TOM HAYES
FOOTBALL
NORTH GIPPSLAND
By TOM HAYES
AS we edge ever-closer to finals, we finally have daylight between fifth and sixth position, but that shouldn’t suggest that the race is over yet.
One side put its foot down and took a better grip of the competition, while others survived scares to keep its season rolling.
YES, you guessed it, Traralgon Tyers United are still undefeated.
The Bombers claimed its 12th win of the season with an impressive win on the road over Woodside.
Going into the game, it was clear the travelling to Woodside has not been the easiest task this year, as the Wildcats were yet to drop points on its home deck.
But Woodside was yet to face the beast that is TTU.
The Bombers stamped its authority on the game early and managed to hold off a late fight-back from the Wildcats to confirm another four points.
A fast start helped the cause, as the Bombers kicked 4.3 (27) to 2.2 (14) in the first term to hold an early advantage.
The second term separated the two even more, as TTU added another three majors, while the Wildcats doubled its total.
Thus, at the main break the Bombers led by 22 points, comfortably in control and in the box seat to continue its run.
Things got interesting in the third term, when the Wildcats provided some fight.
The home side kicked 5.2 (32) to the Bombers’ 3.4 (22), dragging the margin back down to two goals, and with a quarter to play, the game was still well-and-truly up in the air.
But, the visiting side would re-establish its dominance to ensure its undefeated record stayed intact, winning the last quarter and most importantly the game, 13.17 (95) to 11.6 (72).
TTU’s Brad Kelleher kept his good form in front of goal rolling, with four majors, while Woodside’s Michael O’Sullivan also added four to his tally.
Frazar Brouns was named as TTU’s best on, and was complimented by Liam Willaton, Jake Cashmore, Kade Duncan, Zach Kilgower and Thomas Fleming.
While for the home side, captain Ryan Foat, Michael Stockdale, Josh Kennedy, Lee Stockdale, Matt Dyke and O’Sullivan were impressive in defeat.
The Bombers now have breathing room at the top of the ladder, two wins clear of Woodside in second.
You would just about expect TTU to remain unbeaten for the rest of the season from here on in, as they prepare to be fit and firing for finals.
The Bombers’ will take a rest this weekend, leaving them with four weeks of games in the run into finals, while Woodside should be a winner again next week when they travel to the Boneyard to face Gormandale.
THE Jets have responded.
After its loss to Woodside in the previous week, Yallourn Yallourn North put that aside to knock off an in-form Yarram outfit.
The Demons were coming off the back of an impressive 39-point win over Churchill, and would’ve been full of confidence as they travelled to Yallourn North.
But, YYN are most certainly on a mission to confirm its finals presence, and it looks more and more likely that it will be a possibility.
The Jets started confidently with a 14-point advantage at quarter time – they kept the Demons to the one scoring shot.
Perhaps the wind played some affect in the second term, and throughout the rest of the game, as YYN compiled a plethora of chances in the second quarter.
The margin could have been much worse for the Demons, but the Jets were able to add 5.7 (37) to Yarram’s two goals straight and the margin edged closer to 40 points at the main break.
YYN displayed perfectly how to hit the scoreboard without allowing the opponents to make an impact on the game, as they steadily increased the margin on the scoreboard, all while keeping Yarram to a minimal impact.
The Jets added 4.2 (26) to two behinds in the third term, before closing out the win in style with another 4.6 (30) to a goal in the final term, closing out the 87-point win, 16.17 (113) to 4.2 (26).
Keenan Hughes and Dylan Keyhoe were prominent in front of goal with four goals each, spurring their side towards victory, as did the other five goal scorers.
Anthony Young, Luke Summersgill, Jai Massese, Dylan Bath, Blake Julin and Kyle Jennings were the best for the winners.
Yarram games-record holder Chris Bruns, Griffin Underwood, Daniel Vardy, Dylan Garnham, Liam Bentley and Kiefer Sutherland were stand-outs for the Demons in a tough defeat.
The Jets move up into four, and with that comes some more comfortability, while Yarram are still outside of the finals race, yet sit one win behind Heyfield, who won’t make it easy to pass them.
CHURCHILL survived a scare in Rosedale.
Lessons were learnt during the week as the Cougars looked to find a way back from its loss to Yarram in the weekend prior.
The Cougars remain focussed on being in the hunt, because anything can happen when finals comes around.
