By Ken Moore
AN eye-popping 10-goal haul by dynamic utility Adam Cook helped Drouin seal an impressive 112-point victory over Bairnsdale on Saturday in the final home-and-away game of the season.
Cook took some awesome one grab overhead marks and showed he could be the wildcard the Hawks need in the finals.
Had he kicked straight, Cook might have outscored Bairnsdale – because he also botched eight shots on goal. Cook had a good foil in Chris Dunne, who bagged five goals, and the Redlegs struggled to contain these two key mobile forwards.
Drouin built a platform for victory with an eight-goal first quarter and racked up 17 first-half goals.
Midfielders Andy Soumilas, Daniel Barrand and Pat McGrath won a stack of the ball and mid-season recruit Cam De Gooyer (three goals) hit the packs hard across centre-half forward. The Hawks fielded four under-18 players in Keegan Bott, Darcy Irwin, Daniel Seri and Daniel Jackson, the latter two back from Gippsland Power. The quartet acquitted themselves well and will be hard to displace from the side.
For Bairnsdale, Robbie Brick was in and under the packs, half back Joel Waters provided good drive, James Gibbs made his presence felt across half forward and 19-year-old debutant James Young, who has been injured all season, kicked three goals and will be a name we hear plenty more next season.
MOE’s gallant late-season bid for a finals spot ended in dramatic circumstances when it suffered a heartbreaking four-point loss to Leongatha.
An accurate kick on goal by strong-bodied utility Adam Kennedy from only 30 metres out with 20 seconds to go was all the Lions needed to participate in the finals – but his shot missed.
Moe trailed by 25 points at three-quarter time, but finished full of steam with six last-quarter goals. It managed to hit the front at the 20-minute mark, but could not hold the Parrots out.
The Vernon brothers, Beau and Zac, along with wingmen Julian Stone and Dylan Westaway and ruck-rover Zac Griffiths, energised the victors and veteran Rhett McLennan, who has reinvented himself as a defender in recent weeks, was again steady at full back.
Moe coach Troy Makepeace was the mainspring behind the Lions most potent forward forays and was lent terrific support through the midfield by Ben Collins and half back Peter Ainsworth. Ruckman Chris Hancock put in a whole-hearted effort, as did, ever-reliable full back Kain Airdrie.
IN another thriller, Maffra secured fifth spot when it fell in by a solitary point against a valiant Morwell.
The win preserved the Eagles’ amazing record of not having missed a finals berth since 1999. Maffra looked on target for a comfortable victory when it led by 24 points at three-quarter time, however, the Tigers dug deep to score six last-quarter goals.
Eagles ruck-rover Kelvin Porter latched on to plenty of the ball and used it cleverly, and defenders Matt Johnston and Sam Bristow came to the rescue a number of times. Ruckman Owen Booth instigated plenty of drive out of the middle, Pat Jones pumped the ball forward consistently from the wing and Jack Tatterson underscored a fine game with six goals.
Rob Michaelidis proved to be a thorn in the Eagles’ defence, steering through six goals, Tim Ryan and Joel Soutar provided plenty of run and carry and young ruck tyro Jesse Bowe gave the Tigers plenty of impetus in the last quarter. He has found his feet in recent weeks and with his imposing height, has the makings of a future star.
TRARALGON clinched the minor premiership and firmed for flag favouritism after a convincing 40-point victory over Sale.
An inaccurate Traralgon trailed by four points at the main break but lifted a gear in the second half to power away with a nine-goal-to-two second half over a tiring Magpies.
With frugal defence, in tandem with strong assistance from him team-mates, Jamie Aitken restricted league-leading goalkicker Matt Ferguson to only one major and often ran off him to provide attack from deep in defence.
Dan McKenna (four goals) was a focal target and had he kicked better, the end margin would have been closer to 10 goals. Michael Burge and Danny Campbell were lively in the forward zone; Josh Fulton wielded his influence in the ruck and got good support from Matt Lewellin.
Sale forward Peter McFarlane (three goals) took some strong marks and posed the biggest threat for the Maroons’ defence and 16-year-old Adam Wallace made life difficult for Traralgon veteran Steve Hazelman. Ollie Collins repelled a number of Maroons forward advances, Jordan Dessent curbed the output of Sam Dunbar and 20-year-old centre half Mitch Davis did well in patches. If he can shake off the injuries that have plagued his season, he has plenty to offer.
WONTHAGGI ground out a 28-point victory over a spirited Warragul.
The Power did not escape the clutches of the Gulls until the third quarter when it turned a nine-point half-time advantage into a handy 24-point three-quarter time lead.
The Power’s on-ball brigade – led by captain Tom Gilliland in his 150th game and Gippsland Power’s Jack Blair, who added plenty of bite and pace – gave the home side tremendous drive.
This duo were well assisted by half forward Ben Young and Phil Solohub across the half back line.
Warragul’s effort was very good because it entered the game with eight regular players missing. Emerging forward Lachlan Petch played with confidence, Joel Morgan and Nick Edney launched many attacks through the centre, midfielders Josh Lea and Brad Hamilton set up several forward moves and Gary Miller, up from the reserves, shut down a number of Power attacks in the back pocket.
