oval, the visitors were rarely challenged, and led by 53 points at the main break.
At least one reporter had seen enough by three quarter time, as the the margin bled out to near triple figures.
Aidan Quigley and Burkeley Macfarlane found plenty of the leather for Morwell, and were given silver-service from ruckman Isaac Abbas.
Abas was at one stage jumping against Brad Dessent, who has returned to Sale this season to help out with numbers. If a still photo is any indication, the big fella was barely able to get more than two feet off the ground.
Hugh Dunbar, who crossed to Morwell from Traralgon on the eve of the season after reportedly getting a job offer he couldn’t refuse, and Cohen Campbell, were also productive.
Trafalgar recruit Isaac Caroleo starred in just his second game, kicking eight goals for the winners. His effort fell just one goal short of the Morwell record against Sale, belonging to Doug Jorgensen in the league’s inaugural season (1954).
Just if the standard was better back then is up for debate, although one Morwell veteran did say the Magpies outfit at the weekend was the worst Gippsland League team he’d ever played against.
Given Sale’s score was its equal-lowest ever against Morwell, the player was well justified in his assessment.
Another Morwell official believes a few league records could be in danger if Moe or Leongatha get Sale in favourable conditions.
Seeing as though Maffra beat Sale by 70 points in Round 1 and Moe beat Maffra by close to 100 points at the weekend … well … draw your own conclusion.
The Magpies’ plight was further summed up by seeing Adam Wallace listed as its third-best player. He is a good player no doubt, but he hasn’t played for three years. If a bloke who hasn’t played for three years is still the third-best player in the team in a 130 point loss, well then … again, draw your own conclusion.
Cooper Rand, Thomas Glenn, Tom Wrigglesworth, Josh Butcher and Kaden McCulloch battled hard in defeat for Sale.
Traralgon 19.19 (133) def Drouin 16.9 (105)
ANOTHER Traralgon-Drouin shootout.
Similar to the Maroons’ 2024 premiership season, during which they played in a game against Drouin that saw a combined 40 goals kicked, the goal umpires were kept very busy at the weekend.
In what may well be a record score at Drouin Recreation Reserve (recently anyway as the venue was previously a notorious mud bath), Traralgon prevailed 19.19 (133) to 16.9 (105).
While there wasn’t 40 goals kicked in this match, the game played out in nearly identical circumstances.
Above all else however was a stark revelation: maybe Drouin won’t be as bad as everyone thinks.
The Hawks went goal-for-goal with the visitors either side of halftime.
A six goal to two opening gave Traralgon a buffer however, and proved decisive in an eventual 28 point winning margin.
Not discounting Drouin’s performance, by all reports, the Maroons should have won by twice as much. When you consider Traralgon had 38 scoring shots to 25, it seems a reasonable claim.
The result however will put a few teams on notice when they come up against Drouin. The Hawks were only 14 points down early in the last quarter, sparking a lot of conversation around the grounds.
“They couldn’t could they?” was one message that came through this writer’s phone.
Drouin was certainly helped by a Gippsland Power bye, and had Kaiden Walmsley, Blake Bibby and Caleb Keevan all available.
None of them got in the best however, nor did VFL player Lane Ward, which perhaps elevates the Hawks’ performance even further.
Best afield honours went to Seb Amoroso (three goals), Zayne Atkins, Max Williames, Ben Braiser, Riley Wierzbicki and Ewan Croucher.
Usual half-back Joel Scholtes was given midfield minutes for Traralgon, and responded with a best-on-ground performance. Others to play well was favourite son Matt Northe (three goals), Liam Willaton, Will Brent, Mitch Mustoe and Michael Jacobsen.
The Maroons had a dozen goalkickers and used just 27 player points. Only three players were worth more than one point.
Moe 24.11 (155) def Maffra 8.11 (59)
ANYONE who has played grade cricket knows the feeling.
You have a team 5/70 and a kid walks out to bat.
The kid doesn’t do anything wrong. He is technically sound and finding the middle, it’s just he doesn’t have the physical strength to beat the ring, nor the experience to know how to bat for long periods of time.
The scoreboard doesn’t move as a result.
That was pretty much the football equivalent of the game between Moe and Maffra at the weekend.
The Lions won by 96 points, 24.11 (155) to 8.11 (59).
About the only highlight was former Gippsland League president Brian McKenzie taking a chest mark in front of the bar at Gaskin Park, Churchill after another Moe goal in the final term.
