Hill End climbs to third
End, made it six wins in a row, beat another side above them and climbed to third place with their impressive 54 point win over Morwell East 14-11-95 to 6-5-41.
If ever a game was to change a season, this was to be it. Morwell East sitting in third position on the MGFL ladder, Hill End in fourth, but with a superior percentage.
A win by the Hawks would give them a two game buffer with seven rounds to finals, whilst a win by the Rovers would have them jumping into the coveted top three spot with an opportunity of a double chance in finals for the first time in over a decade.
The Rovers started as you thought they might on their home ground, with plenty of enthusiasm, complimented by intensity at ball and opponent, giving them a 15 point lead at the first break, but with their best football still ahead of them.
The visitors who had lost two players in the warm up still had the ability to compose themselves and start to play more of the game on their terms in the second quarter, slowly chipping away at the deficit to bring it back to just three points at the main break, a margin you would have thought would give us a close and exciting second half.
Rovers coach Mike Santo said “we started strongly but a lapse in the second quarter allowed them back into the game. I reminded the boys the gravity of the situation at half time and they responded beautifully in the second half, particularly in the last quarter our tackle pressure was the best it’s been all year.”
The Hawks had prepared themselves for a better side than the one they defeated in the opening round of the season, but were surprised by just how much Hill End had improved.
Morwell East coach Devon Soutar said “we knew the second half was going to be a grind, and as their classy outside runners got on top their weight of entry dominance was way too much and the floodgates opened.”
In recent weeks, Chase Saunders had been the shining light in front of goals, but on the weekend it was Luke Mulqueen that led the way with six of his own.
Hill End made the second half of the match their own, dominating a disappointing Morwell East side and sending out a signal to the rest of the competition that there is another contender raising its hand for a tilt at the 2019 MGFL premiership.
The Rovers’ four goals to one in the third quarter, was bettered by their final quarter of five goals, five behinds to no score in the final term.
As each week passes Hill End are putting together a performance more impressive than the last, and unless they are peaking too early, not only will they play a part at the business end of the season they will cause a lot of headaches for the better sides in the MGFL along the way.
YINNAR v TRAFALGAR
Yinnar responded as good sides do, coming from behind in the final quarter to snatch another narrow victory over Trafalgar, 11-8-74 to 11-6-72.
This was a chance for the Magpies to kill off hopes of finals for the reigning premiers, who by their own admission had been battling for consistent form for most of 2019.
The Bloods however were hopeful of an improved back half of the year, as they start to welcome back players from injury.
A win to keep them in touch of the five, a loss to the fifth placed Yinnar, would mean their chance at finals action would be reliant on others teams losing as well as stringing a number of victories together in the weeks ahead.
The Magpies side jumped out of the blocks playing some of their better footy for the season, leading by 25 points at quarter time, and impressing a healthy home ground crowd.
Magpies coach, Kane Grinstead-Jones said “the game was played with very big momentum swings and we got off to a good start, we knew they would come back, we still have a lot of areas to improve in.”
“I was really proud of the younger group and the way they cracked in in but stayed composed,” he said.
Trafalgar edged just a few points closer at the main break as they started to work harder around the contested ball and make more of their opportunities, but there was no indication of just how the game would change in the second half.
Bloods coach Clint Eisendel said “Yinnar were consistent and disciplined, did the small things really well.”
“We gave away a big lead, consistency let us down big time, decision making for large patches of the match were poor, we played some quality footy but a half wasn’t enough,” he said.
The Bloods made a move in the third quarter, that turned the game on its head, the reigning premiers putting together some of their best football for quite a while kicking more than six goals for the term, and in doing so, turning the 21 point deficit into a three point lead at the final break.
With so much on the line in the final 30 minutes, both sides showed all the desperation normally reserved for finals football, and in some ways, this match was pretty much all of that plus more with a loss to have a massive impact on the loser’s season.
It was the Magpies, who made more of their opportunities to kick one goal two behinds from their three chances, while the Bloods missed their three chances, that difference, determining the result.
It was Yinnar in a thriller, and now with a two game buffer over Trafalgar who sit in sixth position, their season seemingly over.
THORPDALE v BOOLARRA
Boolarra responded to the challenge thrown at them by Thorpdale, keeping their composure under pressure to win their third game of the season with an impressive win, 9-9-63 to 7-9-51
Thorpdale earmarked this match in particular as a potential first victory for the season, given they had come so close to doing so in their round one clash just a couple of months ago.
Boolarra on the other hand, with two wins under their belt and the chance of even more were always going to be up to the challenge thrown at them on the Blues home ground.
The match started with all the intensity you would expect from two sides desperately wanting to assert their control of the game.
The Demons managed to claw a narrow margin at the first quarter, but Thorpdale’s four goals in the second quarter showed that they would be well and truly in for the fight.
Boolarra have shown on more than one occasion this year, they are capable of holding their own, not always for long periods of time, nut none the less, willing to throw themselves into the contest.
Demon’s coach Tony Giardinia said “it was a tight opening quarter, with the boys getting on top late and the next three quarters were much the same, with Thorpy not giving in.”
The win by Boolarra has them equal sixth on the MGFL ladder, just two games out of the five, albeit with a very low percentage that would make finals footy improbable.
That said, no one would have thought this deep into a season the cellar dweller of the two seasons past, who couldn’t even manage to win a game could be alongside the 2018 premiership side, Trafalgar, on the ladder.
NEWBOROUGH v MIRBOO NORTH
Newborough showed improvement was on the way, but it wasn’t enough to beat a side that will be playing a big part in finals footy later in the season, the home side going down to Mirboo North 9-5-59 to 14-13-97.
The Bulldogs had put the call out for past players, sponsors and friends to lend their support to their senior 21 players.
Newborough facing a massive task of facing a talented Mirboo North side on the rebound after their first loss of the season to ladder leaders Yallourn-Yallourn North the week prior.
The Tigers had more of the ball in the opening quarter, but inaccuracy proved to be a problem, two goals from seven shots giving the visitors just a nine point lead.
That margin may have been extended to three goals at the main break, but it was obvious the Bulldogs were starting to work their way into the game.
Newborough coach Dean Caldow said “these young guys are playing with a bit more confidence and belief, it was nice to get Adam Kennedy and Daniel Risol back to give us some experience and leadership.”
That leadership had the home side still well and truly in touch in the final term trailing by just 17 points.
Tigers coach Josh Taylor said “our boys stood up to some serious pressure from Newborough and eventually prevailed.”
The depth of talent from the Tigers, and the performance of key forward Kris Berchtold with seven goals, over ran the Bulldogs to run out six goal winners.
Dean Caldow said “even though we didn’t get the points, we have made huge inroads since round one, our skill execution and decision making has improved dramatically. In the first round the margin was 100 points, on the weekend we were still in it at three quarter time.”
The best of the Bulldogs is still a season away, the best of the Tigers will need to raise it head in a couple of months time.
Josh Taylor said “we are not playing the best footy over the last three weeks, so we need to hit the track and get back to where we were at.”
The competition is hot at the top, and the Tigers are one of a handful of teams that will need to time their run at peaking at the right time.