Thorpdale dig deep
Thorpdale dug deep to steal a one point victory over Newborough, winning 11-11 (77) to 10-16 (76).
The Bulldogs had pencilled this match in as a win just a fortnight ago, when the Blues had lost four in a row, and Newborough was on the end of a few weeks of good footy. Not many gave them a chance. Lesson learned however, when Bulldogs coach Tom Hallinan tells you something is going to happen, he tries and stays true to his word.
The home side let it be known in no uncertain terms that the fifth-placed Thorpdale were going to have a fight on their hands.
They might not have been fighting for a finals spot but they were super keen to finish their season off with a rush.
At quarter time scores were locked away at four goals and four behinds apiece.
The Blues with just one to their name in the past six weeks were under pressure and it was far from ideal given they were planning to play a major part in finals the following week.
Newborough really applied the pressure in the second quarter and it appeared the Bulldogs coaches’ prediction may in fact ring true, his charges lifting the intensity and playing the conditions wonderfully well to break away from their more favoured opponents to lead by 20-points at half time.
How Thorpdale handled the second half was also going to be a good indicator of how they might fare when they take on Mirboo North in the elimination final in the next week of football.
As good sides do, and as good sides should, the Blues started to respond to the situation and started to dig a little deeper to finally find a way forward to goals.
In fact in the third quarter the visitor had gotten itself off the canvas and had started to fight their way back into the game to be within just three points at the final break.
In the final 30 minutes Newborough probably had the more opportunities to ice the game, but they couldn’t.
Thorpdale did what good sides do, they found a way to win.
It wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t need to be.
It was possibly a perfect way to finish of their season, winning by a single point ahead of what is certain to be even bigger challenges in the weeks ahead. Hill End v Yarragon The Panthers finished the season impressively, accounting for the Rovers by 77-points, 17-15 (117) to 6-4 (40).
Yarragon ventured to the home of Hill End with the expectation that turning up would be enough to secure a win.
The home side however had lost one of the clubs’ favourites during the week, when club stalwart Reg Bacon died, inspiring the players to dig as deep as they could for a man they respected so much.
The Rovers gave it their all against a more talented opponent and were very much in the game during the first quarter.
The home side throwing themselves in to every contest and although undermanned they fought as best they could.
Yarragon, despite the best efforts of the home side, dominated where it counted, as they peppered the goals time and time again.
Only inaccuracy with just three goals from nine attempts kept Hill End, just 10-points behind, in touch.
In the second quarter, Yarragon did what most thought they might.
They ran hard from the back, the midfield worked well and the avenues to goals started to pop up time and time again.
Hill End, unfortunately, could not even threaten the goals, and remained scoreless, while their visitor added more than five goals to put the game away by half time.
The start of the second half didn’t provide any respite for the home side, with the Panthers continuing to push forward, showcasing the improvement they have made in season 2018.
The visitors added better than four goals and a game that might have been close had now quickly blown out to be a one sided affair, with Yarragon leading by near 10 goals at three quarter time.
Yarragon with only some simple fine tuning and the acquisition of just a couple of top line performers are destined to be a contender for season 2019, but for this year, even with the massive steps forward the club has achieved, they would have to be satisfied with a better than average performance not being enough to play a part in the MGFL final series. Yinnar v Boolarra There were no real surprises here as Yinnar accounted for Boolarra comfortably, 18-16 (124) to 2-4 (16).
The main game, was always going to be a one way affair with Yinnar preparing to fine tune ahead of a finals campaign just a week away, and Boolarra limping to the finish line after yet another winless season.
The Magpies, even in the slippery and heavy conditions, moved the ball quickly and often into their forward fifty.
Nineteen scoring shots on goal in the first half of football meant the game was done very early with the margin 60 points in favour of the home side, given Yinnar’s 10 goals and nine behinds to Boolarra’s one goal three in the first 60 minutes.
The competition set to hot up as the runners up from 2017, prepare for Yallourn-Yallourn North in the qualifying final.
Yallourn-Yallourn North Mirboo North
Yallourn-Yallourn North confirmed themselves as premiership contenders, slicing through Mirboo North with an impressive victory 12-15 (87) to 6-4 (40).
It may have been a week short of finals, but the intensity being shown was worthy of a bigger occasion.
In the second quarter the bombers started heir surge and started to make more of their opportunities.
With the pressure building, Mirboo North were starting to give the ball up to quickly.
The heavy conditions took their toll on both sides late in the game, with the amount of run and the level of intensity starting to drop.
A promising start turned to nothing for Mirboo North, the Bombers cruising to a 47-point win.
In the start of the second half the sun came out and a rainbow covered the ground, but it was Yallourn Yallourn north, who found the pot of “goals” and continued to dominate the game.
0ean MacDonald finished with four goals and 94 for the home and away season. v