FOOTBALL

GIPPSLAND LEAGUE

By LIAM DURKIN

 

WHILE results might not have indicated it, there was much more to Round 14 of the Gippsland League than scores would have pundits believe.

This was especially the case for the Latrobe Valley trio.

Traralgon did well to lose its game, and Morwell did well to lose by as much as it did. Moe’s near 100-point win meanwhile was far from flawless, as ridiculous as that sounds.

The round was not without a subplot either, with the ‘local VFL player rule’ getting the green light in the lead up.

Dyson Heppell played for Leongatha at the weekend, although Riley Baldi had to miss for Moe due to Casey commitments.

Both will be available come finals time for their respective clubs following a long, at times bureaucratic saga regarding the fine print.

 

Warragul 13.9 (87) def Traralgon 13.8 (86)

YOU may want to hit Daryl Couling up for some Tatts numbers this week.

The TRFM commentator turned fortune teller predicted Warragul would defeat Traralgon by a solidary point at Western Park.

Sure enough, the Gulls prevailed 13.9 (87) to 13.8 (86).

It is not every day the crowd runs onto the ground to celebrate a home-and-away win.

It is not every day a team wins in this fashion either.

The Gulls, down by 19 points as the clock ticked into red time of the last quarter, pulled off what would have to be their best win in recent history to roll the reigning premier.

In a high-quality game of football between third and fourth, Warragul kicked three goals in five minutes to leave things all tied up with 90 seconds remaining.

Jordan Stewart, who ended the day with four goals, then registered his most important score with a behind to give the home side the lead.

As if it wasn’t St Kilda 1966 enough, there was a call from the commentary box for Warragul to “hit the boundary line”, just as Ted Whitten had cried in the dying seconds before the Saints one and only flag.

The Gulls had heroes with halos of their own on Saturday, well and truly coming from the clouds to snatch a most unlikely victory – and set up a possible path to the double chance in the process.

Warragul not only look all but certain to play finals this season for the first time since 2016, but could get there with immunity.

The Gulls are equal on points with Traralgon (36), who it must be said, have appeared underwhelming at times.

The Maroons have now lost to Maffra, Morwell and Warragul – teams most neutral observers have expected them to beat.

Conversely, three of their nine wins have been by less than a goal.

Traralgon had kicked 11 goals to three after quarter time at the weekend, before Warragul mounted its comeback.

The Gulls were still 12 points down at the 25 minute mark, and hadn’t looked like scoring.

A long-range effort from Tom Stern however at the train line end of the ground gave Warragul a sniff, and they decided to throw all their chips in.

Playing-coach, Jed Lamb sprinted forward, while the midfield of Will Hayes (of racing stable Ben, Will and JD Hayes notoriety), Tom Hobbs and man-mountain Sam Whibley rolled the dice.

The big dogs stepped up to the plate, with Hayes kicking a running goal after Hobbs bust through the middle.

With scores suddenly level, Hayes won the next centre clearance, and sent a mongrel punt inside 50.

Stewart was in the right place at the right time, and kicked his ultimately ‘more than handy point’.

Stewart, recruited to the Gulls this year from Pakenham, was among the best players.

While he is reportedly on a handsome wage, he wouldn’t have attracted much criticism postgame following such a performance.

Traralgon went hell for leather, sending a torpedo from the kick out.

The ball made it all the way inside 50, yet Warragul defender and assistant coach Sean Masterson – arguably in career-best form, capped off possibly the best game he has ever played, by out marking Traralgon counterpart, Dylan Loprese.
Not many do that by the way.

Masterson, long sleeves, hair tied up = safety.

The Warragul defence accepted many accolades for keeping their side in the contest following a blitzing first quarter.

The Gulls kicked six goals to two, before Traralgon worked their way back into the contest.
From the outset, the match had the makings of a classic.

“It’s going to be a great game boys, this will be a good one,” Couling declared halfway through the first term.

The game itself contained all a sports consumer could hope for.

It was tight, physical yet skilful, at times spiteful but by no means unsporting, backed up by good umpiring (as noted by the commentators) to keep the game moving.

Some byplay saw Stewart celebrate one of his goals by winding a pretend film camera in front of Traralgon’s Tristen Waack, in reference to his game day blogs.

Waack was best-on-ground for the Maroons, taking a number of telling marks around the ground.

The second quarter saw Traralgon dominate most facets, and it took Warragul until well after 10 minutes to even get the ball inside 50.

The Maroons had a couple of close shaves in front of goal, most notably when Cooper Brown found Jackson McMahon inside 50.

McMahon, who kicked a team-high three goals, very nearly made a meal of it after playing on, yet teammate Sam Hallyburton was able to snap through the major.

Tempers flared on the eve of halftime, with some push and shove leading to even the Warragul runner and Traralgon reserves coach, Trent Anderson storming the field.

Traralgon’s Luis D’Angelo called the players in and appeared very animated when making his address before heading into the rooms.

The Maroons outscored the Gulls in the third term, yet the home team well and truly showed they had more in their kitbag than simply the roughhouse tactics they’ve become known for under Lamb’s coaching.

