LIAM DURKIN
FOOTBALL
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
By LIAM DURKIN
VALLEY teams rejoiced in Round 2 of the Gippsland League.
Bragging rights were shared as Traralgon, Morwell and Moe were all victorious.
THE Maroons played Maffra in atrocious conditions, which forced them both to play good old fashioned wet weather footy.
Rain pelted down in Maffra during the reserves game, the effects of which were still evident by the time the main game started.
The Eagles actually led at quarter time by one point, however, the one goal they kicked to five behinds told the full story.
In what turned out to be a somewhat bizarre first half, Maffra was held scoreless in the second term, while the Maroons took control from a territorial point of view, but had very little reward to show for it.
Amazingly, the visitors added 1.8 (14) in the second quarter. Although Traralgon went into halftime only 13 points ahead, they had registered 14 scoring shots to one.
With the scoreboard reading 1.13 (19) to 1.0 (6), the threat of the dam wall bursting open in the second half hung over the heads of the Eagles.
And sure enough, that is what happened.
The Maroons continued to dominate, and with greater conversion, were able to put the game to rest by three quarter time.
Traralgon added six goals to one, taking a 41-point lead at three quarter time.
Given the conditions, the Maroons virtually played the last term in preservation mode.
Traralgon’s accuracy improved so much that they only kicked two behinds after halftime, in a final effort reading 9.15 (69) to 3.6 (24).
On a day where each goal was worth at least twice as many, the Maroons had a trio of players in Brett Eddy, Tate Marsh and Billy Schilling all nab two.
Schilling was best on ground, followed by Marsh. Others to play well were Luis D’Angelo, captain Dylan Loprese, Tom Schneider, and youngster Joel Scholtes.
Scholtes has had a solid start to the season, named in the best in the first two games.
Traralgon coach Jake Best heaped praise on Scholtes, as well as his troops for the way in which they fought out the game in trying conditions.
“He’s up from Under 18s from Gippsland Power, he’s super clean, really good by foot, he’s fitted into our backline really well,” Best said of Scholtes.
“We felt like we had the game on our terms, we just couldn’t capitalise (in the first half).
“I wasn’t too concerned (by the repeated misses on goal), it wasn’t like they were easy shots.
“In the third we were able to capitalise, and were really clean in the wet, we used the conditions a bit better, just got it forward, didn’t stuff around with it, got it direct.
“I thought it was going to be a massive slog, Maffra with their bigger bodies and we know they are a really good side, they still have some really good players, they are playing a lot of kids, but they have a lot of matchwinners still, when it started to pour with rain in the seconds game it was going to suit them, so I was really happy with how our boys really stood up to the conditions.”
Kade Renooy played well for Maffra, as did Alex Carr, Danny Butcher, Ed Carr, James Huts and James Read playing his 150th senior game.
Read played his first senior game as a top age thirds player in 2012. When he played his 100th senior game in 2017, it was generally accepted he was the youngest to ever reach that milestone for Maffra.
HALLOWEEN came early for Morwell.
The Tigers survived an almighty scare against Drouin, eventually winning 14.15 (99) to 14.7 (91).
Boyd Bailey won’t forget his first official win as senior coach in a hurry, after kicking the sealing goal late in the piece at Morwell Recreation Reserve.
With the game in the balance, Bailey slotted a major to give the home side an eight-point lead. The breathing space then allowed them to play the game out.
Before that, the Tigers and Hawks played out a very open first quarter that saw nine goals kicked in the first 20 minutes.
The start belied the wet weather across Gippsland for the weekend, but as Morwell missed any torrential downpours, both teams were still afforded some opportunity to play a gun-ho style.
Things tightened up after the first break. Drouin took a two-point lead into the main break; Morwell wrestled some advantage back, heading into the last five points the better.
With the stage set for a grandstand finish, both teams fought to the end, adding two goals each in the final term.
The Tigers however had twice as many scoring shots, in a classic game where momentum ebbed and flowed.
The margin did not get out to more than 15 points for the entire game.
Bailey was among the best players, along with Brandon McDonald, who’s seven goals helped Morwell immensely.
The efforts of Cody Macdonald, Aidan Quigley, Adam Braendler and Zac Anderson were also telling.
Despite leaving it a bit too close for comfort, Bailey was pleased in his side’s ability to close the game out.
“A little bit of a scare for us … in the end we were just happy to get the four points, especially this year with the way the league is, I don’t think you can afford to drop too many games, it is too tight a competition,” he said speaking the day after the match.
“We probably had a few lapses which hurt us, simple skill errors, when we were playing well our footy was good, it was just doing it consistently.”
While most neutral observers would have predicted an easy Morwell win, the performances of Drouin so far this season suggest the Hawks will provide more than adequate opposition this season.
Bailey reported the Hawks have increased their depth with some handy players, making them a “solid” opposition.
Unfortunately from Drouin’s perspective, they have lost their first two games by under a goal, and given the fact they maxed out on their player points last weekend, the team they rolled out could well be the strongest it is ever going to get.
Kye Quirk was best on ground for the Hawks, followed by Hugo Birks, Will Papley, Aden Quirk, Jarrod Marshall and Tom Evans.
Onto the big one now – Traralgon v Morwell under lights this Saturday in Traralgon.
MOE destroyed Warragul.
The Lions only allowed the Gulls to score one goal, on their way to a commanding 15.16 (106) to 1.3 (9) victory at Western Park.
It was the lowest Round 2 score in Gippsland League history.
The Gulls went into the match with only Sam Whibley as their recognised ruckman. Moe took advantage of this, getting well on top in the midfield, evidenced by the fact three on-ballers were listed as the best three players. Riley Baldi, Lucas Forato and Ben Danniher taking those honours.
After a tight start, the Lions eventually took control, kicking 7.3 (45) to no score in the second term.
It was more of the same after the main break. The Guls did not score in the third quarter, as Moe stretched their lead to 65 points by the last change.
The Lions got the lead close to triple figures, eventually settling on a percentage boosting 95 point victory.
While defence may have been resolute, Moe coach Declan Keilty believed midfield dominance was key to keeping Warragul to just one behind in the second half.
“To be fair, I think our midfield was a big part of that, the defence through the midfield was really good,” he said.
“They probably had less than half of the inside 50 than we had, that’s a credit to our forwards and our midfield.”
Matt Barrand kicked three goals, while others to play well were Brock Smith and Nick Prowse.
Sean Masterson was best for Warragul, followed by James Davison, Whibley, Cooper Alger, Brad Hefford and Jed Lamb.
Interestingly, Keilty, more noted for his work in defence, actually kicked six goals this round 10 years ago for Moe.
Although a return to the forward line looks unlikely, the coach said early season signs were promising.
“We had a pretty good team, healthy list which always helps, reserve boys did a great job as well, good day for us,” he said.
Speaking of good days, there are surely plenty in Warraugl over summer. It looks like a nice place to play cricket.
