TOM HAYES
FOOTBALL
NORTH GIPPSLAND By TOM HAYES FOLLOWING an entertaining fixture between Yarram and Yallourn Yallourn North over the Easter weekend, the remaining four games for Round 2 in the North Gippsland Football-Netball League went ahead over the weekend. A tight contest between two finals hopefuls was played at Tyers Recreation Reserve, when Traralgon Tyers United hosted Woodside. The home side got out of the blocks early, kicking 7.2 (44) to 2.0 (12) in the opening term, creating a 32-point buffer at the first break. It didn’t turn out to be a sign of things to come, for TTU at least, as Woodside then piled on four goals to two in the second term to drag the margin back to 16 points at the main break. The second half was much more contested, as both sides struggled to hit the scoreboard with effect. With a quarter to play, the margin was dragged back once again to only 14 points, but a tight final quarter kept TTU in control on the scoreboard. The final score read 11.11 (77) to 10.6 (66), as TTU held onto their undefeated start to the season. Within the best for the winning side was Hayden and Liam Willaton, Michael Jacobsen and Caleb Michie – who kicked two goals each, Jack Brown and Rohan Hildebrand. For Woodside, Thomas Mann, Jai Williams, Cameron Whiteoak, Shaun Cusack, Ryan Foat and Daniel Farmer were in the best, Whiteoak and Farmer were the only multiple goal scorers for the visitors with three each. CHURCHILL put on a perfect display at Gaskin Park when they welcomed Rosedale to town. A free-flowing first quarter saw the Cougars up by 36 points at quarter time, with 11 goals scored between the two sides. But it began to blow out and look bad for the visitors, as Churchill cracked the ton before halftime, extending their lead to 88 points. The home side showed no signs of slowing down, scoring multiple goals from centre clearances, constantly putting the Rosedale defence under pressure. By three quarter time, the lead had hit 140 points, and it kept growing, as by the final siren Churchill were crowned 193-point winners, 35.26 (236) to 6.7 (43). Chris Wangman and Ben Kearns miraculously kicked 24 goals between them, slotting 12 majors each. They were in Churchill’s best alongside Chris Williams, Joel Mason – who kicked five of his own, Bailey Flanigan, and new recruit Jarrod Henderson. For Rosedale, Hayden Bell, Oscar Smith, Declan Barnett, Jay Diamond, captain Riley Atlee and Sam Bristow – who kicked four of Rosedale’s six goals, were in the best. HEYFIELD made their first appearance this season when they travelled to Fred King Oval to take on Glengarry. The Kangaroos looked good from the get-go, leading by 13 points at quarter time, then 35 at the major break. A relatively evenly-contested third term saw both teams equally add to their tally as the margin grew by one goal, to 41 points with 30 minutes to play. Glengarry provided a late fight-back in the final term, kicking four goals to two, but the margin was already big enough to see Heyfield over the line; the final score ending 11.17 (83) to 7.13 (55). Robert McMillan, Brayden Woodland, Liam Heasley, Bailey Escreet, Kail Hole and Tyson Birss were best on ground for the winners. Perhaps Mitch Bennett was stiff to miss out on that feat, after being Heyfield’s only multiple goal kicker on the day, booting six goals. Mitch and Thomas Harris, Jack Burgess, Callum Mitchell, Michael Ryan and Jesse Lee were among Glengarry’s best players. SALE CITY got their first win of the season, beating Gormandale on their home deck. The Bulldogs steadily kept the margin growing, taking a 23-point lead at the first break and turning it into a 35-point lead by half time. A storming third term blew the margin out to 72 points, before they cracked the ton and completed the four quarters with a 114-point buffer. Sale City were able to keep Gormandale goalless, as they could only muster nine behinds. The final score was 17.21 (123) to 0.9 (9). Within Sale City’s best were Ben Brett, Brysen Nottle, Kaden McCulloch, Chad and Mitchell Evans and Harry Kaandorp. For the home side, Trent Baldwin, Flynn Roscoe, Riley Jenkins, Ben Heath, Jet Krimhand and Tristan Salerno stood out. COWWARR had the bye. Following two rounds, Churchill and TTU remain the only two sides with a 2-0 record. Cowwarr could match them if they manage to beat Sale City this weekend, while Heyfield could also remain undefeated with an unlikely win against the Cougars on Saturday. On the other end of the ladder, miraculously, reigning premier YYN has a 0-2 record and sit second-last on the ladder. That narrative could quickly change if they manage to get the better of their next few opponents (Rosedale, Heyfield and Glengarry), in which they would be firm favourites heading into each game.
