Down and out Catani hold on for a draw

Tenth placed Catani’s draw with top four side Koo wee rup in the Ellinbank and District League was the only result not totally according to script in the weekend’s district football. It was an incredible finish to the game. A down and out Catani somehow managed to hold on as the Demons stormed. Koo wee rup will certainly be seeing it as a game that got away, holding Catani scoreless in the last term while it dominated play but managed only two goals from 12 scoring shots. The biggest surprise of the weekend was the weather. Saturday was a fine, balmy day, a stark contrast to the previous week’s freezing, wet and muddy conditions. In the EDFL there were a couple of moves in the top “six”. Nilma-Darnum went up to fourth place courtesy of its win at Longwarry while Neerim Neerim South dropped a spot to fifth when it lost at home to another top four side Cora Lynn. Longwarry led the Bombers by a point at half time but was overrun in the second half as the Darnos’ posted an 18-18 to 9-8 victory. A strong last quarter by Neerim Neerim South made the score a bit more respectable - 11-11 to 8-8 - but Cora Lynn’s 37-point three-quarter time lead was never really within reach. Five goals to Luke McConnell spearheaded Nar Nar Goon’s win at Buln Buln after taking a half to shrug off the Lyrebirds. It was an important win in a danger game for Nar Nar Goon that now looks certain to play finals. Warragul Industrials were too good for Ellinbank, winning 18-11 to 7-5, but a spot in the finals still looks out of reach. Nyora got its fifth win of the year at Lang Lang’s expense and in the top versus bottom clash Bunyip thumped Poowong by 136 points. Garfield had the bye. In Gippsland League Leongatha maintained its unbeaten record proving too strong for Warragul in the only match played in the league’s round 15. The four other games will be played next Saturday. Leongatha’s winning margin at the finish - 67 points - didn’t do justice to the Gulls’ competitiveness. Favourites prevailed in all five Mid Gippsland matches. Yarragon and Trafalgar won’t be part of the finals but they played out the closest match. Yarragon retained the Waterloo Cup 14-14 to 13-8. Trafalgar had led by nine points at half time and its final score of 13-8 was by far the highest losing total of the round. Yinnar beat Morwell East 13-16 to 8-14 in the only game at the weekend where teams in the “five” were pitted against each other. The two sides may well clash again in the elimination final. The other games were business as usual for the top teams. Fourteen Newborough players got on the scoresheet as it amassed 3012 against Hill End’s 5-2. Yallourn Yallourn North was an easy 16-15 to 5-2 winner over Boolarra and Mirboo North was far too good for Thorpdale winning 18-15 to 5-6.