HEADING IN RIGHT DIRECTION
A STRONG defensive effort and the ability to cut apart Ocean Grove’s zone has Barwon Heads co-coach Mitch Herbison confident his side is regaining its best form.
For the ninth time in 17 games, the Seagulls kept their opponent to 60 points or less, restricting Ocean Grove to just one goal in the second half of Saturday’s 15.17 (107) to 6.11 (47) win at Howard Harmer Oval.
Mitch Phelps (four goals) was the standout, taking his season tally to 35 majors, while Brad Harvey (three goals) continued his strong form and Jaydan McLauchlan was also impressive.
The Seagulls rested Chris Martin and Ned Aulsebrook on Saturday, but will welcome them both back for a crunch final-round clash against Geelong Amateur.
But Sam Evans (back), Mitch Gaunt (finger), Dylan Holland (shoulder) and Ben Stephens are still to return.
The Seagulls have successfully held their place inside the top five despite a long injury list and will have a couple of tough selection decisions to make come finals if those players prove their fitness in time.
“We had a couple of guys come in today and a few of the guys that were managed with various niggles, but hopefully over the next couple of weeks we can start to get a healthy list on the park,” Herbison said.
“It’s a big game for us going into Ammos. They’ve obviously been the best team for the majority of the year, so it’s a really big challenge for us going into finals.
“Obviously ideally finishing top-three, you get the second chance so we’ll strive to finish in the top three, but at the same time I reckon anyone is capable of winning it on their day.”
The Seagulls were coming off a narrow two-point loss to Anglesea the week prior, but Herbison said his side took a step in the right direction on Saturday.
“Probably in the first half we were a little bit similar with the way we used the footy (against Anglesea), but in the second half I thought we were a lot cleaner and used the ball a lot more efficiently going forward,” he said.
“We were able to keep them to one goal in the second half, which is always a good thing — being strong defensively.
“It was good we could adapt during the game and started making better decisions with the footy and we were able to open them up a little bit in the second half and get some opportunities to get some goals.” ANGLESEA remains in the hunt for top spot after overcoming Newcomb in a lowscoring affair, 9.11 (65) to 6.5 (41).
The second-placed Roos led by 20 points at half-time and 28 by three-quarter time but let the Power kick three of the last five goals to close the margin. Jordan Erskine booted six goals to take his season tally to a staggering 90 with one round left in the regular season. TORQUAY shook off a spirited Portarlington, running out 62-point winners, 16.17 (113) to 7.9 (51), thanks to nine unanswered goals to end the match at Portarlington Recreation Reserve.
Scores were level at halftime and the Tigers led by just three points at the final break, but slammed on 9.7 to 0.2 in the final half-hour when a response was needed. Callum Currie (three goals) continued his stellar season with a bestafield performance, with the Tigers hunting a top-three finish if Barwon Heads falls to Ammos this week. MODEWARRE continues to churn out finals-worthy performances, grounding out a 40-point win over Queenscliff on Saturday.
The reigning premier is as well placed as any to contend for the flag, after flexing its muscle after half-time to win 8.13 (61) to 3.3 (21). Scores were level at the main break after the Warriors missed a few chances, before Craig Evans, Josh Finch and Kane Timmins ensured Modewarre finished with conviction in a timely tune-up with finals looming.