By Ken Moore
NAR Nar Goon stole a thirds nailbiter from Lang Lang with a threepoint victory through a goal by Luke Fox with less than a minute left in the match.
The Tigers began brightly and with goals by ruckman Sam Cole, after a soaring mark and long kick, Chris McCurdy, after a strong mark, and Daniel Barwick, with a welleducated snap, it raced to a 17point lead at the first change.
Nar Nar Goon lifted in the later part of the second term but had to work hard to keep in touch and Lang Lang, with a 10point halftime advantage, appeared to have its measure.
The game exploded into life in the third quarter when the Goon’s Mat Slattery and Brodie Howe pulled in marks and kicked truly and when Adam Marchant produced a clever snap the Goon led by eight points.
A goal on the run by Tiger Jack Fulton, a split second before the threequartertime siren, reduced the lead to only two points at the final change to set up a thrilling last quarter.
Lang Lang stepped up a gear early in the last term with two goals by Aiden Brown to establish a 10point lead and looked to have the momentum to have the game safely in its keeping. But with four minutes left, the Goon’s Chris Johnson found space and steered through a goal to keep the game alive.
Then, with less than a minute left, Luke Fox, playing in first game since round four after a knee operation, was awarded a free kick and, with all the composure of a seasoned veteran, his shot on goal pierced the big sticks to snatch back the lead for the Goon.
For the final gutwrenching 50 seconds, Goon fans held their breath as their young charges clung on to give it backtoback flags in the thirds competition.
After halftime the Goon had a good spread of contributors with its onball division of Josh Hodson, Adam Marchant and Brent Hughes all in the thick of the action.
Captain and key forward Mat Slattery proved a headache for the Tigers, especially in the first half, and Nicholas Fromhold and Matthew Noonan anchored the defence.
Lang Lang’s best player was Sam Cole who dominated the ruck contests and was voted best on ground. Cole stamped himself as a quality player in the making and put in a top display both in the air and at ground level.
Dean Brown, Dan Barwick, Aaron Creasey and Jack Fulton all won their fair share of the ball and Aiden Brown imposed himself on the game in the last half, both on the ball and up forward.
For a large part of the game, Lang Lang played the more fluent football, regularly had more numbers at the ball and was desperately unlucky to lose.