Two matches with similar margins but contrasting story lines came to us over the first weekend of the Alinta Energy Gippsland League Finals.
Saturday saw Leongatha prove any doubters wrong as they produced a vintage finals performance to book their ticket into the 2nd Semi Final. It was a brilliant team effort but one man stood out and nearly set a League record with 8 goals (9th on the siren disallowed). Cameron Olden was everywhere and his feat included two after the siren vital goals for the Parrots. A constant threat up forward, he ended the match with 15 disposals , 8 goals and 137 ranking points. The Parrots stars shone as bright as ever with Cade Maskell picking up 17 marks include 8 intercept and 3 contested grabs to compliment his 32 disposals. Aaron Heppell finished with 27 touches while Noah Gown and Tom Marriott also were vital around the football. A starring role of sorts was played by Luke Bowman who usually is seen racking up tackles and touches in the middle but sacrificed his game in an attempt to shut down Lions coach and former Melbourne Demon Declan Keilty. Bowman had just the 4 handballs for the game but ended as one of the Parrots best as he curved a lot of Keilty’s impact in kept moments.
For Moe it was a familiar sight at the top of their best players with Ben Daniher picking up 35 touches at 77% efficiency and 164 ranking points while Scott Van Dyk ended with 32 disposals, Riley Baldi 30 and James Blaser 23 in arguably his most influential game of the season. Blaser kicked 2 goals in the second term to keep Moe in the hunt in a quarter where they conceded 6 to the Parrots after a bright start. Without Blaser’s influence they could have gone in outside of reach. The margin was 23 at the half and would blow out early in the third but late goals kept Moe in the hunt at 28 points behind to start the last term. In truth the match lost sting towards the end as every Moe attempt was quickly answered either on the scoreboard or in general play. The game early was of the highest standard and a great showing of where the League currently sits in its premier grade.
Moe: 2.2, 4.2, 8.5, 11.7 (73)
Leongatha: 2.1, 8.1, 13.3, 16.5 (101)
GOALS: Moe: N. Prowse 3, J. Blaser 2, J. Wood 1, H. Sim 1, B. Gowers 1, J. Balfour 1, T. Baldi 1, T. Blackshaw 1,
GOALS: Leongatha: C. Olden 8, J. Garnham 2, N. Gown 1, M. McGannon 1, T. Marriott 1, T. Nash 1, T. Brill 1, A. Heppell 1,
BEST: Moe: R. Baldi, T. Baldi, S. van Dyk, B. Maslen, J. Blaser, L. Mulqueen,
BEST: Leongatha: C. Olden, C. Maskell, J. Harry, L. Bowman, N. Gown, B. Willis,
Moe | D | K | HB | CM | UM | T | G | RP |
20. Ben Daniher | 35 | 17 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 164 |
16. Scott van Dyk | 32 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 141 |
09. Riley Baldi | 30 | 15 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 125 |
02. James Blaser | 23 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 111 |
23. Ben Maslen | 21 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 99 |
37. Jordan Ceppi | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 97 |
10. Trent Baldi | 21 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 91 |
30. Nick Prowse | 10 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 83 |
18. Chris Prowse | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 71 |
04. Harrison Sim | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 71 |
05. Declan Keilty | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 71 |
27. Luke Mulqueen | 13 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 71 |
42. Bill Gowers | 14 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 70 |
03. Tyson Biffin | 16 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 69 |
31. Jacob Balfour | 10 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 59 |
49. Thomas Blackshaw | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 59 |
22. Ben Morrow | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 46 |
06. Jacob Wood | 11 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 46 |
17. Dylan Brooks | 10 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 41 |
34. Tyler Pratt | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
15. Brock Smith | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 34 |
29. Thomas Long | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
Leongatha | D | K | HB | CM | UM | T | G | RP |
23. Cade Maskell | 32 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 138 |
34. Cameron Olden | 15 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 137 |
59. Aaron Heppell | 27 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 109 |
14. Noah Gown | 23 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 105 |
08. Thomas Marriott | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 92 |
04. Josh Hopkins | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 76 |
17. Jenson Garnham | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 72 |
07. Jackson Harry | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 72 |
49. Mason McGannon | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 69 |
05. Tallin Brill | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 62 |
20. Benjamin Willis | 11 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 62 |
42. Cameron Stone | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 56 |
22. Aaron Hillberg | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 45 |
03. Sam Forrester | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 41 |
31. Sean Westaway | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
12. Steve Forrester | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 37 |
35. Will Littlejohn | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 32 |
38. Jesse Burns | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 |
15. Aaron Turton | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
55. Luke Bowman | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
45. Travis Nash | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
21. Jack Ginnane | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
It looked like there would be no excuses on Sunday with the sun beaming down on Western Park, a traditionally high scoring ground, for the Elimination Final between Sale and Traralgon. Last years Grand Finalists Sale went in as heavy favorites with the Maroons on a four-match losing streak and the Magpies looking set to welcome their best team on paper for the year. Eight days earlier the Sale side had put away Traralgon at quarter time in their round 18 match and this couldn’t have been further from their minds when they went into the quarter time break goalless. The game was played with high tension and both sides for went their regular ball movement as it turned into a good old fashioned finals grind. The Maroons always looked the better team throughout the day and looked set to run away with the win until from nowhere Sale strung four goals together after only kicking 1 in essentially three quarters of football. The Magpies butchered chance after chance in front of goal and missed snaps (some barely registering a score) from inside 15 meters looked to deflate the team.
