Nar Nar Goon’s Phil Dorning only has eyes for the ball in this contest. Ball under his wing, Dorning looks to handpass to a teammate in a better position. Pictures: Donna Oates
By Ken Moore
AFTER a string of narrow losses, Nar Nar Goon finally won a close game when it pipped the fifth-placed and finals-bound Lang Lang by six points on Saturday.
With the game on the line, Shannon Stocco kicked his fifth goal, giving the Goon the lead with only 90 seconds to go.
Midfield hubs Dean Kelly and Brent Hughes drove the ball forward many times and Brodie Howe used his pace well off the half-back flank, providing plenty of energy and a channel forward in the last term when the game was up for grabs.
Experienced half-back Nick Henwood distributed the ball with purpose, strong-bodied thirds forward Wil Evans, son of former president Dale, made his debut and put a smile on the faces of supporters when he kicked a crucial goal in the third quarter, and another youngster, Brendan Herman, came under notice and gained further senior experience.
Lang Lang assistant coach Dan O’Hara was a steadying influence at centre-half-back and along with midfielders Jarrod Tonks and Aaron Creasey, the trio were the pick of the Tigers.
Others to make their presence felt included wingman Bodie Brown, burly utility Stuart Casey and Bryce Tonks while James Hawker did well to negate key Goon forward Luke McConnell.
KOOWEERUP finished a turbulent season on a strong note when it trampled all over a listless Nilma Darnum by 121 points.
The big point difference kept the Bombers on the bottom of the table.
The Demons had a suite of well-performed players, led by half-back Neil Watson, Ben Miller, Jack Carson, Ben Spicer and ruckman Matt Cameron, who stamped their authority on the game in and around the midfield.
Sean Miller and Brett Hobson (five goals each) provided a good target.
Nilma did not play like a team desperate to get of the last rung on the ladder and on a near-perfect day could cobble together only five majors. The side did not have a multiple goalscorer.
Now and again, Darren Minto, James Hamill, Chris Pallot and Darren Arezzolo bobbed up, but there were far too many passengers in red and black tops.
BUNYIP warmed up for its elimination final against Lang Lang on Sunday with a crushing 94-point victory over Poowong.
Poowong was powerless to stop Brent Hues, who showcased his talent, steering through 11 goals, and the tall Bulldog had a regular supply line from Jake Buckingham, Michael Laszczyk and Ash Walker.
Budding defender Brad Wolfe provided good resistance and has been a real find this season and Steve Berryman held the league’s leading goalkicker Kael Bergles to three goals.
Poowong manage only one goal after quarter-time and showed little of the fight that saw it upset Garfield seven days earlier. The Magpies found a little solace in the efforts of wingman Ryan Dunn, ruckman Callum O’Hare and midfielders Matt Grant and Dan Mullen, but there was little else to get enthused about.
IN A highly entertaining shoot-out that yielded 39 goals, Longwarry snatched an eight-point win over Buln Buln.
Regular half-back Mark Light relished the chance to show his wares in the midfield and he didn’t disappoint and kicked four second-quarter goals to show he was also a dab hand around the big sticks.
Luke Serong capped off a fine season with six goals to make it 74 for the season, Tye and Dylan Holland ran aggressively and Scott Hamilton and Leigh McDonald played a good deal of the game up forward, using their physical strength well to set up a number of goals.
Lyrebird coach Daniel Charles (seven goals) and Anthony Bernardo (six) enjoyed a prosperous game and wingman Trent Baker reinforced he was a player to watch.
Jeremy Jagoe shouldered the bulk of the ruck work with good effect and Dean Burnell, who announced his retirement last week, picked up regular touches and made an impact in his final game.
THERE were mixed emotions for Nyora.
The Saints were cleaned up by 79 points at Ellinbank, but still achieved their major aim for the afternoon – to avoid the ignominy of being the wooden spoonholders for 2011.
That unwanted tag went to Nilma Darnum, which was unlucky, finishing less than 1 per cent behind the Saints, after getting flogged to the tune of 121 points at Kooweerup.
From midway in the second term, Nyora fell off the pace and the only interest after half-time what the final margin would be.
Luke Woolan stepped up from the under-18s and showed he was a player of the future, offering plenty of drive from his wing position. Another youngster, Pat Bloye, impressed for the second consecutive week and steered through six majors.
Half-back Andrew Quirk chopped off many attacks and when the ball did find its way deep into the Bankers’ defence, Daniel Golding often came to the rescue.
James Keeble and Josh Peterson powered the Bankers engine room and 16-year-old Ash Scott kicked two goals and will be a name a lot more will be heard of next season.
For Nyora, coach Corrie Wilson and Aiden Cumberland launched the most significant forward thrusts for the Saints, ruckman Nick Carrigy put in another competent display and back pocket Daniel Barton cancelled a number of Banker advances.
