Pressure on in junior football
The pressure was on in what was the penultimate regular season round of the Warragul and District Junior Football League.
Some teams have already secured their places in the finals and others are still doing the best they can to grab one of the more contested spots.
Next round will be the last before players embark on their finals series journey.
Under 14
Yarragon hosted Warranor in what began as a well-contested clash.
Yarragon came out on energetic legs, rewarded with a goal in the second quarter.
Warranor played a ferocious second half, scoring a multitude of goals and setting up an insurmountable lead on the way to winning 14-22 (106) to 2-5 (17).
Yarragon played out the game in good spirits, Kye Neyland playing well in his 50th game.
The Jets opened scoring solidly and continued gaining momentum throughout the match, playing as a team.
Longwarry put up a good fight, getting some points of their own on the board but it wasn’t enough to claw back at the lead the Drouin side had built, winning 11-13 (79) to 1-3 (9).
Bunyip used the ball well, maintaining attacking pressure in Hallora’s 50 for the majority of the game, locking down play and not allowing Hallora to score.
Bunyip’s possession football earned them the win, 22-20 (152) to 0-0 (0).
Under 12
Warranor started well, getting a decent margin on the board by the end of the first quarter.
Yarragon’s backline stood firm but couldn’t account for Warranor’s scoring onslaught.
Warranor built momentum as the game continued, finishing up with a solid win, 12-10 (82) to 3-0 (18).
Brooke Farthing celebrated her 50 games milestone.
The Cobras played as an extremely well rounded unit on the day, controlling the majority of play, running the ball and scoring consistently.
Their movements began with great ruck work, pushing forward heavily against the Bulls’ defence and claiming the win, 16-7 (103) to 0-0 (0).
The Colts and Caldermeade clash wound up with a very close margin.
Defending was a highlight of the game, both teams fighting off numerous assaults on their back-lines.
The last quarter saw Caldermeade come home strong but they were just unable to topple the Warragul side’s lead, going down 4-8 (32) to 3-2 (20).
The first quarter was very evenly contested, the ball becoming locked in the centre of the ground.
The movement in the second quarter was much more free flowing which allowed Garfield to start scoring.
Clearances in the middle gave Garfield the forward push they needed to take the game, 11-6 (72) to 0-0 (0).
The Drouin Jets came out firing, booting 40 points in the first half.
The Jets moved the ball around, utilising the skills of all their players controlling play.
Longwarry pressured well on the day but just weren’t strong enough to hold up Drouin in the 100-point game, 1415 (99) to 0-1 (1).
Bunyip got off to a strong lead in sunny conditions against Hallora.
Bunyip continued building on their well into half time. Hallora recovered somewhat in the third managing to put some more points on the board.
Bunyip held onto their lead until the end and took the game, 5-6 (36) to 2-2 (14).
Pleasant conditions and a heavy ground had the Blues get on top of the Cats early with some accurate kicking, running the ball down to Warragul’s forward end from the half back.
Neerim District worked well in the second to disrupt the opposition’s flow but couldn’t stop them in the end, going down 12-4 (76) to 0-0 (0).
Under 10
It was a milestone packed game for Yarragon and Warranor with Lachlan McWhinney, Lachlan French and Zavier Allsopp playing their 50th games.
The ball was flowing to either end of the ground, Warranor able to maintain their intensity and win the match 5-5 (35) to 1-0 (6).
The Bulls and Cobras battled hard to gain the lead, Poowong-Loch making the most of their forward opportunities and winning the game 3-1 (19) to 0-1 (1).
It was a close affair as both teams contested the ball and gave maximum effort throughout the game.
Some great skill was on display in various daring passages of play that resulted in a win for the Caldermeade Cannons over a resilient Warragul Colts side, 3-2 (20) to 0-4 (4).
Ellinbank started well and saw the majority of the ball.
Garfield found its tempo just before the end of the first quarter with a quick goal. Both teams continued to battle out the contest with nether side getting any advantage.
Garfield took the game with their single goal in the first quarter, winning 10 (6) to 0-0 (0).
Bellbird Park was in excellent condition for when the Jets clashed with the Crows.
Each quarter displayed an increase in performance from the Drouin side, which resulted in them stealing what was a fast paced game 5-5 (35) to 0-1 (1).
The Hallora and Bunyip clash was a massive team effort by both sides in a tight and exciting clash.
The two sides kept their heads over the ball and played with some serious grit, Bunyip just managing to take the game by a slim margin of two points, 12 (8) to 1-0 (6).
In heavy conditions both the Blues and Cats showed great determination, tackling hard with both teams managing to keep their feet when going into contests.
In front of the large crowd the Blues kicked away in the second half to take what was an exciting game, the Blues winning 3-8 (26) to 0-0 (0). Next week’s draw: Ellinbank v Yarragon, Jets v PoowongLoch, Neerim District v Colts, Bunyip v Cobras, Hallora v Warranor, Longwarry v Blues, Caldermeade v Garfield