By Mark Gullick
NARRE Warren outlasted a determined Pakenham by 10 points at a windy and rainswept Toomuc Reserve in their elimination final on Sunday.
The traditional rivals went toe-to-toe in an enthralling contest, which was characterised by continual niggles.
From the opening bounce, it was obvious that the teams didn’t get along, and this was reflected by the players jostling each other at every opportunity.
Unlike last weekend, Magpies captain Michael Collins won the toss.
He pointed his team towards the northern end, which had a significant breeze blowing towards it.
The Magpies jumped out of the blocks, with Nick Scanlon snapping a goal following a smart tap from Ben Wragg.
Wragg remained in play, outmarking Jason Fisher and kicking truly.
Further goals to winger Josh Tonna (twice) and Wragg saw the Magpies 29 points ahead at quarter-time.
In the second term, Narre Warren employed a loose man in defence, with Collins or Scanlon rotating in that position.
Russell Lehman booted Pakenham’s first goal with a long kick from the flank before Aaron McIver quickly replied for the Magpies.
Narre Warren undertook most of the attacking into the wind, but it was Pakenham who booted the next goal, thanks to a Nathan Lieshout attempt at the 17-minute mark.
During that phase, Narre Warren held sway, not gaining on the scoreboard but also denying Pakenham scoring chances while it held the wind.
Shortly after Lieshout’s goal, Wragg kicked his third as the Magpies counter-attacked.
The Lions hit back via Paul Gramc after accepting a pass from co-captain Beau Wheeler.
Narre Warren took a 23-point lead into half-time, but a superb third quarter brought Pakenham back into the contest.
The Lions contained and outscored the Magpies to trail by 20 points at the final change.
Gramc gave Pakenham the perfect start with a long goal to open the final term, which kick-started an action-packed half-hour.
Moments later Gramc missed an open chance, and Narre Warren counter-attacked, but were thwarted by the Lions in their goalsquare.
The Magpies held possession, but couldn’t find the goals, with Wragg hitting the post.
Scanlon was crunched in a marking contest and removed from play.
Lieshout, who was prominent early in the last term across the half-back line, drifted forward and booted a 60-metre goal, reducing the Lions’ deficit to eight points.
The Lions attacked, but several scoring chances drifted wide of the big sticks.
Narre Warren moved into the wind and Jackson Parker scrambled a goal to give the Magpies breathing space. Pakenham kept pushing, but its spirited comeback was foiled by the final siren.
Pakenham coach Michael Holland, who resigned after the match, believed it was a “wasted opportunity.”
“I actually thought we could have beaten Berwick (in Saturday’s preliminary final) and made the grand final,” he said.
“It’s something that the group’s going to have to live with for the next six months. I said to them after the game, if you’re content in finishing fourth all the time, then go ahead.”
Holland had several issues with the performance.
“I thought apart from the first 10 minutes, we played all over them,” he said.
“I don’t think we came out with the right intensity. We got led to the ball and (the players) didn’t follow the instructions what I asked.”
At the final change, Pakenham was in the box seat, but failed to take their chances.
“(The players) followed instructions on what we wanted to do – it wasn’t going to be pretty, but they followed it to a tee,” Holland said. “At three quarter-time, I thought we were in with a big show. We’d done all the hard work against the wind, but the players didn’t listen to the instructions.
It’s the same things that happened all year that let us down; conversion in front of goal, we started missing tackles again in the last quarter, and we weren’t hitting our handballs or our kicks. As much as they were trying conditions, I thought we let ourselves down in a few areas.
But in saying that, we didn’t follow instructions in the final quarter, which probably cost us in the end. We kicked 2.7 (in the final term) and there were at least three or four of them that were gettable.”
The two teams have built a strong tradition and it was a spirited match.
“There was obviously a bit of niggle, it’s always a great contest between us, but at the end of the day, we’ve got respect for what they do on and off the field,” Holland said. “There’s no-one better than them when it comes to running a club. It’s something we have to strive towards. I don’t ever blame umpires, but I thought we got a pretty raw deal. I’d love to see the free-kick count at the end of the game, I reckon it would’ve been about 30 to five. A lot of them were very tiggy-touchwood, especially early on. I was disappointed with the umpires.”
Forward Paul Gramc was superb for the Lions, booting three goals.
“He was the best man on the ground, I thought,” Holland said.
“He led up and presented really well. We missed him early in the year when he was injured and he came back and gave us a lot more structure. I was very impressed with his game.”
Jared Goldsack was another bright performer.
“Not many players would be able to come back and do what he did,” Holland said.
“He came back with a couple of rounds to go and slotted straight back in, giving us leadership and direction down back.”
The hard-working Joel Gibson, veteran winger Tom O’Loughlin and captain Beau Wheeler played well, while Nathan Lieshout was a threatening presence.
Narre Warren was led by captain Michael Collins, who was typically gritty, while Clay Peresso returned and delivered a tough performance in the back half. Jackson Parker, Josh Tonna and Chris Collins were lively in the midfield and Michael McGill was a steady defender.
Ben Wragg kicked two goals.
