FOOTBALL
GIPPSLAND LEAGUE
By LIAM DURKIN
NO major surprises came out of Round 6 of the Gippsland League, as all Latrobe Valley sides recorded wins.
With one-third of the regular season now complete, the competition will enter a split round for Round 7.
Traralgon is in action this weekend, hosting Wonthaggi, while Warragul welcomes Maffra to Western Park.
Given the colder months are approaching, teams have also likely turned one eye to navigating the upcoming grind.
With seemingly every second person sick at the moment, the last thing any coach can afford is to have half their squad unavailable through illness, so the next fortnight appears as good a time as ever for players to get their flu shots.
Morwell 7.8 (50) def Maffra 7.5 (47)
STILL more questions than answers for Morwell.
The Tigers avoided double déjà vu against Maffra, winning by three points on the road, 7.8 (50) to 7.5 (47).
Remarkably, it was the same margin but opposite result from the last time the two sides met in Round 14 last year.
The visitors had to dig deep in the second half, after going into the sheds faced with a 17 point deficit.
In what turned out to be a classic ‘game of two halves’, Morwell kicked four goals to one after the break.
Not for the first time, the Eagles stifled scoring by dropping both wingers back. Maffra employed the same tactic against Moe a couple of years ago, backing their leg speed to try and catch teams on the rebound.
While part of the plan worked at the weekend, it also meant Morwell generally had loose players scattered across the ground.
The Tigers were therefore able to chip the ball around, especially when the game needed to be killed late. Amazingly, there was 66 marks between the two teams in the final quarter.
Morwell survived a few nervous moments late, especially when the ball trickled out the back toward Maffra’s goal, only to bounce into the post at the 19 minute mark.
That made the margin three points, and scores remained unchanged until the final siren sounded.
Zac Anderson had some big moments late for the visitors, controlling tempo and nailing a crucial holding the ball on the edge of attacking 50.
Relief was evident by the body language of Morwell players, while equally, frustration clearly showed for Maffra’s Tom Scott, who hurled his mouth guard to the ground.
Scott was among the Eagles’ best, along with the returning Danny Butcher in his first game for the season. Fellow veteran James Read also played well, as did Archer Watt, Jonathan Boyd and Jack McQuillen, who took some timely contested grabs and slotted two goals.
Aidan Quigley was best for Morwell, followed by Boyd Bailey, Isaac Abas, Sam Walsh, Burkeley Macfarlane and Brandon McDonald, who kicked three goals in his 100th senior game.
Always one to play with maximum intent, be it football or cricket, McDonald (who reportedly devours feedback and information), has been a consistent goal-kicker for the Tigers over the years.
The win was timely for Morwell, who moved back into the top five as a result.
The Tigers had lost their last three games, albeit all by less than two goals against predicted finalists Traralgon, Wonthaggi and Leongatha.
By the same token however, a three-point win over Maffra won’t exactly go down as convincing, which could leave Morwell with much to ponder over the break.
Moe 15.14 (104) def Sale 10.10 (70)
THANKFULLY for Sale, they still have Will Leslie.
Had he not played, Moe forward Ben Crocker may well have doubled his final tally of eight goals.
The Lions broke away from a determined Sale at Ted Summerton Reserve, winning 15.14 (104) to 10.10 (70).
Moe maintained its scoring spree of recent weeks, cracking the ton for the fourth week in a row.
Such a return was somewhat contradictory to how the game was played, with the ball spending a great deal of time between the arcs.
Once the Lions got inside 50 however, they made the most of their opportunities, especially late once it was clear the Magpies had run their race.
Weight of numbers eventually wore Sale down, although the visitors were well and truly in with a show right up until three quarter time.
“It wasn’t supposed to be this close,” one motivated Magpie player quipped.
Sale’s prime movers in Jack McLaren and Shannen Lange influenced the game greatly in the first half, but much like Final Furlong in the arcade, simply ran out of carrots.
Moe kicked five goals to one in the third term, one of which came via a 100 metre penalty, giving Lions defender and skipper Brock Smith his first goal for the season.
Lange and Moe midfielder Myles Poholke also shared verbal barbs on the three quarter time siren, with money being an audible topic of discussion.
Sale fought the game out admirably, but there was simply no denying Crocker.
