LIAM DURKIN
FOOTBALL
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
By LIAM DURKIN
TALK about it being tight at the top.
There is four teams equal-first on the Gippsland League ladder after 12 rounds.
With two-thirds of the season now complete, Leongatha, Wonthaggi, Moe and Traralgon occupy places one to four, each with a 10-win, two-loss record, and each separated only by percentage.
IT pays to have connections.
You could have used the word ‘best’ four times in one sentence at Terry Hunter Oval, Traralgon last Saturday.
Arguably the best forward in the competition, Brett Eddy, kicked 11 goals for Traralgon in a best-on-ground display, the same Eddy who is best mates with the Maroons’ coach, who ironically, carries the last name – wait for it – Best.
Jake Best took his Traralgon outfit to equal-first on the ladder, after the Maroons demolished Maffra by a near triple-figure margin, 23.17 (155) to 9.5 (59).
While Eddy was productive inside 50, for a game played on a freezing cold day in the Latrobe Valley, to see more than 30 goals kicked perhaps returned the biggest talking point.
Speaking of goals, the home side banged through nine in a destructive first quarter, while their opponents registered just two behinds.
From there, the game was as good as gone, and Traralgon went on their merry way.
While the Eagles managed six goals of their own in the second, their wings had well and truly been clipped, and the Maroons were never in serious danger of losing.
The margin bled out to 67 points at three quarter time, and by the time the final siren sounded, Eddy had entered the record books for the equal second-best individual goal tally for a Round 12 game.
Wonthaggi’s Murray Silver and Sale’s Matt Ferguson each kicked 12 in 2004 and 2011 against Moe and Warragul respectively.
Eddy catapulted himself from third to first on the league goal-kicking table, overtaking the Power’s Cooper McInnes. The Traralgon key forward is now four goals clear with 45 to his name.
As well as Eddy, Billy Schilling kicked five goals to gain a mention in the best. Luis D’Angelo, Connor Ambler, Hugh Dunbar and Mark Collison in his 150th game for Traralgon, also did a good job.
Better players for Maffra were Sam Davidson, Kade Renooy, Brayden Monk, James Read, Sam Robbins and Daniel Bedggood, who kicked four goals.
In a situation that would have only been fanciful a handful of years ago, the Eagles are just one-and-a-half games off the bottom of the ladder.
Granted the football cycle catches up with every team, given Maffra’s domination for the best part of the last 20 years, to see them potentially claim the wooden spoon is surely something a lot of modern day players and coaches never thought they would see.
GOOD thing manual scoreboards are a thing of the past.
The wind was so strong at Morwell on Saturday it would have sent the aluminium numbers flying through the air.
Actually, the wind was so strong at Morwell on Saturday the current electronic scoreboard did actually go out during the second quarter.
And at one stage during the final term, the goal posts looked as though they were literally going to topple over.
Morwell and Moe both braved freezing conditions, in a game that never reached great heights.
Both clubs also had their midseason balls after the match. The Lions however were the only team to take a win to the festivity, getting up 11.13 (79) to 6.7 (43).
The visitor’s started strongly, with 11 scoring shots to two in the first term.
From there the tone was set, and the game meandered out as it more-or-less became a case of surviving the elements.
Morwell was held goalless in the first half, but mounted a mini-comeback in the third to find themselves 30 points down and in with a sneaky chance at three quarter time.
Moe however kicked the first goal of the last term inside the first minute, to effectively kill off any Morwell momentum.
That momentum may well have been extinguished just before three quarter time, when the Tigers looked certain to score a goal, only for the Lions to shoot the ball down the other end and land the killer blow.
Some excellent work from Moe defender Scott van Dyk saw him win the ball back after a Stephen Milne-like bounce in the goal square evaded a Morwell player. The ball found its way into the hands of Harri Sim, who kicked one of his four goals for the game.
The half forward was best-on for the victor’s and is enjoying a good season, averaging ‘in the best’ every second week. With 19 goals to his name, the most by a genuine half forward in the competition, one would hope those choosing team of the year pick players in the actual positions they play.
Fellow forward Harry Pepper also took his season goal tally to 19, while Brock Smith showed his versatility, moving from back to midfield. Smith’s cleanliness at ground level stood out, while conditions were tailor-made for Lion’s skipper Jacob Wood.
Left-footer Jordan Ceppi was serviceable, as was defender Tom Long, who attempted to do as his name suggested late in the game, sending a torpedo with the help of the cyclone wind behind him heading toward the entrance.
In a nice touch, brothers Justin and Tyler Morrow played their first senior game together in the maroon and blue. Taking in various injuries and other interruptions, it was Tyler’s first senior game for Moe since 2018.
They were joined by cousin Ben Morrow in the match, alongside Lucas Fry playing his first senior game for the season. The four made up the starting interchange to some amusement, as Fry has become known as an ‘unofficial’ Morrow.
While Moe took the four points, they also took nearly just as many casualties, one of which was Ben Morrow, who hobbled off in the second half.
Playing-coach Declan Keilty also left the field, as did Tyler Pratt.
Keilty proved he is human, getting caught holding the ball by Brandon Mcauliffe, who was listed in the best for Morwell.
Dan Musil, Burkeley Macfarlane, Brandon McDonald (four goals), coach Boyd Bailey, and Josh Galea against his old side, all played well for the Tigers.
Popular clubman Tyler Hillier notched up his 100th senior match in the yellow and black, and will now get his photo on the clubroom wall for his efforts.
SALE took a massive stride toward securing a finals berth.
The Magpies were too strong for Bairnsdale on Sunday, winning 19.12 (126) to 6.10 (46).
The result means Sale is now two games clear inside the top five with six rounds to play.
While a Sunday road trip to Bairnsdale might not have been the most enticing thing for spectators, as far as Sale officials were concerned, it was every bit as important as a marquee Saturday fixture.
Sale had lost to the Redlegs in a surprise result earlier the season, and would have no doubt been eager to demonstrate such a result was not a true reflection of their standing in the Gippsland League.
The Magpies proved this by not only winning, but doing so comfortably, to the tune of 80 points.
Both teams traded blows in the first quarter, with the home side having more scoring shots, before the visitor’s kicked away in the second.
Sale blew the game open after the first break, kicking six goals to two to take a 31-point lead into the sheds.
It was more of the same in the third, with five goals to two in favour of the Magpies, and again in the last, with five goals to one.
The Magpies had a good spread of goal-kickers.
Former skipper Jordan Dessent highlighted with four, while midfielders Shannen Lange and Jack Johnstone showed their ability to impact the scoreboard, kicking seven between them.
Lange and Dessent found themselves among the best players, as did Will Leslie, Harry Ronchi, Hudson Holmes and Jarrod Freeman.
Best for Bairnsdale was Will Mitchell, Ethan East, Jamie Dore, Nic Bulmer, Logan Austin and Lachlan Byrne-Jones.
THUNDERBOLT and lightning, very, very frightening.
Wonthaggi Power made it nine wins in a row after defeating Leongatha.
The match-of-the-round between one and two turned out to be a low-scoring grind, which the home team won 6.13 (49) to 4.8 (32).
While all teams in the top four have traded wins against each other, Wonthaggi is the only side that has beaten all three (Leongatha, Moe and Traralgon).
WARRAGUL might just have avoided the wooden spoon.
The Gulls defeated local rival Drouin 11.4 (70) to 8.10 (58) on Sunday.
The home side put a difficult few weeks behind them to win their first game since Round 4.
Smithers: Brock Smith was among the best for Moe during the Lions’ win over Morwell. Photograph: Julie Sim
