Longwarry wins wet and muddy battle
Rain and slippery conditions put a dampener on a highly anticipated match between two sides fancied to push deep into the finals in Warragul Industrials and Longwarry.
Vast improvement had been made to the centre wicket area at Warragul’s Western Park, which had been a bone of contention for some time, with a good grass covering.
However the prevailing weather conditions made scoring across the league at a premium.
Both the Industrials and Crows struggled to gain the ascendancy as the match produced the lowest score of the round, the Crows falling in 3-8 (26) to 3-5 (23).
The lights were turned on for the senior match and it was the Crows who went forward first through a long kick, but it was cut off.
Michael Ablett took the breakaway from a boundary throw in, but the attacking move was forced out of bounds.
The Crows then begun to make all the play, but could only record three behinds for their efforts, one from an impressive clearance from Troy Lehman.
A long shot from a rundown tackle fell short with Tye Holland able to clear, wasting another opportunity for the Crows.
Eventually the Crows were able to break through, with coach Daniel Fry converting from a strong mark to give his side some reward for effort on the scoreboard.
Rhett O’Hara tried his best to get something going against the run of play, but his rolling snap missed.
A long kick from Rhys Serong opened up an opportunity through the middle for the Crows, with Braydon McHugh scoring an easy goal over the back to establish an early buffer.
Daniel Fry took a sliding mark on the lead but couldn’t capitalise as the Crows went into quarter time with a handy 15-point lead.
The Crows continued to control proceedings early in the second term, but could only manage one behind for their efforts.
Fortunately for the Industrials, a 50 metre penalty for failing to return the ball on the full did not prove costly, with a timely spoil allowing Tyson Bale to clear.
The Industrials lifted and went long, with continued pressure allowing for a goal over the back to Will Jolley.
Holland won the clearance but with the Crows forcing their opposition wide, the shot missed.
Mitch Davies converted a shot from half forward to reduce the margin to three points.
The Industrials continued to control proceedings and went short looking for Murray Kingwill, but should have gone back and taken the shot as the move didn’t come off.
The Crows attacked in the latter stages of the term but the Industrials defence was able to hold firm, with club president Dale Bainbridge joking that club statisticians should mark down a smother as an “effective falcon”.
A fend off by Josh Peterson allowed the Industrials to clear, but the siren beat them in their attempt at a score.
Rain cleared to begin the third term and Holland made an impressive move to evade his opponent, but couldn’t take full reward as his shot missed.
A key moment in the game followed, with a strong rundown tackle of the Industrials not rewarded as the Longwarry player just managed to sneak in a handball. It opened the Industrials up with the Crows able to break through the middle for Casey Wells to kick a vital goal.
Quick hands out from Brodie Rundell found Cole Cook, who hit up McHugh in the lead only for his shot to miss.
A long shot from an intercept also missed and while the Industrials began to get play back on their terms, they couldn’t break through for a score as the Crows took a 10point advantage into the final change.
The Industrials started the final term strongly and weren’t going to give in.
Dylan Smith was first to the ball following a Tyson Bale break to set up a one-on-one contest, but the ball rolled over the back for a minor score.
Enter Stephen Ballingall, who took a long shot that carried the journey for a long goal that had not been seen in the conditions. It was game on again.
The Crows did their best to respond, with their first forward entry forced out of bounds followed by a pulled kick that missed.
Davies collected the ball out wide for the Industrials and centred to Jack Blakey, who must have been inspired by Ballingall’s previous effort as he went back for a long shot.
Unfortunately he couldn’t kick true, the shot hooked to the left.
Josh Peterson showed his courage, dropping back to mark on several occasions.
Emotions ran high as the Crows looked to chip forward with a minute to play, only for the Industrials to intercept for one last roll of the dice.
With 45 seconds to go the ball was sent up the middle, only for Longwarry to force a ball up.
The Crows won the most important clearance of the day, sending the ball out of bounds on the wing and holding on by just three points.
Aaron Serong, Nicholas Redley, Russell Lehman, Cook, Danny Wells and Riley Rundell helped the Crows hold on.
Bale, coach Joel Morgan, Josh Peterson who set up many attacking moves, Holland, Travis Ogden and Kingwill kept pushing to the final siren for the Industrials.