Time-on goals deny Gulls at Bairnsdale
A five-goal burst by Warragul to hit the front in the last quarter proved not enough to claim victory against Bairnsdale at Bairnsdale on Saturday.
At the siren and after two timeon goals by Link Robinson it was Bairnsdale by four points – 14-10 to 13-12.
The loss has left the Gulls at the bottom of the ladder but a win would have had them just one game from the “five”.
On the bright side it was a big form turnaround for Warragul after its poor showing a week earlier at home against Traralgon.
Coach Ben Hughes and onballer Kim Drew were important inclusions to the Gulls’ side while Bairnsdale was missing Brayden McCarrey who, until Saturday, was the league’s leading goal kicker.
Hughes was instrumental in a good start by Warragul kicking three first quarter goals that saw it in the lead, 5-4 to 4-2.
He got plenty of close attention throughout the game but held his cool to be a good contributor and one of the team’s best on the day.
The second quarter could well have cost the Gulls the game.
It more than matched Bairnsdale in play but could manage only five behinds while the Redlegs made full use of their opportunities to kick 4-0.
It gave the home side a handy 11-point lead 8-2 to 5-9.
That stretched out to 20 points by three-quarter time.
It had been an entertaining and good quality game and the last quarter certainly provided the excitement.
Warragul burst out from the first ball up for the term.
Ruckman Sam Whibley, well supported on the day by Dan Giardina, and on-ballers Drew and Mitch Nobelius got well on top the create the chances. Everybody chipped in. Luke Tynan led the defence that kept Bairnsdale at bay and Matt Rennie, moved forward from defence, kicked the last of Warragul’s five goals for the quarter to take it to a 10-point lead. It was a hard-fought final term. Determined defence by Warragul didn’t give the Redlegs easy chances and they could manage only five behinds until Robinson’s final two-goal flurry in the time-on period.
The Gulls are a match for most sides when they play to instructions as they did for the greater part on Saturday.
However, they are still prone to occasional lapses that more often than not prove the difference between winning and losing.
However, Saturday’s showing should be a solid foundation for further improvement for next Saturday’s important clash, in context of the league ladder, against Moe at Western Park.
Nobelius, Drew, Rennie, Whibley, Giardina and Tynan were named Warragul’s best at Bairnsdale with still junior eligible Ned Tworkowski was again impressive with his development at senior level.
Tworkowski was given the “run with” assignment on Bairnsdale star on-baller Russell Cowan and although Cowan got his share of possessions the damage he can inflict was largely curtailed.