FOOTBALL

NORTH GIPPSLAND

BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT

 

WHILE results universally went the way they were supposed to in Round 6 of the North Gippsland Football-Netball League, the manner it which they played out was distinct from previous weeks.

Teams entered the weekend with much to play for, either to secure a rare win or to keep on pace with others up and down the ladder.

 

Heyfield 16.14 (110) def Sale City 12.3 (75)

STAMPED as the bottom-placed side through five games, Sale City entered hungry for victory number one.

While keeping up with Heyfield in patches throughout the day, the Kangaroos did what was necessary, with a 16.14 (110) to 12.3 (75) handling of the Bulldogs at Stephenson Park.

The team in blue and white was equalling fixed on a good result, coming off a surprise home loss to Churchill the week before.

Sale City squandered its first opportunity for a win that same week, succumbing to Gormandale for the first time since 2015, to place the Bulldogs firmly on the bottom of the ladder.

Heyfield got the jump on the Bulldogs through the combination of Kyle Graham, Finn Stephenson and Mitch Bennett, placing them ahead 22 to no score midway through the first quarter.

James Moulton broke the trend with Sale City’s first of the day, however the term ended with the Kangaroos ahead, 34-12.

Before the siren rang, debutant Germaine Otieno sent through his first senior goal for the Bulldogs, and arrived for the second quarter doing the same for his second.

Even more sensational than that, it was Otieno’s second game of football – ever.

The period prior to halftime featured a much contained battle for Sale City, trading majors with Heyfield every step of the way, to trail by 15 points heading into the rooms.

Returning to the field after the main break, sidelined coach Jacob Schuback must have articulated to his troops what could be done to secure them the win, as Chad Evans booted the first of the third quarter to cut the deficit to nine points.

While it appeared the Bulldogs would be mounting pressure on Heyfield to begin the second half, the script quickly flipped as the Kangaroos piled on the final six goals of the term.

After coming within arm’s reach just 20 minutes beforehand, Sale City now looked at a 48 point margin to overcome with a quarter spare.

Furthermore, Heyfield added the next two goals of the final term, only for Sale City to lessen the blow and ease the percentage hit with the final five majors of the game.

Bennett lent his best goal-scoring ouput for the season with four majors for the Kangaroos, followed by the efforts of Finn Stephenson (three), Shaun Humphreys, Jack Christian, Robert McMillan and Caleb Ronan.

In defeat, it was a true star turn for the ages, with Otieno putting forth a magical six-goal haul for a best-on-ground performance, while Samuel Treglown, Hudson Tollner, Brysen Nottle, James Moulton and Joel Gray also stood out for Sale City.

 

Woodside 9.13 (67) def Rosedale 6.6 (42)

DOWN and dirty, Woodside got it done ugly against Rosedale.

The Wildcats tamed the Blues with a last quarter shutout, winning 9.13 (67) to 6.6 (42).

Despite clear and warm conditions out at Rosedale Recreation Reserve, it wouldn’t have been thought by looking at the early scoring.

While the home side kicked the opening major, Woodside added the next two, leading minorly by six points at the first break.

Rosedale gave it their best as play resumed, booting three unanswered goals to lead 28-14, before the Wildcats clicked back into gear before the half was out with the final two majors.

Scores were tied 28-all at the main break.

The third quarter continued with much of the same theme as the previous term, with the Blues managing the first couple of goals to establish a double digit lead, before the Wildcats again responded late.

With more than a few scoring opportunities in the period, Woodside went into the final term with a one-point edge.

Due to everything that had already transpired, many would have thought a tight contest would play out the rest of the game.

However, the Wildcats showed their experience under pressure, booting the only three goals of the final quarter to secure the four points away from home.

Daniel Missen, Matt Dyke, Rowan Missen, Josh Morgan, Ben Johnson, Alex Jeffs, and three goals from Riley Denovan led the charge for Woodside.

Zach Felsbourg, Caleb Barnett, Luke Stuckey, Brodey Rudd, Lachlan Speairs and Lachlan McDonald were the best for Rosedale.

