Gulls struggle against Sale

Warragul had only won at Sale, Maffra and Bairnsdale three times in the past 15 years ahead of its clash against the Magpies in the Gippsland League on Saturday.

And the Gulls weren’t able to break that hoodoo, going down to a slick Sale outfit who set up their comfortable 13-19 (97) to 4-8 (32) win with bursts in the first and third terms.

Warragul scored the first inside 50 of the game and looked to bring the pressure as they had been their trademark in previous weeks, but again the Gulls could not find scoreboard reward for their effort.

Brayden Fowler looked dangerous early for the Gulls but couldn’t find the ball close enough to goal. When he did get a look in closer to goal after the Gulls took advantage of a couple of free kicks, the pass missed its mark.

Shannen Lange was prominent early for the Magpies and the Gulls would have been disheartened when he helped find Brad Dessent for an uncontested mark for the first goal of the game.

Mason McGarrity also looked dangerous forward of centre for the Gulls. He lost out in a three on one contest but had a snap on goal soon after, only for the Magpies to rush a behind.

Sale began to drop numbers in front of Fowler following his presence early and it didn’t help the Gulls, who began to breakdown between wing and half forward.

The Magpies began to get good numbers to the contest and set up well around the ball. Their defensive pressure and kicks to leading players or 50-50 contests became a feature of their strong performance.

Jarrod Freeman marked on the lead and converted from 48 metres before a gift from the 15-metre mark saw Sale with the first three goals on the board.

Sean Masterson switched to defence and took a strong contested mark and would go on to play a good game despite Sale’s eventual dominance of the inside 50s (52 to 27 to three-quarter-time).

The Magpies missed an opportunity to put the Gulls away early with a run of nine consecutive behinds, including three shots that hit the post.

Tyrone Winder took goal of the day honours to start the second term, rewarded for his second and third efforts with his kick across the body sailing through the goals.

Chris Raso dropped loose in defence as Warragul tightened up, each side scoring two goals for the second term as the Gulls missed a couple of opportunities to inch closer.

The Magpies would get a run on in the third term, with six consecutive goals putting the result beyond doubt.

A find snap on goal from Jordan Dessent and run and dash from former Gold Coast Sun Jack Leslie to set up two majors were highlights for the Magpies, who also started to dominate the possession.

The Magpies had several players with more than 20 touches to three-quarter-time. Nick Mulqueen was best for Warragul with 18 possessions, the next best being 14.

Matt Ross, Tom Hobbs and Mitch Nobelius were also among the better performers for Warragul.

McGarrity made the most of another shot after the siren but the match petered out from there, the Magpies adding two goals to one to cap a strong performance as the siren beat the Gulls for one final scoring opportunity.

The Gulls have shown an ability to compete in patches and will need to put it together for longer when they host a strong Moe outfit at Western Park on Sunday.