THREE of five second-round Mid Gippsland matches were tight affairs, with none closer than the battle at Morwell East, where Thorpdale got up in a one point thriller.
The Blues came back from five goals down to break a 12-year drought at Ronald Reserve 10.10 (70) to 9.15 (69).
Morwell East looked like taking the game at half time, leading Thorpdale 6.8 (44) to 3.2 (20) on the scoreboard, a fair reflection of the run of play.
The Blues rallied in the third quarter to chip away at the Hawks’ lead, with the momentum swinging their way toward the end.
The Blues kicked a goal after the three quarter time siren to be just six points behind leading into the final term.
Thorpdale and Morwell East opened the term with behinds before the Blues kicked a much-needed goal, putting them within two points of a lead that had eluded them since early in the first quarter.
Inaccuracy from both sides in front of goal saw the scores creep to 63-all.
Thorpdale’s newest forward Andrew Slevison kicked a goal to put them in front with just five minutes left in the game.
The Blues then managed to sneak a point that would ultimately seal their victory.
As the clock ticked down, the Hawks kicked a goal, but the siren sounded just after the centre bounce. Thorpdale coach Brett Sherriff said despite the win, he did not think his side played well for most of the day.
“We weren’t disciplined or defensive enough. We didn’t work hard enough when we didn’t have the ball and it cost us… most of the day,” Sherriff said.
“But then again to show a bit of character and come back and do a few things was good as a group, but we’ve got a fair bit of work to do I think.”
Morwell East coach Paul Henry said their third quarter let them down, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.
“We went away from what we were doing for the first half of footy. We’re trying to combat our third quarters (that) are an issue,” Henry said.
Boolarra v Trafalgar
IT was a clash of two determined sides at Boolarra, where the home team got the better of Trafalgar in the final seconds to win 11.12 (78) to 10.12 (72). An even display of competitive footy all around the ground resulted in minor margins at all the breaks and the lead changed several times.
After leading at quarter and half time, Boolarra coach Tony Giardina said his side allowed Trafalgar to take the lead in the third term, and it wasn’t until the last five minutes of the match that the Demons “really hit back”.
The Demons cut it as fine as possible and kicked a goal to make the scores even with under a minute to go, before Jesse Giardina’s snap from the boundary flew through just before the siren sounded.
Yarragon v YYN
AT quarter time Yallourn Yallourn North had Yarragon on the ropes and looked like dishing out a thrashing, but a second quarter comeback kept the Panthers in touch to eventually storm home 12.6 (78) to 10.12 (72).
Yarragon coach Anthony Pavey said his side fell “flat footed” in the first quarter, but fought hard in the last three.
The Panthers did not hit the lead until early in the last quarter and managed to get two goals clear. The Bombers kicked a goal after the siren, but it meant nothing as the game was already lost.
Newborough v Yinnar
YINNAR was never in it at Newborough, where the Bulldogs posted a comfortable 61-point win 15.9 (99) to the Magpies’ 5.8 (38).
Newborough put the scoreboard pressure on early, leading 4.1 (25) to 0.2 (2) at quarter time. The second quarter was not much better for the Magpies who only managed one point for the term.
The Bulldogs dropped off in the third allowing Yinnar to get into the game, outscoring Newborough five goals to three, but one quarter of good football was not enough to keep Yinnar from a 10-goal loss.
The Magpies missed full forward Thys Stanistreet, who suffered a season-ending injury last week.
Hill End v Mirboo North
HILL end could not back up their good start, with Mirboo North picking up after quarter time to post a big win 17.7 (109) to the Hillmen 4.11 (35).
While Hill End went down by more than 10 goals, Tigers coach Troy Hamilton said the scoreboard did not reflect the contest, saying in no way did his side dominate the Hillmen.
“It was a good contest especially early. They jumped us at the start and there was a steep wind. Our finish was good, our last three quarters,” he said.
Tim Trail’s seven goals contributed to the Tiger victory.
