GIANTS BREAK LONG DROUGHT
A DEFIANT Geelong West coach Andrew Clark says his club has not achieved its goal yet, despite making GDFL finals for the first time since 1997.
The Giants showed no prefinals jitters, outclassing East Geelong at home on Saturday — 13.22 (100) to 7.6 (48) — to book an elimination final berth against Bannockburn this Sunday.
But despite the jubilant scenes in the West Oval club rooms post-match, Clark made it clear his club had not just made finals to make up the numbers.
“We spoke probably six weeks ago and said if we make finals, we’re not there just to finish fifth,” he said. “We want to be competitive and go as deep into it as we can.”
But there is some sense of relief and a weight off Clark’s shoulders as he composes himself ahead of the club’s biggest week in more than two decades.
“It’s been a hard week, as silly as that sounds,” he said.
“Just nervous, not so much for me but for the players and the club to get to this situation.
“If we had lost today, it would have been really gutwrenching to lose to Belmont (by one point) and East Geelong in two of the last three.
“I’m just really pleased for the supporters that were in there and a lot of the old blokes that have been here and haven’t seen finals in 20 years.”
Last year, the Giants finished sixth, with four losses under a kick denying them a top-five finish.
But Clark looks back at last season now content with how it all played out.
“In hindsight, it probably wasn’t a bad thing,” he said.
“To take a step from winning no games to making finals, there’s not much gap to improve. Missing finals, we knew we were close.
“We picked up a couple of blokes in the off-season and that’s been the difference.
“It’s sort of been a natural progression over the last two years.”
A Giants win was never threatened after quarter-time, with the home side posting five goals to one in the second term to open a comfortable gap.
Curtis Young (wing), Thomas McKay (midfield) and Mick Leamer (halfback) were all prolific for the Giants, while Scott Galloway was hurt during the game and will need to prove his fitness ahead of this week’s final.
SHARPSHOOTER WINS
BELL Post Hill sharpshooter Jayden Ettridge booted three goals to take out his first GDFL goalkicking medal in his side’s win over Anakie.
Ettridge finished on 53 goals, ahead of Nathan Mayes (Inverleigh, 51) and Brayden Mitchell (Geelong West, 48).
Defender Beau McNamara produced another best-onground performance as the Panthers kicked away in the second half to win 13.17 (95) to 9.9 (63). The Roos kept the Panthers honest for the first half, having led at quarter time by a goal and going into half time only a point behind.
Jamie Phillis kicked three goals in a lively performance to be Anakie’s best player and Connor Walmsley was just as important.
HAWKS SLAM CORIO
A FIVE-GOAL haul from Ryan Soldic was a highlight for Inverleigh as the Hawks cruised to a 102-point win over Corio to claim the minor premiership.
The Hawks’ win could have been a lot more damaging, had it not been for Inverleigh’s inaccurate kicking.
Blake Hutchinson was a key ball-winner for the Hawks in the 19.31 (145) to 6.7 (43) win at Viva Energy Oval.
Nick Flaccavento continued his consistent year with another top performance for Corio.
THOMSON TAKES POINTS
NORTH Geelong was unable to send off 2013 senior premiership coach Darren Ryan on a positive note, losing to Thomson by 79 points.
The Tigers, who finished the season second on the ladder, had a spread of 10 goalkickers, headlined by three from Daniel Freeman.
Whitley Medal contender and playing coach Reece Holwell was again named among the Tigers’ best players.
RED-HOT BLUES
WINCHELSEA came back from an eight-point quartertime deficit to defeat Belmont Lions by 43 points.
The Blues finished the season sixth on the ladder in a year in which they broke longawaited droughts over powerhouse sides Bannockburn, Thomson and Bell Post Hill. Dougal Morrison was Winchelsea’s best and Matthew Sprigg kicked four goals.