Parrots soar over Hawks at home

Even though the scoreboard was one-sided, with the 2019 grand finalist prevailing over Drouin 23-12 (150) to 9-11 (65), the Hawks faithful making the trip down to South Gippsland left with the belief they were not disgraced.

Not helped by absentees, the Hawks simply met another relentless, well-organised and skilled opponent.

Among those missing for Drouin included coach Jordan Kingi and games record holder David Olsen, both still on the injured list, while interleague player Tom Barr was unavailable.

To add to the headaches for the visitor, Cam McPhan was a late withdrawal through illness.

The early part of the contest suggested it could be a tight affair, the Parrots holding a slight edge with 4-1 to 3-0 as the first term approached the 20-minute mark.

Coming off a hard-fought loss to their South Gippsland rivals, the Parrots were keen to bounce back and certainly did so while making a big statement.

A burst in time on saw the home team pile on four more goals to take a commanding five goal lead into the first change.

The contest was effectively killed by half time as the Parrots added seven goals to one to increase the margin to 65-points.

And the Parrots didn’t let up in the third term, scoring four goals to one as it began to look ugly for the Hawks.

Drouin found a bit in the final term to match the rampant Parrots, each side scoring four goals as fatigue began to become a factor for both.

While he was outscored by some of his more senior teammates, Jack Hume was a standout for the Parrots with three goals in a breakout performance for the home team.

Former Essendon VFL player Aaron Heppell booted six and was adjudged best afield, while John Ginnane, Cam Olden and Cade Maskill also got amongst the goals.

Chris Verboon, Matthew Borschman and Sam Forrester were also prominent for the Parrots.

Some positive doors opened for Drouin despite their setbacks and heavy loss.

Sixteen-year-old Jacob Konstanty presented well in his senior debut and broke through for his first major in the final term. Tom Evans, 20 years of age and in his first game for the club, put in a solid four quarter effort to be named among the teams best.

Drouin on-ballers Eddie Morris, Chris Robinson, Todd and Bailey Beck gave their all against a Leongatha team that were able to roll about a dozen players through their midfield.

While the defence was under the pump they weren’t limited in their effectiveness at times with Jo Collins, Ryan Taylor and Harry Wans battling against a potent forward line.

Michael Theodoridis kicked three goals from limited opportunities, while Matt Stevens also presented as a target.

Campbell Jolly fought hard and did some good things, while Bob McCallum battled on while playing under significant inconvenience.

Drouin will be tested again on Saturday when they host Sale.