Winning chance let slip away
Warragul’s odds of grabbing a berth in the Gippsland League finals lengthened a bit further after it failed to hold out Sale at Western Park on Saturday.
The Gulls hit the front after kicking the first three goals of the last quarter before Sale retook the initiative to get home by 11 points, 12-8 to 10-9.
Inexperience across the ground, 13 of Warragul’s 22 on Saturday were aged 20 or younger, may have told late in the game.
That mostly shows when young sides go into their shells and don’t take the game on when in potentially winning positions.
It seemed to be the case with the Gulls on Saturday.
That’s not to say their on-ball dynamos Brad Scalzo and Nathaniel Paredes didn’t try everything they could to lift their team across the line.
They were in the thick of the action all day and contributed half of Warragul’s goals; Paredes four and Scalzo one.
The Gulls had their noses in front by two points at the halfway mark but by three-quarter time had slipped 14 points behind.
A three-quarter time plea by coach Steve Kidd for them to attack the ball and take some chances looked to have hit the mark when they rammed through three unanswered goals to take the lead.
But the Gulls couldn’t go on with it as Sale steadied to post its fourth win for the season and third from the past four games.
The Warragul players’ endeavour couldn’t be questioned and its tackle count was again good.
What was costly was the failure to produce a consistent performance across the four quarters.
Injuries have compounded the Gulls’ inexperience.
But a brighter note on Saturday was the unexpected return of vicecaptain Sam Russell from a knee injury in the early rounds that looked to have ended his season.
He has been doing some fitness work, got through Thursday’s training session and then passed an individual fitness test to declare himself available.
And he was one of the side’s better players against Sale.
Captain Brayden Fowler, building confidence after also returning from injury, kicked three goals.
The other goalkickers were Matt Rennie and Jedd Serong, the latter not having failed to kick at least one goal in a match since his promotion from the juniors early in the year.
While Scalzo and Paredes were the stand-outs, Rennie continued his good form and Russell, Rowan Lawson-Pepper and Nic Stevenson were also among the better contributors.
Fifth spot in the finals is still open.
Warragul’s chance to grab that if Morwell falters will largely hinge on the two rounds after next weekend’s league break.
The Gulls will play Wonthaggi Power at home and Drouin away.