Masterson left his opponent in his wake to stream forward and kick a telling goal, as Warragul kept nipping at Traralgon’s heals.

The Maroons conjured some magic up the train line end through a Liam Willaton banana on the run and a Harvey Neocleous set shot right up against the boundary.

Traralgon got out to a 17 point lead as early as the seven minute mark of the last term, and looked home and hosed for all money.

“Starting to get out of hand for Warragul,” Couling quipped.

The Gulls’ situation appeared hopeless after Masterson went down momentarily, yet he recovered in time to take a goal-saving mark amid a bombardment of inside 50s.
Halfway through the last term, this statistic read Traralgon 13 to Warragul five.

The Maroons were still near enough to 20 points up as red time approached, before Warragul stormed back into the game.

Connor Ambler, Tye Hourigan, Mitch Membrey and Jordan Cunico all played well for the visitors.

Despite the loss, it is unlikely Traralgon will be hitting the panic button. Coach Troy Hamilton has been in this situation many times before, with a team seemingly off the pace a month or so out from finals, before getting everything in order for the most important stage of the year.

Club favourite Joel Scholtes got through a full game in the reserves at the weekend, on the comeback from a shoulder injury that ruled him out of last year’s premiership.
Patrick Mulqueen was best for the winners, while fellow defender Lucas Carter played possibly his coming-of-age game.

The youngster, in his first year out from 18s, supported Masterson on countless occasions coming in third man up.

Hobbs and Whibley were also prominent, and the latter could be a problem for opposition ruckman come finals.

If you think Ben Willis is big, wait till you see Whibley.

The man mountain missed all of last season through injury, and given things naturally tighten up defensively in finals, Warragul might just hold the trump card.

Big men of his size are in small supply in country footy.

Sale officials still maintain the most important player they had during their 2022 Grand Final season was Mitch Thacker, even more so than Shannen Lange, Jack Johnstone and both Leslies.

It was said Brad Ottens was the first player picked for Geelong during their dynasty.

 

Moe 24.7 (151) def Drouin 8.9 (57)

IN case it wasn’t clear enough already, Moe will kick to Ben Crocker most times inside 50.

The former Collingwood and Adelaide player booted a bag of 10 in the Lions 24.7 (151) to 8.9 (57) win over Drouin.

His effort took his tally into the 70s for the season, and still with an outside chance of reaching triple figures.

More importantly for Moe however, the percentage-boosting win could lead the Lions to the minor premiership.

Taking to a lush Trafalgar Recreation Reserve, a venue some Moe players and supporters could have nearly walked to, the technical visitors opened with seven goals in the first quarter, and went on their way from there.

The game became somewhat subordinate, and by three quarter time, most were only interested in how many Crocker would end up with.

Drouin, much to their credit, refused to wave the white flag, and kicked three consecutive goals during the fourth term.

Such a run was enough for one disgruntled Lions supporter to shout “wake up Moe” from the Trafalgar bar, known to locals as ‘Bay Six and a Half’, in a slight sendup of the MCG’s Bay 13 (obviously 6.5 added together equals 13).

A 94-point margin therefore didn’t perhaps do Drouin justice, and watching on, it certainly didn’t feel like a near-100 point difference.

Joining Crocker in the best was Alex Dijkstra, Jacob Balfour (three goals), Scott van Dyk, Jaryn Makepeace and Myles Poholke, certainly a very long way from the Adelaide Oval.

Seb Amoroso was best for Drouin, followed by Kye Quirk, Max Williames, Zac McMillian, Peyton Saddington and Denver Lund.

Observing the Hawks walking off after the game, and in the social rooms as results were read out, they certainly appeared a tight-knit bunch.

If there has been any positives from playing away every week, club unity might be the one.

As a club who has experienced its share of tough times itself, Moe may certainly vouch for this.

Moe Foootball-Netball Club past president, life member and current senior timekeeper, Brad Law explained as much in a podcast with the author talking about the 1997 season that saw Moe routinely pummelled.

“They (the playing group) enjoyed it more off field than any other team because they all stuck together,” he said.

“You can’t get up for a belting of 150 points every week and not get something out of it. Those guys did, they got some lifelong friendships that I have no doubt have benefitted a lot of people.”

Drouin may hope to get more of out a new league, if its application to join the West Gippsland Competition is successful.

The Hawks were accepted by the West Gippsland Competition last week, following a vote of Hawks members.

However, the move is far from a formality, and one Drouin official even confided to this reporter they weren’t entirely confident of getting the go-ahead.

There are still plenty of hoops to jump through, not least the fact both AFL Victoria and AFL Gippsland need to tick off on the paperwork.

The Drouin club vote itself only attracted little more than a 50 person turnout – hardly grounds for an overwhelming majority.

Moe meanwhile now has not only a opposition but a venue to overcome.

The Lions play Sale this weekend at Sale Oval.

Moe has won just once at the venue since 2002, and last year lost to a Magpies outfit virtually picked in the pub.

 

Leongatha 12.12 (84) def Morwell 4.5 (29)

THEY are the most dangerous team in the competition for this very reason.

