Commanding 89-point preliminary final win

Cora Lynn swamped Phillip Island in the West Gippsland competition second semi-final at Garfield on Saturday.

The Cobras produced premiership style football to coast to a huge win, 18-8 to 4-3. The tone was set from the start. Cora Lynn won the early arm-wrestle to open a 4-1 to 1-1 lead at quarter time.

It then went on with the job in a commanding performance.

The surface of the Garfield ground was probably as good as, if not better, than others in the region that hosted finals on Saturday.

It was also a much more familiar venue for Cora Lynn than its opponents.

That was of little consequence though as the Cobras produced a top class team performance from start to finish.

Jason Toan got things moving initially with two of the first quarter goals and there were a host of others that chipped in as the game unfolded.

One of them wasn’t regular goal kicker Ryan Gillis, who didn’t hit the scoreboard.

He may have still been carrying the effects of a leg injury suffered in the previous week’s second semifinal.

But his normal contribution wasn’t missed although he’ll be an important part of Cora Lynn’s grand final chances.

The talented Nathan Langley kicked four goals to lead the pack with Toan adding another to his two in the first term.

Nathan Gillis, Jackson Dalton and Jai Rout each finished with two goals and singles were scored by Brayden Weller, Brady White, Heath Briggs, Travis Woodfield and Lochie Peluso.

It would have been difficult for the Cora Lynn match committee to choose the team’s best players on the day but they gave the nod to William Thomas, Chris Johnson, Tim Payne, Nathan Gillis, White and Weller.

It was a far more difficult task finding good players for a Phillip Island side comprehensively outplayed, but Mark Griffin, Matthew Jones, Nick Higginson, Jack Taylor, Arie Cook and Brendan Kimber never threw in the towel.

The four goals were all singles, by Jack and Shane Taylor, Steven Pimm and Matthew Jackson.

Next Saturday’s grand final will be a tantalising contest at the neutral Wonthaggi ground.

Inverloch-Kongwak has won each of the three times it and Cora Lynn clashed this year but that will count for nought on Saturday.

There was only six points in it when Inverloch won the second semi-final last Saturday week in the sides’ most recent match.

Garfield’s Thomas Fitzpatrick gains possession of the ball but Bunyip opponent Heath Morgan-Morris gets a solid grip of his jumper to stop him breaking clear. Bunyip won by two points to earn a spot in the grand final.

Best on the ground for Garfield in the thirds preliminary final win Damion Denysenko gathers the ball in the clash with Inverloch-Kongwak with team mate Aaron Marsh giving support.