THE last Gippsland League meeting between Moe and Traralgon gave a glimpse of the Lions’ skill ceiling and floor in the span of four quarters.
At one point Moe led by some 35 points, but by the final siren had lost by 64 on the back of six rapid-fire Traralgon goals at the death.
Last round’s clash was a similar affair, with Moe leading Warragul by 27 points early in the second term before the Gulls stormed home to win by 32, an almost 10-goal turnaround.
For Moe coach James Blaser the focus for this weekend’s rematch with the Maroons in round 11 will be redlining from start to finish.
“We know our best is good enough to compete but our worst is also pretty poor; when we played our worst against them last time in the last quarter it blew out,” Blaser said.
“We give ourselves a chance but we understand they’re still up there as premiership favourites in my eyes so we’ll prepare accordingly.”
Three-hundred game veteran Peter Ainsworth will miss the clash and a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury, but contributions from players at the other end of the senior game tally spectrum have begun to shine at the top level.
At just 19 years of age Bryce Collings will play his 50th game of senior football on Saturday, while under 18 player Nathan Lee showed his quality last round with two goals and as many best on ground votes.
Blaser said the emergence of young talent was promising as the Lions continue to evolve at senior level.
“It’s a pretty good achievement (for Collings); not many 19 year-olds would have played 50 Gippsland League senior games, so we’ve got guys like that who are slowly getting games under their belts,” he said.
“Although we lost to Warragul and we’re not sitting where we’d like to be on the ladder, there’s still some positives to take out so far.”
The Lions should welcome back Jacob Wood and Luke Mackay as they look to set up a celebration for the club’s mid-season ball on Saturday night.
Meanwhile Traralgon, fresh from a three-point ball game with ladder leader Leongatha, will be eager to snap a two-game losing streak.
After dropping the points to Morwell in a huge upset on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, the Maroons will not be taking Moe lightly.
In other matches Wonthaggi hosts Leongatha, Warragul plays Drouin, Bairnsdale hosts Maffra and Morwell travels to Sale in the clash between the bottom two sides.
Only three teams with a half season record of three wins and six losses have made finals in the 19 seasons since the use of the final five format.
Sale and Morwell turned at the half-way point with worse records than that, but both are still laden with talented players and Saturday’s winner may still hold on to a glimmer of hope for 2016.
(1954 – 2016)
All matches: Played 151 Sale 78, Morwell 73
At Sale: Played 69 Sale 43, Morwell 26
Last 10 matches: Sale 6, Morwell 4
Last win at Sale: Sale 2015, Morwell 2010
Last 5 years at Sale: Sale 5, Morwell 0
Last three matches
2015 (S) Sale 9.11 (65) d Morwell 4.8 (32)
2015 (M) Morwell 11.9 (75) d Sale 8.10 (58)
2016 (M) Sale 16.14 (110) d Morwell 5.11 (41)
Present winning sequence: Sale 1
Highest scores: Sale 29.21 (195) (2007), Morwell 23.23 (161) (1985)
Lowest scores: Sale 3.4 (22) (2002), Morwell 3.6 (24) (1956)