The Gennaro Gattuso press conference was needed again for Morwell, after the Tigers slumped to a 55-point loss against Leongatha, 12.12 (84) to 4.5 (29).

Morwell was sometimes good – just 10 points down at the main break; and often less than good – virtually not kicking a goal for the entire second half.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, it turned out to be a day where absolutely nothing went right.
Even the runner gave away a free kick.

That being said, it was arguable the scoreboard flattered the visitors, with the Parrots’ eventual eight goal final term reward for three quarters of dominance.

Even as early as quarter time, Leongatha could have been three goals in front, after two shots went out on the full, and Dyson Heppell opted to lay one off inside 50.

Perhaps most disappointingly for Morwell, they were beaten by what they knew.

Leongatha’s contested work has been their strength, even more so now most of the starting midfield are into their 30s.

Even on the audio, Leongatha players could clearly be heard saying “punch it out”, in order to force more stoppages, such was their want.

Most of the game was played near the boundary, and as such, the youthful Tigers were hardly able to generate any overlap or run to nullify their opponents.

Admittedly, it was a gloomy day in South Gippsland, and watching the live stream, looked like an unpleasant day for footy.

The atmosphere, or lack thereof, can sometimes dictate performance, and may have explained why both teams dropped a number of uncontested marks.
Even Heppell was a culprit in this department.

Put him on the MCG on Anzac Day however, and he isn’t dropping anything.

This is sometimes referred to as the ‘Colosseum effect’, where players perform at a higher standard when there are more eyes on them.

Whether or not this contributed to Morwell’s performance is debatable, yet one would hope a team playing for finals wouldn’t need a huge audience to play at a certain level.

Having watched the Tigers play like world beaters on the marquee Sunday game against Traralgon this season however, there could be much to be said of the theory.

Tiger highlights at the weekend were few and far between, yet a Josh Galea banana on the run ignited some early energy.

A goal to Cohen Campbell at the 14 minute mark of the second term ended up being Morwell’s last until after the final siren.

In the time between, the Tigers were let off the hook a few more times, with two Leongatha shots deep in the third term narrowly missing.

Morwell was still only 14 points down at the last break, but given the Parrots had registered 16 scoring shots to seven, the floodgates were perhaps ready to open.

Open they did. Leongatha scored four goals in the first nine minutes to run away with the match.

Aaron Heppell got the nod as best for the green and gold, followed by Luke Bowman, Jack Hume, Ben Harding, Ben Willis and Kim Drew.

The Parrots welcomed Tallin Brill and Justin Pellicano back into the side, although games record holder Sean Westaway had his leg heavily iced at three quarter time.

Aidan Quigley put in an honest stint for Morwell, as did Stephen Mills, Max Linton, Maclan McInnes, who kept Patrick Ireland to just two goals, Zac Anderson and Sam Walsh.

The Tigers were without leading forward Brandon McDonald due to concussion, but had Nathan Noblett in for his first senior game of the season.

There were fears the former VFL player would miss the season after injury his wrist during preseason.

Brandon Bailey also played in the reserves at the weekend, and could be another to return to the line-up.

His older brother and Tigers playing-coach, Boyd has surely reviewed the game thoroughly, and may have extracted a passage of play at the three-minute mark of the third term.

While it didn’t lead to a score, it showed Morwell slicing their way through the middle of the ground.

 

Wonthaggi 12.12 (84) def Sale 5.7 (37)

THE Magpies lost to Wonthaggi, who kept their finals hopes alive.

The Power swapped places with Morwell again for fifth on the ladder, after winning 12.12 (84) to 5.7 (37) at home.

Cooper McInnes kicked four goals for the winners, and was helped by Brodie Mabilia, Kaj Patterson, Josh Bates, Reeve Moresco and Jai Williams.

Best players for Sale were Cooper Whitehill, Tom Wrigglesworth, Derek Eggmolesse-Smith, Jack McLaren, Thomas Glenn and Harry Ronchi.

Sale superstar Shannon Lange injured his hamstring, and with just four weeks left and the Magpies not in finals contention, may put his feet up for the rest of the season.

Lange has been linked to Maffra, in a possible two-for-one deal with former Eagle Jack Johnstone, who is finishing up as Sale coach this year.

A Sale official however dismissed the rumour outright when quizzed by the Express, saying there was “absolutely no chance” either would be in a red and black jumper in 2026.

 

Maffra 13.10 (88) def Bairnsdale 10.14 (74)

RECORDING a morale-boosting win over Bairnsdale.

Maffra won a competitive game by 14 points, 13.10 (88) to 10.14 (74).

The home side finished strong, with four goals to one in the final quarter.

Best players for the winners were Alex Carr, Jett Killoran, Thomas Scott, Danny Butcher (who is set to play game number 150 this week), Jonathan Boyd and Andrew McKenzie.

Ethan East was best for Bairnsdale, and will likely win the club medal.

Others to play well for the Redlegs were Will Mitchll, Brayden McCarrey on return, Tom Blenheim, Lachlan Cloack and Tate Clay.