LIAM DURKIN
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
By LIAM DURKIN
WE’RE back baby.
The Gippsland League opened proceedings last Saturday, with season 2023 getting underway.
There was no time for April Fools jokes, as teams looked to start their campaigns off on a positive note.
Sale and Maffra both hit the road, but were unable to come home with wins.
The Eagles were able to take points from their game however, after a dramatic finish in Bairnsdale.
The Western Derby was equally pulsating, with Warragul holding on for dear life against their nearest rival.
IT hasn’t taken long for there to be a draw.
Scores were all tied up between Bairnsdale and Maffra on Saturday night when the siren sounded.
While the final scoreboard read 13.9 (87) to 12.15 (87), just what happened to get to that point meant those who witnessed it are unlikely to forget what transpired.
Having led by 22 points at three quarter time, the Redlegs looked to have the game all but won as the clock ticked further into the last term.
The home side held a three goal lead even as late as the 20 minute mark. A goal to new recruit Xavier Richards, whose last AFL game was the 2016 Grand Final, appeared to all but seal a first round win for Bairnsdale.
One thing Maffra doesn’t do however is give up.
The Eagles refused to surrender, and pushed hard for an unlikely victory.
The visitors peppered the scoreboard in the last quarter, having 11 scoring shots to four, but were made to rue their eventual return of 12.15.
Such a scoreline might have evoked memories of the famous 2009 Grand Final, where Maffra won after posting 7.27 (69).
Like that match, this one also came down to a kick after the siren, although on this occasion, a goal was only enough to tie things up.
In a pulsating last play, the ball was kicked wide from the top of centre half forward, and found its way into the hands of Nathan Pollard.
Sure enough, the siren sounded as he went back to take his kick.
There was a degree of irony about the situation, as Pollard, a new player with the Eagles this season, has played a large chunk of football in the East Gippsland area with Lindenow South, Wy Yung and Stratford.
Kicking from around 40 metres on a slight angle closest to the entrance at Bairnsdale City Oval, Pollard struck his kick sweetly, and watched as the ball sailed through with ease.
While most goals after the siren are clutch enough, this one was especially. It was a decent kick in any circumstances.
There was some arm raising from the Maffra players underneath the ball, but little fanfare, perhaps indicating they well and truly knew they had salvaged a draw.
Bairnsdale players meanwhile looked dejected, and with hands on hips, provided enough body language to suggest they knew they had let a golden opportunity slip.
Lachlan Byrne-Jones played well for the home team, as did Will Mitchell, Ethan East, Kieran Vickery, Richards and Jayson Miller.
Maffra captain Daniel Bedggood kicked four goals and was among his side’s best, as was Alex Carr, Brayden Monk, Ben Brunt, Danny Butcher and Pollard.
Amazingly, it was just the second draw Maffra has ever recorded in the Gippsland League (1954 to present).
Their other drawn match was against Yallourn in 1963.
It was also just the second time a game in the first round of the Gippsland League has ended in a draw.
The other was between Warragul and Trafalgar in 1965.
FOR the second time in as many years, the opening round clash between Sale and Wonthaggi was a close, and equally brutal, affair.
Brutal in the sense of being physical, the two sides, tipped by most pundits to be jostling for positions in the top three by season’s end, returned a margin that wasn’t all that surprising.
Wonthaggi prevailed 13.8 (86) to 11.6 (72) in the finish, walking off their home ground with the four points secured.
Sale meanwhile walked off with 19 fit players, but there was plenty of positives all things considered.
Given the fact the Magpies had an entire team worth of players on the side lines, to only go down by 14 points would have given the visitors reason to be confident moving forward.
By contrast, the Power was virtually at full strength, evidenced by the fact they were right on their maximum allotment on the player points system (38 out of 39).
Interestingly, Wonthaggi forward Troy Harley, who kicked seven goals against Sale in last year’s qualifying final, played in the early game.
It is understood Harley has done limited preseason.
Having defeated the Power in last year’s preliminary final, the Magpies got what they expected in the form of a Wonthaggi outfit motivated to win the rematch.
The home side led at both breaks in the first half, but found their visiting challengers always within striking distance.
The margin was just eight points at quarter time, and 14 at the main break.
Sale outscored the Power in the third term, but trailed by 10 points at the last change.
Unfortunately for the Magpies, star midfielder Shannen Lange hobbled off before three quarter time, while playing coach Jack Johnstone couldn’t play the last quarter due to cramp.
Down on rotations and with their two premier midfielders out of the game, Sale performed admirably in the last 20 minutes, but had to accept their fate when the final siren sounded.
Lange was still among the best players, as was Will Leslie, Jack Leslie, Josh Butcher, Jarrod Freeman (four goals) and Jack McLaren.
Best for Wonthaggi were Josh Bates, Kyle Reid, Ryan Sparkes, Tom Davey, former Collingwood player Isaac Chugg and Toma Huther.
Sale will look forward to hopefully welcoming back some troops after Easter, including Brad Dessent, Jordan Dessent, Kane Martin and Jack McLindin.
While unavailability is part and parcel of local sport, considering the names missing from the Magpies’ line-up, those names mentioned above (plus some) make a huge difference structurally.
WARRAGUL won a thrilling Western Derby by three points against Drouin.
A Sunday special came down to the wire, and it was the visiting Guls who won 10.13 (73) to 10.10 (70).
As is often the case whenever these two teams meet, hardly anything separated the sides throughout the four quarters.
An indifferent start saw only one goal kicked in the first term, and things remained tight for the rest of the game.
Warragul was ahead by four points at three quarter time, and kept virtually the same margin when the final siren sounded.
Debutant Guls coach Jed Lamb kicked two goals, and found good service from Sam Whibley, Nick Mulqueen, Liam Sumner, returning ace Tom Hobbs, Lachlan Collihole and Sean Masterson.
Is there a more underrated player in the comp than Sean Masterson?
Best for Drouin were Ryan Taylor, Kye Quirk, Will Papley (brother of), Hugo Birks, Shay Harvey and Rhys Salter.
