BLIGHTY BOW OUT
Blighty’s football season has come to an end, following losses in both the thirds and fourths at Berrigan on Saturday.
The Redeyes faced off against the Saints in both grades with the home side proving far too strong in each clash.
Blighty’s fourths kicked off the action and despite playing three solid quarters of footy, they suffered a 76 point loss to Berrigan.
It was the second term that proved to be the difference, with Berrigan piling on 6.2 to 1.0 to take a 47 point lead into the main break.
Blighty battled bravely in the second half, holding the Saints to just four more goals for the game.
Unfortunately they were unable to add any majors to their score however, with Berrigan booking their spot in the grand final.
Redeyes captain Will Dudley led by example to be his side’s best while Max Caruso, Dustin Lawson, Seth Morris, Bede Orr and Jarrod Bashford were also among the better players.
The Saints were best served by Logan Leiper, Marcus Moorse, Angus Wright, Brodie Park, Harley Cooper and Ryan Thornton.
Final score, Berrigan 12.11 (83) to Blighty 1.1 (7).
Blighty coach Matt Dudley said he was extremely proud of his side’s efforts despite the loss.
‘‘Our boys played good, fair football on Saturday,’’ he said.
‘‘We lost it a bit in the second quarter but overall they did well.
‘‘I asked the umpires to pick our best players for us and there were no arguments in who they chose.
‘‘Will (Dudley) tried his hardest all day, Max Caruso was strong in defence and up forward despite rolling his ankle at the end of the first quarter.
‘‘Dustin Lawson and Jarrod Bashford played run-with roles on some of Berrigan’s stronger players, Seth Morris ran all day on the wing and Bede Orr rucked the entire game.
‘‘It was a tough day for us with four players ineligible to play finals but those players still came along to support, whether it was running water, boundary umpiring or encouraging the side from the sidelines.
‘‘I’m proud as punch about how they’ve gone about it this year and hopefully we can give them a full season next year.’’
The Blighty thirds struggled in the first half against an undefeated Berrigan side, going down by 80 points.
The Saints jumped out to a 65 point lead by half time but to Blighty’s credit they fought hard in the closing two quarters in a closely contested second half.
Jack Charlton found plenty of the ball to be named his side’s best and was well supported by Tom Cochrane, Harvey White and Kane Morris.
Seth Morris also backed up his strong performance in the fourths game to kick his first goal for the thirds after being called up late due to injuries.
For Berrigan it was Darcy McManus who starred with eight goals to his name.
Others named among the best were Brad Poka, Cooper Willoughby, Matt Whelan and Darcy Pyle.
Final score, Berrigan 16.12 (108) to Blighty 4.4 (28).
Blighty coach Andy Amor said the game seemed much closer than what the scoreboard suggested.
‘‘It was a fairly even contest around the ground,’’ he said.
‘‘However we were unable to shut down the scoring power of the Berrigan’s forwards.
‘‘We once again competed strongly for the whole game playing out all four quarters.
‘‘Overall the game was played at a high standard and in good spirits.’’