Barwon in state of power

BARWON claimed the Geelong Region Division 1 title with a dominant 9-0 win over Surf Coast on Sunday.

Now it has ambitions of progressing out of the local arena and into the state leagues.

The powerhouse skipped 13 points clear at the top of the table, making it impossible for second-placed Breakwater Eagles to bridge the gap with four games remaining.

Coach Dale Harris praised the mentality of his squad, backing the players not to lose focus ahead of the finals series.

“It’s a good feeling to get it done early,” Harris said.

“They are a great bunch of lads who work hard and are very competitive.

“We set out our targets at the start of the year, and that was to finish as high as possible.

“Winning the title was at the back of our mind, it wasn’t the top of the agenda.”

Barwon has been almost impossible to contain this season with 15 individual goalscorers finding the back of the net.

The team has also been defensively solid, letting just 15 goals through in 14 games.

Harris said it was impossible to highlight individual standouts this season — and given Barwon’s dominance, it’s hard to argue with that.

Harris added that the club was keen to dip its toe into the State League pool in the coming seasons.

“We don’t want to be a big fish in a small pond,” Harris said. Meanwhile, Rangers recorded a 5-2 win over Breakwater, with that result also helping Barwon stitch up the title.

Surfside Waves picked up a 2-1 win over Deakin, Lara claimed a 1-0 win over Drysdale and Barwon Heads knocked over Leopold 4-3 in a seven-goal, bottom-of-thetable epic.