LIONS LAMENTING AS DREAM ENDS
By Louie Bulzomi
The sheer joy of defeating Bambill in Round 14 at Henshilwood Oval turned into bitter disappointment for Cardross in the First Semi-Final at Carramar Drive, bowing out of the premiership race by 27 points, 16.14 (110) to 12.11 (83).
In overcast conditions, both sides played hard, tough and uncompromising footy early. Thanks to Jake Zoch getting the better of Ryan McClelland in the ruck, and the clearance work of Tom Wallace and Michael Laird, the Lions threatened to break away. But through the rebounding genius of Andrew Gibson and Luke Hubble, the ability of Steve Sellens and Michael Hickey to swing the momentum in the middle, and five goals to Luke Stanbrook, the Saints ended the quarter in front.
Goals to Robbie Morgan and Brant Reid capped off the early dominance of Bambill in the second as David Hall and Luke Keating each became influential. Cardross, not to be denied, fought back late in the term but managed just the one major through Andrew Ferguson.
In the all-important third term, the Saints blew the game open with a 6.7 to 1.1 performance to advance to an unassailable 59-point advantage. Practically every centre clearance went their way, with Hickey, Jason Hunt and Andrew Ross the main engineers. Stanbrook added a further three to his tally, while for the Lions Scott Richards, Ethan Zoch and Jayden Boehm gave it their all in the face of a defensive barrage.
Cardross kicked 6.4 to 1.2 in the last to add scoreboard respectability, but there was no doubt that Bambill did plenty to show why they cannot be counted out to successfully defend their title.
Werrimull gained the vital immediate entry into the Grand Final with a strong 36-point win over Gol Gol, 16.13 (109) to 11.7 (73).
The Hawks were on the back foot in the first minute when Clint Burdett was forced off the ground with a nasty gash to the head after laying a tackle. But they showed resilience in a scrappy opening to register the first goal through Sonny Lindsey. The Magpies eventually got going with goals to Adam Thomson and Mark Duscher, but they wasted plenty of other opportunities to lead by just 15 points at quarter time despite enjoying the majority of the play.
Those missed chances opened the door for Gol Gol to storm back and take the lead through two goals to Lindsey and one to Dustin Duggan midway through the second. However, Aaron Milner turned things around for Werrimull by providing a lot of hitouts to advantage, with the likes of Ash Bates and Andrew Bailey reaping the rewards to give their side the lead back by the main break.
Nick Rodi snagged the first goal of the third to really get the home crowd excited, but after that it was virtually all Magpies as they shut down the Hawks’ midfield and proceeded to kick seven of the next nine goals to take a handy 33-point lead at the last change. Ryan Tierney, Shannon Anthony and Graeme Mentiplay were all outstanding defensively as much as offensively, while Duscher slotted four for the term.
Despite the best efforts of Shaun McInerney, John Thompson and David Gray, Gol Gol couldn’t close the gap in the final quarter, struggling to find other avenues to goal than Lindsey. This loss now forces them into a do-or-die showdown with Bambill at No.3 Oval in next week’s Preliminary Final.
Last Modified on 27/08/2012 13:57