FOOTBALL

NORTH GIPPSLAND

By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT

 

TTU 12.15 (87) def YYN 4.5 (29)

THE Bombers are one win away from history.

Traralgon Tyers United defeated Yallourn Yallourn North in the North Gippsland Football-Netball League second semi-final at the weekend in a statement 12.15 (87) to 4.5 (29) bashing to advance to the Grand Final.

The reigning premier locked in their third successive Grand Final slot, and now sit in the driver’s seat to capture back-to-back senior premierships for the first time in the club’s history.

For either side running out onto Sale City’s Stephenson Park, it was understood there would be some added factors – with heavy winds carrying over from the last fortnight.

After a significant and down-to-the-wire finish against Woodside the week prior, YYN entered the game with all the confidence in the world that they could knock off the minor premier.

Rolling over from their weeks of steady and fine performance, the Jets got the jump on TTU, fronting their opponent directly with no faze and beating them on the way to leading 3.2 (20) to 1.2 (8) following a Dean MacDonald goal past the midway point of the first quarter.

It looked as though on-lookers were ready for another close affair between the two sides before disaster struck for YYN.

Following what would eventually be YYN’s penultimate goal of the entire day, the ball was thrown up, only for the Jets’ ruckman Ben Morrow to fall to the ground.

Play was halted for well over 10 minutes while Morrow was stretchered off with an apparent season-ending knee injury.

A shocking and unexpected occurrence left the YYN group rocked and forced magnets to shift across the board to accommodate and combat a TTU unit ready to pounce.

Adding to that, YYN captain MacDonald also exited the ground holding his arm and did not return.

The Bombers now sensed it was their time to lift.

TTU nail the next two goals into the extended opening term to conclude the term tied 20-all.

Jacob Albanese gave the Bombers their first lead since the first few minutes of the match, and was then followed by James Jacobsen out the back of the pack that began a dominant quarter.

Unable to break anything down the line, the Jets were stopped in their tracks by a hungry and dangerous TTU unit, with their success during this stretch only hindering YYN’s energy across the ground and lifting the prevailing side’s spirits.

Following the Morrow incident, TTU scored the next seven goals up to halftime, and placed themselves in a favourable 8.4 (52) to 3.2 (20) position.

As the game ran further and further into the afternoon, it would have been presumed the powerful breeze would inevitably mellow, only it got worse.

The wind intensified and turned the game even more so into a close-quarters affair.

YYN attempted to crash and bash their way back into the game, however, they were still fighting through what Mother Nature had stamped on this game, and despite maintaining a majority of the ball in the opening stretch of the second half, still couldn’t complete their efforts.

The Jets were still challenged heavily along the defensive 50, which limited their ability to see consistent and clean build-up.

No major score was seen up until past the 18-minute mark of the third term, with YYN’s Lachlan Rees slotting a 25-metre drop punt from a slight angle to give the Jets some lift and reward for their push.

Three quarter time came, and while YYN held TTU goalless during the term, they couldn’t do enough to close the gap and still faced a 31-point deficit.

Resuming, YYN was left to simply chip away at TTU’s lead, to give them something to conclude in preparation for a possible rematch should they win the Preliminary Final against Woodside this weekend.

The Jets won the opening centre bounce of the final quarter, managing another forward entry, but could only muster another behind.

Almost as quickly as the ball went through, TTU carried the ball with ease through the centre and linking seamlessly, ending in another Jacobsen goal for his third of the day.

The Bombers added a further three goals to finish in strong form.

Michael Jacobsen was awarded best afield for the winners, followed by ruckman Frazar Brouns (two goals), William Curtain, Guy Sinclair, Albanese (two) and Trent Hourigan.

Jai Massese stood tall in defeat, followed by Dylan Brooks, Darcy Shellcot, Mitch Luck (who was swung into the ruck), Riley Byrne and Callum Robertson.

The siren went, cars tooted, but the TTU players remained blank.

Shaking hands with daps to their teammates, this was only the first step to their goal – that’s only one game down before they can truly celebrate.

 

Woodside 13.11 (89) def Heyfield 3.6 (24)

WOODSIDE stay alive.

The Wildcats ended Heyfield’s season in the most serious of ways, 13.11 (89) to 3.6 (24) in the North Gippsland Football-Netball League first semi-final.

Played out at Glengarry, wind was even more ferocious than what was on display in Saturday’s TTU versus YYN contest, but Woodside withstood that deterrence to run home clear winners.

Little dents were seen on the scoreboard during the opening term, with midfielders tussling about and difficulty shown extending the ball marginally forward afield.

The Kangaroos managed to lay the opening punch, giving them the boosted confidence they needed.

The first quarter concluded, through all its turbulence, with Heyfield ahead 1.2 (8) to 0.1 (1).

That was a far cry from the Kangaroos opening quarter blitz of eight goals to nothing against Sale City the week prior in the Elimination Final.

The Wildcats ignited themselves after the quarter time break, nailing the opening three goals of the second term, pushing them ahead by 12 points.

Finishing with the final three goals of the first half, penetrating the ball through the constant wind, Woodside entered the main break with a comfortable, yet only building, 6.4 (40) to 2.3 (15) lead.

Resuming after halftime, the match could have taken one of two turns. Either Woodside continued to put their foot on the accelerator and extend their margin past the point of return – automatically booking themselves a rematch against YYN in the Preliminary Final, or Heyfield rise above, and through a season of many ebbs and flows, prove that they are still a force and worthy of the group of sides listed above them on the ladder.

The Kangaroos did all they could coming out for the second half, and possibly their final hour of football for the year, aggressively attacking and desperately trying to expose weakness in the experienced Woodside group.

Heyfield could only put through minor scores, while Woodside turned around in a few goes sent through goals that broke the Kangaroos spirit.

Outscoring their opponents three goals to none and pushing their margin to 45 points at the final change, considering the conditions and an otherwise for the ages comeback, Woodside only had next week to look forward to at this point.

Despite the dominance and sizeable victory, Woodside only featured four individual goal scorers, with Jai Williams the main attractions with a bag of seven. Daniel Farmer (three goals) and Michael O’Sullivan (two) also kicked multiples.

Mark Collison continued an exceptional finals run with a second consecutive best-on-ground for the Wildcats, followed by Cameron Whiteoak, Ryan Foat, Rowan Missen, Williams and Joshua Morgan.

Thomas Marchesi performed admirably in defeat for Heyfield, supported by Kail Hole, Robert McMillan, Marcus Sundermann, Brayden Woodland and Max Van Der Zwart.