Top three spots look settled

Maffra is poised to finish the Gippsland League season on top and Leongatha and Sale have their feet well planted to finish in the top three and gain double chances in the finals.

Saturday’s round to complete the first half of home and away games saw Maffra stretch the gap over its nearest rivals to two games with its win against Moe and Leongatha’s victory at Sale.

Both were high standard games on another day of ideal football conditions.

Moe led the Eagles at the first two changes thanks in part to is better accuracy.

Maffra kicked 1-7 in the first quarter to trail by three points and its half time score of 4-13 was one point short of the Lions’ 6-5.

But the Eagles were on target in the second half, its 5-2 to 12 in the third term setting it on the way to an eventual 25point win, 13-18 to 10-11.

Opportunist small forward Mitch Bennett again chimed in with four goals for Maffra while Moe coach James Blaser kicked half of his side’s goal tally.

At Sale, in an incredible last quarter Leongatha burst to a 42-point lead after 11 minutes but within 10 minutes the pendulum had swung dramatically with Sale drawing within two goals then missing a good chance and having another opportunity thwarted by an unlucky bounce.

The frantic last nine minutes produced just one behind, to Sale, for Leongatha to post an 11-point victory.

Sale’s John Gooch, a welcome return in recent weeks, booted five goals and star rover Kane Martin was also back after missing a couple of games to be one of the side’s best.

Leongatha’s win drew it level with the Magpies on 28 points giving those teams a two-game break ahead of 4th and 5th placed Moe and Traralgon.

Traralgon always had an edge over Morwell in their clash although it wasn’t until the latter part of the final quarter that the result was sealed.

The 27-point margin, 11-16 to 8-7 at the finish, was the same as it was at half time.

Bairnsdale remains one game from the “five” as a result of its downing of Warragul 16-13 to 9-16.

The Gulls never recovered after Bairnsdale had four unanswered goals on the board before the 10-minute mark of the first quarter.

Drouin ended the first half of its season at the foot of the ladder when it and another that went into Saturday’s game with only one win lined up against each other at Wonthaggi.

Wonthaggi managed only two goals after half time but hung on for a 12-point win.