Rosedale weren’t going to shy away in the gusty conditions, and they stuck right with Churchill throughout most of the game, making it as hard as possible for them.
Fireworks were present during the game, as some extra fire found its way onto the field when tempers flared between the two sides.
The Blues did the best that they could to take advantage of the wind by kicking to the advantageous end in the opening term, and they managed to take a one-point lead into quarter time.
But Churchill were unable to take full advantage of it either in the second term, as the wind began to shift towards the wing, making simple kicks harder to pull off for both sides, it was stoppages-galore.
The Cougars took a five-point lead into the major change, and managed to keep the lead into the final change after a very tight third term, this time by just four points.
A blockbuster final term was set up, but Churchill had the wind behind them and this time they took full advantage of it.
Churchill put the game to bed in style, kicking 7.5 (47) to nothing to complete the 51-point win.
The loss for Rosedale doesn’t quite show how they played throughout the day, but Churchill flexed its muscles in the final term, as the players’ fitness paid off.
Father-son duo Brendan and Kurt Holt kicked four goals each, while Joel Mason also added four for the Cougars.
Bailey Flanigan was brave in the ruck but rallied throughout the day to claim best-on-ground honours.
The Holt boys, Jordan Fenech, Andy Phelan and Jarrod Henderson were also recognised for their efforts.
In defeat, captain Riley Atlee, Declan Barnett, Luke Lewis, Spencer Fox, Luke Stuckey and Hayden Bell were Rosedale’s most prominent figures.
The Cougars are cushioned in third spot, a win behind Woodside and two wins clear of YYN in fourth, with finals almost confirmed.
HEYFIELD returned and left it until late.
The Kangaroos were fresh off of the bye and hosted Glengarry, but the Magpies, like Rosedale to Churchill, did not make things easy early on.
Heyfield led by just a point at quarter time, in a low scoring affair that saw a goal to either side.
The lead grew to nine points by half time, but scoring was still hard to come by as conditions made it difficult to move the ball up and down the field.
Heyfield began to make a move in the second half, kicking another two goals, but also missing some chances to take a bigger lead with five behinds, and with a three-goal lead up its sleeve, Heyfield could take it home from here.
And simply, they did just that.
The Kangaroos kicked away with conviction in the final term, kicking 9.3 (57) to 1.1 (7) to blow the lead out to 67 points before the final siren was rung, 14.14 (98) to 4.7 (31).
Kyle Graham, Liam Heasley, Alex Coleman, Mitchell Bennett (game-high four goals), Brayden Woodland and Robert McMillan were the best for the winners.
Mitch Harris, Callum Mitchell, Jesse Lee, Spencer Poulton, Cassidy Bartley and Alex Birmingham displayed their class in defeat for Glengarry.
It was a disappointing result for Glengarry as the scoreboard didn’t properly reflect its effort and ability to stay in the game for as long as they did.
Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t the first time they haven’t showed up in the last quarter, because they have been in the mix on multiple occasions and like to give teams a scare.
Heyfield hold onto fifth, a win clear of Yarram in sixth, and with the Cougars up next week, they could begin to extend on that gap.
SALE City eased to victory over Gormandale.
The Bulldogs weren’t going to take it easy on the Tigers and they made sure of that from the get-go.
Sale City started tame, but still took a 25-point lead into the first break, already scoring enough to beat Gormandale’s final score.
Another four-goal term saw the lead grow over 50 points, as the Bulldogs led by 53 at half time, all while keeping Gormandale goalless for the quarter.
They did the same in the third, but this time kicking 6.4 (40) to one behind, getting to triple figures with 30 minutes to play.
Gormandale had their best period of play in the final term, kicking 2.2 (14), yet Sale City were just that bit better, kicking 3.6 (24) to see the margin over 100 points.
The Bulldogs taking the 102-point win, 17.22 (124) to 3.4 (22).
Benjamin Brett and Mitchell Evans led the way up front for Sale City with four majors each, while six others added to the goal tally.
Cameron Green was the most prominent player on the field, and was complimented by Chad Evans, Brett, Blake Safstrom, Sam Dean and Jaxsyn Whitehill.
Kodie Owne, Isaac Copland (two goals), Liam Deering, Jai Foulkes, Noah Copland and Ben Heath were the best for Gormandale.
COWWARR had the bye.