Greatest winning margin: Sale 137 (2003 & 2007), Morwell 84 (1967)
Most goals (match): Sale 11 S. Loveless (1987 & 1991): Morwell 9 D. Jorgenson (1954)
(1936-53 (CGFL), 1954-2016)
All matches: Played 178 Traralgon 126, Moe 51, drawn 1
At Traralgon: Played 82 Traralgon 59, Moe 23
Last 10 matches: Traralgon 9, Moe 1
Last win at Traralgon: Traralgon 2015, Moe 2008
Last 5 years at Traralgon: Traralgon 5, Moe 0
Last three matches
2015 (T) Traralgon 17.17 (119) d Moe 9.9 (63)
2015 (M) Traralgon 12.17 (89) d Moe 9.5 (59)
2016 (Churchill) Traralgon 23.10 (148) d Moe 13.6 (84)
Present winning sequence: Traralgon 9
Highest scores: Traralgon 36.25 (241) (1997), Moe 22.22 (154) (1971)
Lowest scores: Traralgon 4.7 (31) (1948), Moe 0.5 (5) (1997)
Greatest winning margin: Traralgon 236 (1997), Moe 105 (1938)
Most goals (match): Traralgon 14 P. McCulloch (1997): Moe 10 I. Jennings (1971 & 1972)
(SGFL 1927 – 31, 1955-68, GL 1995-2004, 2010-16)
All matches: Played 106 Wonthaggi 49, Leongatha 55, drawn 2
At Wonthaggi: Played 49 Wonthaggi 29, Leongatha 20
Last 10 matches: Wonthaggi 4, Leongatha 6
Last win at Wonthaggi: Wonthaggi 2015, Leongatha 2013
Last 5 years at Wonthaggi: Wonthaggi 3, Leongatha 2
Last three matches
2015 (L) Leongatha 8.13 (61) d Wonthaggi 3.9 (27)
2015 (W) Wonthaggi 13.14 (92) d Leongatha 9.8 (62)
2016 (L) Leongatha 14.15 (99) d Wonthaggi 4.4 (28)
Present winning sequence: Leongatha 1
Highest scores: Leongatha 32.19 (211) (1995), Wonthaggi 22.13 (145) (2002)
Lowest scores: Leongatha 2.5 (17) (1931), Wonthaggi 2.5 (17) (1965)
Greatest winning margin: Leongatha 163 (1995), Wonthaggi 100 (2002)
Most goals (match): Leongatha 8 J. Talbot (1995), T. Traill (1998): Wonthaggi 7 N. Garnham (2002), M. Silver (2004)
(1901-34, 1936-59 (GFL), 1960-98, 2011-16)
All matches: Played 248 Bairnsdale 125, Maffra 120, drawn 3
At Bairnsdale: Played 115 Bairnsdale 72, Maffra 42, drawn 1
Last 10 matches: Bairnsdale 2, Maffra 8
Last win at Bairnsdale: Bairnsdale 2014, Maffra 2015
Last three matches
2015 (B) Maffra 16.13 (109) d Bairnsdale 7.7 (49)
2015 (M) Maffra 15.11 (101) d Bairnsdale 7.8 (50)
2016 (M) Maffra 19.16 (130) d Bairnsdale 7.3 (45)
Present winning sequence: Maffra 5
Highest scores: Bairnsdale 30.15 (195) (1983), Maffra 24.29 (173) (1937)
Lowest scores: Bairnsdale 1.5 (11) (1919), Maffra 1.5 (11) (1903)
Greatest winning margin: Bairnsdale 126 (1981), Maffra 93 (1997)
Most goals (match): Bairnsdale 9 T. Somerville (1938), T. Bull (1995): Maffra 12 H. May (1928)
(1909-11,1919-30, 1933-40 (CGFL), 1960-64 (LVFL), 2000 – 2016)
All matches: Played 89 Warragul 70, Drouin 18, drawn 1
At Warragul: Played 43 Warragul 36, Drouin 7
Last 10 matches: Warragul 5, Drouin 5
Last win at Warragul: Warragul 2014, Drouin 2015
Last 5 years at Warragul: Warragul 3, Drouin 2
Last three matches
2015 (W) Drouin 15.10 (100) d Warragul 7.5 (47)
2015 (D) Drouin 19.14 (128) d Warragul 7.8 (50)
2016 (D) Drouin 13.9 (87) d Warragul 11.16 (82)
Present winning sequence: Drouin 3
Highest scores: Warragul 29.21 (195) (1930), Drouin 17.17 (119) (2010)
Lowest scores: Warragul 0.2 (2) (2010), Drouin 1.4 (10) (1920)
Greatest winning margin: Warragul 174 (1930), Drouin 92 (1910)
Most goals (match): Warragul 18 H. Farmer (1937): Drouin 7 H. Steer (1962)