He kicked an insane checkside set shot in front of the now appropriately named ‘China Rowlings Can Bar’, turning to the appreciative crowd.
The late China Rowlings was given a huge send off on the Monday before the match, and a sign denoting the bar where he spent many Saturday’s now proudly hangs.
Crocker followed with a gather and snap from the opposite side a short time later, making for another productive afternoon.
Best players for the winners were Alex Dijkstra, Nathan Scagliarini, Scott van Dyk, Gary Moorcroft (aka Trent Baldi), Jacob Balfour and Tom Murphy.
Both sides had young debutants who acquitted themselves well. Paul Gatpan played his first senior game as a bottom-aged thirds player for Moe, while fourths player Archer Gerrand was named in the best for Sale.
Will Leslie was an obvious best-on for the Magpies, and was joined by McLaren, Jack Leslie, Lange and Jarrod Freeman.
After making the Grand Final three years ago, the cruel reality of the footy cycle has set upon Sale.
Just seven players from the 2022 decider played at the weekend, and not many would have predicted the Magpies to now be sitting second-last on the ladder with a win-loss record of 1-5.
For first-placed Moe meanwhile, if ever there was a reflection of how much a premiership means to those lucky enough to experience one for the Lions, it was surely seen at China Rowlings’ funeral.
Of the three people who spoke, one of them was from the 1991 thirds flag China coached.
Traralgon 28.15 (183) def Drouin 8.10 (58)
TRARALGON smacked Drouin.
The reigning premier did as expected against a hapless Hawks, posting 28.15 (183) to 8.10 (58).
Traralgon slammed on 10 goals to one in the opening term, and added a further seven to go into the dogbox change rooms ahead by 85 points.
A dozen players got on the scorecard for the winners. Dylan Loprese slotted seven and Tye Hourigan six, while Liam Willaton, Tristen Waack, Luis D’Angelo and Kade Ruyters were all busy.
Seb Amoroso, Ben Braiser, Riley Wierzbicki and the Quirk boys, Caleb, Aden and Kye, battled manfully for Drouin.
Leongatha 15.14 (104) def Wonthaggi 9.3 (57)
IN other games, South Gippsland clubs Leongatha and Wonthaggi recorded victories.
The Parrots led Warragul at every change to win 15.14 (104) to 9.3 (57).
Jenson Garnham kicked five for the winners, and was helped by Ben Harding, Luke Bowman, Aaron Heppell, Cade Maskell and Travis Nash.
Sean Masterson and his man bun were prominent for Warragul, as was Riley Senini, Isaac Wallace, Sam Whibley, Alby Phillips and Tom Hobbs.
Wonthaggi 13.9 (87) def Bairnsdale 6.7 (43)
WONTHAGGI held off Bairnsdale.
The Redlegs, making what is believed to be the longest road trip in country Victoria, were only eight points down at the main break, before travel fatigue set in.
Power midfielder Ryan Sparkes was best in the win, kicking five goals.
Others to rack up touches were Kaj Patterson, Harry Dawson, Jarryd Blair, Ethan Dickison and Jasper Stone.
Wonthaggi was again without Jye Gilmour, who was spotted in a moonboot. The midfielder was leading the league’s MVP after Round 4, but has not played since.
Will Mitchell, Ricky Tatnell, Hugh Longbottom, Josh Lando, Ethan East and Cooper Harvey collected the plaudits for Bairnsdale.
Not to let a near three-hour trip get the better of them, the Redlegs arranged to make a weekend of it, booking rooms at the North Pier pub in Cowes.
That a match between the two most geographically opposed teams was played on the same week Wonthaggi was linked to a potential move to the West Gippsland Competition gave rise to a conversation that could be put on repeat every five or so years.
Adding another layer to the story, the Power celebrated 20 years as a merged entity on Saturday night (Wonthaggi Blues and Wonthaggi Rovers combined in 2005). Part of the Power’s history saw them move from the now defunct Alberton League to Gippsland League at the start of the 2010s, much the same as Bairnsdale, who moved from East Gippsland to the major league around the same time.
Wonthaggi has confirmed it is committed to the Gippsland League.
However, it is understood West Gippsland has grand plans to become the Number 1 league east of Melbourne, and would presumably target clubs like Wonthaggi, Pakenham and Beaconsfield to fulfil this vision.