The Lions had two players kick half-a-dozen goals. Maffra meanwhile only kicked one in the entire first half.
A third quarter blitz of eight goals saw Moe lead by more than 100 points at three quarter time.
The game was virtually boys against men. The Eagles only had a handful of players over the age of 21.
When you have that going up against James Harmes, who was still in the AFL at the start of the year, the odds are heavily weighted to one side.
Maffra assistant coach Stuart Anderson clearly kept this in context when talking to the defenders at the last change.
“You’re doing a lot right,” he told them, knowing full well there was no point berating players who were simply undersized competing against the likes of Ben Crocker and Riley D’Arcy.
In that situation “doing a lot right” meant playing the game properly, which no one could argue the Eagles weren’t trying to do.
Being so young however, the right naturally led to a lot of wrong. When that happened, the ball was generally kicked high inside 50, where Moe had Declan Keilty waiting to intercept.
Eagles coach Hayden Burgiel, so accustomed to being on the other side of the equation during his playing days, looked at areas away from the scoreboard.
“Seventeen goals down and 28 tackles, not good enough,” he said in the tone of a disappointed father at three quarter time.
Maffra gained a small mercy in the last quarter, adding five goals, although Moe had well and truly parked the bus by then.
Jack McQuillen had some joy, kicking three goals, while Dany Butcher, Jett Killoran, Thomas Scott, Sam Anderson and Kevin Rondon were honest.
Myles Poholke was a clear standout for Moe, kicking six goals from the midfield. Oddly enough, one of his goals in the last quarter was reminiscent of his first goal for Adelaide.
Crocker kicked the same amount in his first senior game for the season, while D’Arcy slotted five.
Harmes racked up touches, and kicked a classy goal on the run during the third. No one could lay a hand on him in all honesty.
Tom Blackshaw patrolled things down back, while Alex Dijksta and Liam Masters drove the ball forward. Dijkstra did the impossible for a left footer, hitting a target with his right peg.
Leongatha 20.17 (137) def Bairnsdale 8.7 (55)
LEONGATHA turned a 10 point halftime lead into an 82 point drubbing against Bairnsdale.
The Parrots kicked 14 goals to two after the main break to win 20.17 (137) to 8.7 (55).
The road trip east might have meant it took the visitors a half to get going, although they did kick 6.12 (48) in the first two quarters.
Jenson Garnham and co straightened up from there, to leave the Redlegs more devastated than this writer was when he found out the Pussycat Dolls weren’t touring Australia as part of their comeback.
Garnham kicked seven, while Aaron Heppell and Tom Marriott kicked five between them. Ben Harding, Kim Drew and Jack Sheridan were also busy.
Cooper Harvey, Jonah Walker, Oscar Clarke, Lachlan Bryne-Jones, Ethan East and Oscar Morrison (three goals) did well for the home side.
Warragul 10.9 (69) def Wonthaggi 10.6 (66)
THIS game was actually worth watching.
Warragul came back from five goals down at three quarter time to defeat Wonthaggi 10.9 (69) to 10.6 (66).
The Gulls snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, after Brad Hefford kicked a goal with a minute left at Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve.
Hefford found himself unoccupied inside 50, and calmy slotted the 30 metre set shot from straight in front at the rec centre end.
Some frantic and slightly controversial moments played out, after Warragul captain Tom Hobbs was slow to get up following a collision near the interchange gates.
Wonthaggi supporters took it as a stalling tactic, with the livestream audio picking up “he’s doing it for no reason” as Hobbs lay on the ground. A response of “I’ll give you a reason” from another section of the crowd added to the tension.
Hobbs was in the best for Warragul, and attracted praise from coach Gary Ayres when speaking to the South Gippsland Sentinel Times.
“Our captain stood up in the second half, I thought Rhys Galvin across halfback was absolutely excellent,” he said.
Galvin was also a colossal, as was Sam Whibley. Little men Vinnie Caia, Liam Serong and Riley Senini had big moments.
Wonthaggi will be left puzzled as to how they dropped this game, especially after keeping Warragul scoreless in the first quarter and leading by six goals at halftime.
Kyle Reid, Shannon Bray, Jakeb Thomas, Hunter Tiziani, Isaac Chugg and Bryce Joyce were best.
Ayres affect or new coach syndrome for Warragul?
