Lakers sail to week two
Nagambie has delivered the first major shock of the 2022 Kyabram District League post-season, upsetting Violet Town by 10 points in a thrilling elimination final at Lancaster Recreation Reserve on Sunday.
The Lakers proved why they have been the most successful KDL club of the past decade, rising to the finals occasion and running over the top of an ultra-talented Towners line-up to come away 16.11 (107) to 15.7 (97) winners.
And while its wealth of finals experience proved critical in the finish, it was a young gun making his first appearance on the post-season stage who stole the show for Nagambie, with Jonathan Moore’s six goals proving to be the difference between the two sides.
It was a match that delivered constant drama from beginning to end and Nagambie coach Tyrone Muir said the victory was one of the most satisfying in his time at the club.
“This win ranks pretty highly in my career at Nagambie. It was probably the closest final I’ve ever played in,” Muir said.
“We finished seventh and they won three more games than us, so to come in as underdogs and win was awesome.
“It was pretty close for most of the day. They got out to a bit of a three-goal lead around half-time and then we were able to slowly peg them back.
“In the end it was about who could stand up in the last quarter and take their opportunities, and to the boys’ credit they did exactly that.
“We’ve got seven or eight blokes in our side that have played in a lot of finals and premierships, so it was good to lean on them. They aren’t going to panic and know what it takes to win big games and they were huge for us.”
Coming off a 134-point hammering at the hands of Shepparton East last week, Nagambie came into this clash with a point to prove and started the match accordingly with a blistering first term.
Booting five goals, the Lakers’ speed caused all sorts of problems for the Towners, with the exploits of spearhead Jack Exell, who finished with eight goals, the only thing keeping them afloat as the margin sat at 10 points at the first change.
Violet Town flipped the script in the second term, booting six goals to take command of the contest, with Exell heading into the sheds with a cool half-a-dozen majors to his name.
Trailing by 19 at the start of the third term, Nagambie mustered all of its finals experience to work its way back into the contest, as it began to use its speed to outwork Violet Town and create scoring opportunities.