Teenage heroics get Drouin over the line
Some teenage heroics in the dying minutes got Drouin over the line against Warragul in a thrilling Gippsland League qualifying final at Traralgon.
The Hawks won Sunday’s clash 10-8 to 7-14 - a 12point margin - but it was a lot closer than that.
After dominating the last quarter and coming from 21 points behind at three-quarter time Warragul levelled the scores at the 22-minute mark.
In one of Drouin’s few attacks in the last quarter Ben Hughes read the bounce of the ball better, and reacted more quickly, to run into an open goal that restored the Hawks’ lead.
But the Gulls looked almost certain to peg that back until youngster James McKellar stepped up to initiate the match-winning play.
He smothered a Warragul shot on goal, recovered the ball and began a chain of hard-running play around the outer wing that involved another of the young brigade, Todd Beck, and at the finish Josh Seri - streaming ahead of the play - swooped on the ball, bounced and drilled through the sealer from an angle.
Until the late goals by Hughes and Seri the momentum had been all Warragul’s in a heart-stopping last quarter.
The move of the Gulls’ backline “general” Leigh Sheehan into the forward line looked like being a winning master-stroke.
He kicked the term’s first goal after 90 seconds that give Warragul the lift it needed.
Sheehan was involved again with a strong mark and lay-off to Nat Paredes who shrugged a couple of tackles to add another and he then found Brayden Fowler for a goal from an angle.
It was one point the difference in Drouin’s favour at the 18-minute mark.
A rushed Warragul behind levelled the scores four minutes later.
The Gulls continued to push towards victory but Drouin battling the ball forward to an open forward line got a needed breather with Hughes’ kicking his 3rd and the Hawks’ 9th goal.
The game still wasn’t over but it was after McKellar’s desperate smother that set up the clearance from one end of the ground to the other and the final goal of the game by Seri.
As well as McKellar, Seri and Beck others in Drouin’s young brigade also stepped up to the plate when needed - Liam Anderson in defence especially after captain David Olsen was forced from the ground early in the second quarter, on-baller Liam Axford, Nathan Guy, Luke Duffy and Brad Williams.
Warragul’s young gun Paredes was, as usual, in the thick of the action but his effectiveness was minimised for much of the first three-quarters. But he was brilliant in the last term fightback. Gippsland Power player Josh Patullo along with Dylan Proctor, inclusions in the Gulls’ line-up from a week earlier, took a half to get into the game but when given a run in the ruck and freedom to roam up the ground was another that almost swung the game.
Captain Chris Carey didn’t lower his colours in the ruck to Drouin’s Bob McCallum in a terrific battle all day.
The Drouin defence was really tested, especially with Olsen’s injury, but was desperate in fighting to pressure the Gulls; Anderson, McKellar, Keegan Bott, Damen Healy and David Miller making Warragul struggle to get clear shots at goal.
Brod Fraser and Beck gave the Hawks an advantage on the wings and the on-ballers - Dan Nicholls in his best form and relentless chasing and tackling, Brad Virgona, Duffy, Steve Ballingall, Jordan Kingi and Axford - had a bit more group depth than Warragul where a lot of responsibility rested with Paredes and Brad Scalzo.
Scalzo was again superb over four quarters but for much of the game Drouin was able to push he and Paredes wide rather than having them, Scalzo in particular, streaming through the centre of the ground to create scoring opportunities.
Jake Hughes in defence and Tom Axford also were among the Gulls best as was Fowler, always dangerous when the Gulls were able to give him space up forward.
But he missed a couple of important shots on goal, none moreso than one in the last quarter when the side was on a roll. He finished the game with three goals. Paredes kicked two and Warragul’s other goals came from Leigh Sheehan and Nic Mulqueen.
Ben Hughes’ ”speccy” in the third quarter would be a contender for mark of the year.
He didn’t finish it off with a goal but his three for the game played a big part in Drouin’s win.
Beck kicked two goals with good link up run and Guy, McCallum, Nicholls and Seri each got one.
It was an exciting, crowd pleasing and no quarter given game between two evenly matched sides in which the result could have gone either way.
Both had come from well down the ladder last year to win their places in the finals and have the bases the take things further next year.