An undermanned Moe was blown away by top side Leongatha in a one-sided contest, losing by 113 points in Gippsland League football.
Jason Macfarlane said while the Lions struggled against a classy side, it was not the same side he saw against Warragul a few weeks ago.
Macfarlane nearly put the boots on himself, after a couple of players pulled out at the last minute, with Rhys Pywell’s hamstring playing up and Gary Blandford being called to work.
Matt Coutts, who had played a full game in the thirds, replaced Pywell to make his senior debut and Moe was holding its own in the general run of play; however, it lacked genuine targets up forward which made the Parrots’ job a lot easier.
The Parrots’ key forwards Jake Best (five goals) and Dwayne Holt (three goals) presented well and Chris Verboon was prominent.
Leongatha kicked 11 unanswered goals before Declan Keilty kicked Moe’s first, 29 minutes into the second quarter.
Chris Robinson was one of Moe’s better, but spent 15 minutes in the sin bin just after Keilty’s goal.
The Parrots, playing like a top side, were running in waves down the ground with Colin Sanbrook leading the charge along with David Gourdis, Tas Clingan and the Vernon brothers, Beau and Zac, while Moe’s experienced brigade of Peter Ainsworth, Tom Long and Jacob Wood were trying hard.
Moe’s third quarter was its best, holding the Parrots to 2.3 to 2.1 with goals Stuart Robertson and Luke Thompson, while Best kicked Leongatha’s two for the term.
As a top side should, Leongatha took a stranglehold on the game in the final term, kicking 8.3 to 1.1.
David Crook and Kane Airdrie were genuine triers in defence for the Lions, but the team was outclassed.
Macfarlane said the club spoke to the junior players after their game and offered them support and encouragement.
He said the club was still trying to attract the right players setting it up for next year.
Maffra v Wonthaggi
After kicking three goals against arch rivals Sale last week, Maffra produced a match-winning second quarter to score a comfortable 37-point win over Wonthaggi Power in a match of two halves.
Maffra kicked 7.6 to 3.4 in the first half, while the Power booted 4.4 to 2.5 in the second.
Adrian Burgiel was back to his best booting five and Daniel Stubbe kicked four.
Injuries forced Power coach Leigh McDonald out with concussion, along with Justin Hill and were replaced by newcomers Nathan Bell and Bryce Marshall.
Interleague on-baller Bell hails from Golden Square, and has been named in the Bendigo League’s team of the year for the past two seasons.
Marshall was recruited from Cairns and kicked two goals in his debut.
Maffra’s best were Winston Gieschen, Burgiel and Alex Carr while Dominic O’Connor, Lucas White and Aaron Guillmartin played well for Power.
Warragul v Sale
Sale’s inaccurate kicking for goal saved Warragul from a bigger defeat than the final 71 points, on a heavy ground.
In general play, the Gulls matched it with Sale but could not penetrate the powerful Magpie defence.
The Gulls were 29-points behind at half time, but the Magpies second half of 5.14 to two points told the story of Sale’s dominance.
Matt Ferguson booted four goals but it was the Sale defence led by Adrian Quirk, Ryan Pendlebury, Jason Dessent and Shane Fyfe that shut down the Gulls’ forwards.
Brendan Sheehan was Warragul’s best along with the consistent Mark Bradley, Clinton Rowe and Brad Nott.
Bairnsdale v Drouin
Bairnsdale, at home, stayed in the race for a final five place by defeating Drouin by 38 points after an even three quarters.
Trailing by 11 points at the last break, the Hawks could only manage two points while the Redlegs kicked 4.5.
James Gibbs and Josh Matthews kicked four goals each for the Redlegs with Matthews named best along with Bayden Ashwood, Joel Waters and James Gibbs.
The consistent Pat McGrath was Drouin’s best, along with Matt Hedley and Dean Woodhead.
Morwell v Traralgon
Morwell will play Traralgon today.