 

Cowwarr 19.20 (134) def Churchill 8.7 (55)

NO matter what you throw at them at the moment, it doesn’t seem to change the result.

Even without one of their star recruits in Shannen Lange, Cowwarr still dealt with Churchill with relative ease, winning by 79 points, 19.10 (134) to 8.7 (55).

Back at Gaskin Park, the Cougars would have entered the game with confidence, despite coming up against the only undefeated side of the competition, after handling Heyfield away from home the week before.

The home side was also without a few, namely star forward Ben Kearns and playing coach Chris Williams, which they couldn’t afford not to have against a star studded line-up.

The Saints poured on six of the first eight goals, consistently winning the ball out of the midfield, as they’ve done nearly every time this season, spearing it down their forwards throats.

Keenan Hughes got on the end of two early goals for Cowwarr, before others came to the party.

Churchill finally eased the blow as the second quarter got underway with consecutive goals, but the Saints kept gaining.

The margin went above 50 points before the first half concluded, but to the Cougars’ credit, they did their best to keep it around there for the rest of the day.

As much as they continued to try and make it an arm wrestle, the release finally came, as Cowwarr booted eight goals to Churchill’s three to finish.

Jack Johnstone dominated off half back for the Saints, followed by heavy contributions from Tristen Waack, Ben Coffey, Sam Hallyburton, Hughes (four goals) and Lachlan O’Mara.

For Churchill, Zac Cheffers was best-on, filling in on break from Morwell, while Travis Nash, Blake Dyson, Nathan McRae, Jordan Fenech and Hayden Weir also performed solidly.

 

Yarram 16.13 (109) def Glengarry 13.11 (89)

GLENGARRY provided a scare for Yarram, losing by 20 points, 16.13 (109) to 13.11 (89).

It didn’t start well for the visitors to Yarram Recreation Reserve, as the Demons got the jump on the Magpies with four of the first five goals.

Glengarry responded with the next four to all of a sudden take the lead away from the home side in the span of half-an-hour. Yarram cut the run with a responding goal however, and the Magpies got the last laugh with the final goal of the first half to lead by a point.

The Demons returned from the main break and booted the first three goals of the third quarter to go ahead by 15 points, only for Glengarry to respond with two of their own.

Even as it appeared Yarram was pulling away, the Magpies continued to dig deep and ended the third quarter with the lead in hand, due to three of the last four goals of the term.

While Glengarry only trailed by a point at the 15-minute mark, Yarram secured the final three goals of the match.

Tyler Chisholm was a standout for the Demons with a four-goal performance, followed by Kayleb Pearce, Daniel Vardy, Cody Harrison, Matt Clavarino and Will Bodman accompanying the best.

Austin Blackford, Huntar Little, Jake Giles, Ben Cheetham, Michael Ryan and Angus Harle performed well for Glengarry.

 

YYN 20.25 (145) def Gormandale 6.7 (43)

YALLOURN Yallourn North showed no signs of trouble against Gormandale.

Back at George Bates Reserve, the Jets slammed their opportunities tenfold, securing a 20.25 (145) to 6.7 (43) win.

Both sides were dealing with a decent amount of changes heading into the game, with YYN managing an extensive injury list, while Gormandale also experienced a rotated side.

The match began relatively closely, with the Jets leading by 22 points at the first break, before quickly extending that to 45 points with four of the next five goals.

While this was a solid opening showcase for YYN, the home side would not be satisfied just coming away with the win.

The Jets tallied 11 goals off 24 scoring shots in the second half, leaving no doubt they’d win by over triple figures.

Jai Massese, Cody MacDonald, Lachlan Little, Rowan Duguid, Darcy Shellcot and Campbell MacInnes were named among the best for YYN.

Cooper Jeffries, Lucas Nicholls, Riley Hughes, Hayden Richards, Liam Deering and Chris Wangman with three goals, performed admirably for Gormandale.

 

TRARALGON Tyers United had the bye.