Under 18s success for Hawks and Gulls
It was a highly successful weekend in the thirds for Drouin and Warragul as they both enjoyed strong wins.
Warragul's thirds have moved up into second place following a dominant victory over Traralgon, winning 15.5 (93) to 3.12 (31).
With both sides coming into the match on eight wins, the result was always going to be a vital one as the end of the home and away season approaches. In the end, it was the Gulls who took their chances, punishing a highly inaccurate Maroons side to blow out what could have, and probably should have, been a much closer game.
Lachlan James Smith was the pick of the bunch up forward with four goals, while Patrick Ireland, Tom Stern and Liam Serong all put in outstanding performances. The latter three have all made regular appearances in the club's senior side, such is the strength of their youth.
Traralgon would be ruing their missed opportunities as they failed to kick a goal in the second half, instead managing just the 10 behinds.
Drouin, meanwhile, were equally as strong in their own win as they defeated Sale 12.11 (83) to 2.1 (13).
The Hawks were relentless at the ball the whole game, dominating their opponents all around the field from the first siren to pull off a massive win.
Benjamin Brasier made it two bags in as many weeks as he kicked four goals, while Ryan Maric kicked three. Maric would later play in the senior side and be named as their best player, capping off an excellent day for the Hawks youngster.
Ronin Staunton, Brock Walsh and Eli Bracken were all strong contributors for Drouin, who remain in sixth position on percentage.
In other thirds results, Leongatha beat Morwell 11.2 (68) to 6.11 (47), Moe won a thriller over Bairnsdale 8.16 (64) to 9.8 (62) and Maffra destroyed Wonthaggi 15.9 (99) to 2.1 (13).
It was an absolute thriller for Drouin's fourths as they defeated Sale by just 10 points.
The Hawks got the lead out to around three goals in the third term and looked like they would carry on with the job. Though Sale managed to arrest the momentum and threaten at various times in the last, Drouin eventually prevailed 8.6 (54) to 6.8 (44).
Brodie Atkins kicked three for the home side, while Rylie Baker, Zachary McMillan and Will Bethune all played solid roles to get their team over the line.
Elsewhere in the thirds, Warragul were no match for the undefeated Traralgon as they lost 4.3 (27) to 16.16 (112), Moe overcame Bairnsdale 7.10 (48) to 7.8 (46), Leongatha thumped Morwell 9.14 (68) to 2.5 (17) and Maffra had the bye.
It was a tough week for Drouin and Warragul in the reserves as both sides slumped to sizeable losses.
Drouin's tough run of form continued as they fell to Sale 5.7 (37) to 14.10 (94).
Having kicked just one goal to three quarter time, some late goals made the final result a more respectable one than it looked like it was going to be earlier on.
The Hawks didn't help themselves with their accuracy early, missing plenty of gettable shots before breaking through thanks to a sublime effort from Mitch Diston. He gathered the ball on the wing before running it all the way to the forward pocket and slotting it on the run from the boundary. Diston finished as Drouin's highest goal scorer with two.
Outside of that, Regan Hodge, Cody Fleming, Michael Boyles and Harrison McConnell all played well in a tough game.
Warragul's reserves fared a little better as they were beaten by Traralgon 8.7 (55) to 14.11 (95).
The Gulls put in competitive stints in the first and third quarters, but came undone in the second and fourth terms where they were thoroughly outscored.
Jamie Somers enjoyed a good day to finish with five goals, but the Gulls could do little to stop Maroon Jacob Van Iwaarden, who booted seven of his own to terrorise the Warragul defenders.
Joshua Dawson, Kai MacLean and Dylan Richardson were among the best for the Gulls.
In other reserves results, Wonthaggi defeated Maffra 7.5 (47) to 4.6 (30), Moe overcame some inaccuracy to beat Bairnsdale 7.16 (58) to 4.8 (32) and Leongatha demolished Morwell 21.12 (138) to 6.5 (41).