Drouin secures place
Drouin has secured the fifth place in the Gippsland League finals.
The cards fell the Hawks way on Saturday to end what was shaping as a battle until the final round in a fortnight to decide that position.
Drouin did what it had to; win a low-scoring slogging contest in the wet, mud and slush at Drouin against one of its challengers, Morwell.
But it was two other results that made the Hawks’ position safe.
Warragul knocked Traralgon out of the running and Wonthaggi made the most of conditions that were nowhere near as wild as in the central and western ends of the league when it posted its 5th win for the year and ended Bairnsdale’s hopes with a five goals to two second half at Bairnsdale to win 10-10 to 8-14.
Warragul led Traralgon all game but got a fright midway through the last quarter when two quick Traralgon goals narrowed the gap to eight points.
In a desperate final 15 minutes the Gulls hung on to win 5-7 to 4-5.
The action among sides in the lower half of the ladder was more than matched by the two clashes involving the top four.
The results have thrown the struggle for the important top three positions and double chances in the play-offs up in the air.
Conditions were no means easy at Moe, the rain and wind impacting the contest against Maffra that the Lions – after a poor showing the previous week at Sale – bounced back to win 5-12 to 3-4.
Leongatha, building its stocks for a premiership defence, came through a big test at Sale to join the fight for a top three finish.
The Parrots won what was a good standard contest in the conditions 11-9 to 9-8, getting on top after quarter time.
Cade Maskell continued his impressive comeback from injury to kick five goals in Leongatha’s victory while league leading goal kicker Brad Dessent got four for the Magpies.
Maffra, Sale and Moe are all on 48 premiership points and Leongatha on 44.
Maffra (top) has a 20-point percentage break over Sale (2nd).
But Sale, Moe and Leongatha are separated by only two per cent. The top four will all be looking to avoid slip-ups in the next two rounds.
Double chances are invaluable and top spot carries the added reward of hosting the second semi-final.
Also of more than passing interest on the ladder is the five clubs outside the “five” – 6th to 10th – are all on 20 premiership points.
It is rare for a side at the foot of the ladder – in any league – to have five wins. And there are still two rounds to go.
NEXT SATURDAY The Leongatha versus Moe match at Leongatha on Saturday could have a big bearing on the make-up of the top three. For Moe it’s a double-edged sword. A win would maintain a chance to finish on top with a rest in the first week of the finals – provided Maffra, especially, and possibly Sale lose one of their two remaining games.
For Leongatha, a win would put it well in the running for a double chance.
Another match between finalists will be when Maffra hosts Drouin.
Drouin can’t improve on its fifth place and it will be interesting to see if it has something of a letdown after securing a spot in the finals or whether that has revived confidence to a point where it could cause an upset.
Next Saturday’s round 17 games at grounds of first named clubs are:Leongatha v. Moe. Maffra v. Drouin. Morwell v. Traralgon. Wonthaggi v. Sale. Warragul v. Bairnsdale.
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