NO REST FOR FLAG FAVOURITES
By Louie Bulzomi
In a round where finalists could either “rest up” or “go hard”, Werrimull chose the latter en route to a 69-point smashing of Bambill, 16.16 (112) to 6.7 (43), at Lake Cullulleraine.
The Saints started well with goals to Luke Stanbrook and Jason Hunt. But from there it was one-way traffic as the Magpies slammed on seven unanswered goals with Adam Thomson and the returning Mark Duscher on fire.
Bambill closed the gap in the second. Justin Merrett and Ryan McClelland had a major influence in the middle, and Chris Curran and Luke Keating both chimed in with some nice setup plays. However, an inaccurate return of 2.5 hurt them.
Another Werrimull wave of goals arose in the third to virtually put the game to bed. In Aaron Milner’s absence, Cameron Williams performed strongly in the ruck, while Colby Loxton led many a forward charge from defence.
Things evened up in the last as the focus turned to next week. But there was no doubt that the Magpies showed enough to validate their premiership favouritism.
Gol Gol defeated a gallant Euston by 75 points, 17.18 (120) to 6.9 (45), at Carramar Drive.
It was even early as the Bombers, mainly through Phil Connell, Zane Hammet and Josh Healy, hung tough. But the Hawks found another gear to accelerate to a seven-goal lead at quarter time via some blistering clearance work by Clint Burdett and David Gray.
The second term belonged to Euston. Harlan Pettit booted all of their goals, Hammet, Anthony McMahon and Daniel Farnsworth defended with grit, and Cleon Hannah provided rebounding drive. But for all their hard work, the deficit was still 32 points at the main break.
Gol Gol came out hard in the third but the Bombers, led by Hammet, McMahon, Josh and Tom Healy, kept up their tackling and harassing pressure. While the difference was 47 points at three-quarter time, it felt a lot closer.
In the final term, the Hawks’ fresher legs enabled them to pull right away. Burdett, Gray, Tim Vandenberg, Blayk Rhodes and Dustin Duggan did themselves no harm in their finals preparations with solid games.
The good news for Nangiloc was they had sufficient numbers to play Cardross at home. The bad news was they finished their season winless, going down by a heartbreaking 18 points, 15.11 (101) to 13.5 (83).
A scrappy first term saw the Demons lead through goals to Sam Lee and David Keens, disciplined defensive play by Luke Stone and Scott Golding, and great wing running by Jared Turvey.
The Lions received quality service from Jake Zoch in the ruck in the second, but outside of Brady Dalla Santa, Eamon Higgins and Michael Laird, they failed to capitalise as Nangiloc extended their lead. Lee and Keens again were the forward focal points, while Turvey and Jamie Riordan were turning it on through the middle.
In the third, Mitch Bateman showed plenty of toughness in and under, and Chris Prevedello lifted his workrate. But Cardross again lost the quarter as the excitement surrounding a probable Demon victory reached fever pitch.
But the pain and misery of an injury-ravaged and rotation-lacking season caught up to Nangiloc in the final term as the Lions kicked 8.3 to 3.0 to save face. Darren McCarthy’s improvement on return from injury continued with a five-goal haul.
Next week, Carramar Drive hosts both the First Semi-Final (Bambill vs Cardross) and Second Semi-Final (Werrimull vs Gol Gol).
Last Modified on 19/08/2012 16:08