Trafalgar the team to beat
Trafalgar confirmed themselves as the side to beat with a strong 33-point victory over Yallourn-Yallourn North, 16-8 (104) to 11-5 (71).
The question leading into the match up, was do you try and win this game, or do you trade that pursuit in for the search for weaknesses in your opposition?
Do you try to destroy your opponent to gain a psychological edge for an inevitable finals confrontation in the weeks ahead, or do you experiment with players and plays with an eye to roll them out as a surprise when needed?
Those questions were answered within the first few minutes, with both sides making it quite clear that a win was very much each clubs priority.
The visitor had only been beaten the once in season 2018, and it was to the same side they were competing against today.
At quarter time scores were locked away at three goals one apiece and it was absolutely a win at all costs game.
The Bombers have had most of the potent firepower in front of goals this season, but it was the Bloods who found gaps in the home sides defence during the second term, kicking five goals and hitting the major break with a cosy 19-point lead.
Trafalgar goalkickers included Matthew Swenson with six Darcy Brock four, and Daniel Hayes two.
The home ground crowd were waiting for a comeback from their team in the third quarter, but it remained the visitors controlling the match and extending their lead to a 35-point margin at the last break, with the likes of Tyson Leys, Darcy Brock, Matthew Swenson, Austin Byrne, Daniel Hayes, and Jesse Stone leading a strong team effort.
The Bombers didn’t give it up, but it turned out to be a bridge too far, and given the league’s leading goal kicker and Bomber full forward still managed to kick eight goals himself, you could be forgiven for thinking that Trafalgar coach Clint Eisendel may have prepared a plan that took into consideration a bag of goals for the key forward, but still had his team winning.
In fact Dean MacDonald was possibly best on ground and supported by the likes of Tyler Brown, Barrie Burnett in his three hundredth game for the club, Anthony Young, Lachlan Little and Campbell MacInnes.
Trafalgar now have 15 wins from their 16 starts and any doubts that their demanding style of game might have been starting to wear a bit thin on the group were well and truly put to bed. Yinnar v Yarragon Yinnar continued to play good footy at the right time of the year, defeating Yarragon 15-20 (110) to 5-7 (37).
Yinnar are regarded by most as the team to beat for this year’s premiership, and that’s despite sitting in third position and despite losses to teams above them, and even a couple below them.
The Magpies have ever so quietly been going about their business, hoping that their rapid improvement may have gone unnoticed by those around them.
The fact is, it hadn’t and todays performance was going to shine a light on a team that was starting to put it together, and that was never more obvious than in the first quarter when the home side peppered the goals on no less than 11 occasions with five of those chances resulting in goals, putting a 20-point margin between themselves and the visitor.
The Panthers have been no stranger to slow starts, and there was an expectation that their surge back into the game could at any time.
However it wasn’t to be in the second quarter, as Yinnar continued their dominance extending their lead to an imposing six goals margin with young Lincoln Albanese who would be their contributor in front of the goals for the day with four goals.
Yarragon may have been able to fight their way back into games in weeks gone by against other sides in the MGFL competition, but it wouldn’t be happening in this match and against this team.
Inaccuracy by the Magpies was the Panthers best ally in the crucial third term, when seven attempts only turned up two goals.
The margin was still match winning one of 45 at the three quarter time break, but the Magpies were far from finished.
Michael Stockdale, Brendan Chapman, Dean Linton, Jaydyn Embry, Brad McBride, and Lincoln Albanese were just half a dozen of many more contributors for the premiership contenders.
Yarragon’s best players were Dean Fitzgerald, Brad Wolfe, Michael Jolly, Thomas Follett, Mark Quigley and Brad Thomas.
The cream starting to rise to the top at the right time of the year, Yinnar one of just a few seen as a threat to Trafalgar, who, by the way, they play next week. Morwell East v Thorpdale Morwell East finally did what they had been promising to do, when they claimed the points against Thorpdale 15-7 (97) to 10-11 (71).
When you’re forced to use the words “mathematically possible” you know that the chances of success are very slim, at best.
Yet that was the phrase being spat out, around the Hawks home ground on the weekend, with only a win needed to put Morwell East back within a game of stealing an unlikely finals spot with two more rounds remaining.
At quarter time you may have been forgiven that the Hawks, were going to give it up yet again when the pressure was on, but you would have been wrong even given the quarter time lead being held by the visitors of twenty one points.
The Blues, it appeared had certainly come to play, and were, on the scoreboard at least, in control of a game that could off killed of the Hawks hopes of finals, very quickly.
It was maybe that feint hope of finals that may have triggered something in Morwell East for quite a while, it was a desire to win and in the blink of an eye the game changed in the 30minutes of the second term when the home side turned a sizeable deficit into a 14-point lead.
For the first time in a long time, the Hawks were going into a half time break, not only with a lead, but with a belief they could actually win a game against a respected opponent and finals contender.
Frank Marks, Matthew Cunningham, Brendan Evans, Zach Mangion, Jarrod Lont and Tanner Higgins were leading the way for the home side and as they got more of the ball the confidence of the group was starting to build. And it showed too, the Hawks with relentless for one of the few times in 2018 slowly but surely extending their lead to twenty at the major break.
Thorpdale did all they could, but as has been the case in recent weeks, the unavailability of their top liners was starting to take its toll.
Jake Atkinson, Brad Atkinson, Phillip Bennett, Luke Collie, Matt Powell, and Jacob Vuillermin tried hard all day, but it wasn’t to be enough, the million dollar question now is have the Blues done enough to hold on to their tenuous hold on fifth position and a spot in the finals in a few weeks time. Hill End v Mirboo North Mirboo North sliced through Hill End with the greatest of ease, 21-15 (141) to 3-7 (25).
Confidence, like momentum, can be like having an extra player or even two, within a team.
The Tigers have been blessed with both of these intangibles in recent weeks and that also means opposition teams can find it hard to stay in touch.
The Rovers had been fighting hard against better opposition for several weeks and that sort of approach may have had them in touch in the early part of their match up with the reigning premiers, but it was short lived as the Tigers started to assume control courtesy of access to a greater depth of talent and a more even spread of contributors throughout the side.
The lead of 21-points at quarter time had Mirboo North well placed, but it was their efforts in the second term that really broke the game open.
A further five goals shot the margin out to 51points and what was destined to be a match winning margin.
With another 11 goals added in the second half, the margin really blew out and goalkicking was shared amongst half the side with Tim Trail leading the way with five.
For the Rovers Liam Fitzpatrick, Riley Powell, Rob Fiddelaers, Josh Hecker, Justin Rea and Clay Ketchen did their best, but on this day they were to come up short against a side that is starting to build towards an opportunity to go back to back. Newborough v Boolarra Newborough did as expected and gave Boolarra a good old fashioned beating, 20-20 (140) to 2-4 (16).
The Bulldogs Matt Sawyer, D McColl, Jared Risol, JB Faustin, Jesse White and Rob Wilson were best and Jared Risol was to also to lead the goal kickers for the day with an impressive bag of nine, the most of any Bulldogs forward this season.
The Demons best players Sam Mazou, Marcus Twomey, Matt Windsor, Hayden Kimpton, Nick Smith and Chris Riseley can continue to hold their heads high.
Some may see it as a season to forget for Boolarra, but it’s one that will serve as tough love as they continue their build to be better.
The Demon’s future will certainly be determined in some ways by what was built in season 2018, but even small steps forward will assist in gaining respect and inevitably success.