After a slow third term, Jordy Dessent goaled after the siren to give a slither of hope at ¾ time as the Magpies cut the lead to 25 points. In the last Traralgon all but sealed the game with the first goal however a rush of three quick Sale goals cut the lead below 18 points with time remaining. Surprisingly the Magpies continued to move the ball slowly out of defense and bar a few players barely took the game on in the last stretch. Brett Eddy’s fifth goal sealed the game as he produced a trademark 50 meter bomb from the club room side pocket to put the game beyond reach. He along with Tom Hamilton, Tom Schneider and Luis D’Angelo were the difference. The Maroons mids won more of the footy and Hamilton was a wild card in the air and ground. He ended with 18 disposals, 6 contested marks and goal and 139 ranking points. Schneider had an all time finals stat line with 195 ranking points made up of 32 disposals (8 more than any other player), 17 contested, 7 clearances, 6 tackles, 7 inside 50s, a goal and 8 free kicks for. For the Magpies, Jack Leslie battled hard in the ruck and ended with 124 ranking points including 33 hit outs, 7 marks and 15 disposals. Young future star Tom Wrigglesworth finished with 17 disposals and 101 ranking points playing in an uncustomary half back role, he will be one to look out for in the future. Brad Dessent kicked 3 while Jordy Dessent kicked 2 which probably should have been 4 or 5.
Traralgon: 2.1, 5.4, 6.7, 9.11 (65)
Sale: 0.3, 1.4, 2.6, 5.6 (36)
GOALS: Traralgon: B. Eddy 5, T. Hamilton 1, B. Schilling 1, T. Schneider 1, C. Little 1,
GOALS: Sale: B. Dessent 3, J. Dessent 2,
BEST: Traralgon: L. D’Angelo, T. Hamilton, B. Eddy, M. Jacobsen, T. Schneider, J. McMahon,
BEST: Sale: J. Leslie, N. Whitford, T. Wrigglesworth, J. Dessent, P. Tainsh, J. Allison,
Traralgon | D | K | HB | CM | UM | T | G | RP |
14. Tom Schneider | 32 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 195 |
24. Tom Hamilton | 18 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 139 |
13. Jackson McMahon | 24 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 126 |
01. Brett Eddy | 11 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 124 |
04. Luis D’Angelo | 21 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 90 |
17. Conor Little | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 80 |
05. Billy Schilling | 12 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 77 |
30. Tye Hourigan | 14 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 74 |
42. Joel Scholtes | 13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 73 |
10. Mark Collison | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 68 |
03. Max Jacobsen | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67 |
32. Connor Ambler | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 59 |
11. Hugh Dunbar | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 56 |
15. Lucas Tripodi | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 47 |
18. Thomas McMahon | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 45 |
43. Joshua Hamilton | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36 |
37. Bradley Kimberley | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 36 |
35. Kade Ruyters | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
28. Tate Marsh | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
23. Sammy Hallyburton | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
26. Dylan Loprese | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
22. Mitch Membrey | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Sale | D | K | HB | CM | UM | T | G | RP |
22. Jack Leslie | 15 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 124 |
24. Jack Johnstone | 23 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 115 |
12. Will Leslie | 18 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 107 |
10. Lachie Ronchi | 21 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 107 |
05. Jack Mclaren | 20 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 104 |
16. Thomas Wrigglesworth | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 101 |
31. Nathan Whitford | 19 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 98 |
66. Patrick Tainsh | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 96 |
02. Shannen Lange | 21 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 89 |
27. Brad Dessent | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 85 |
08. Jayden Allison | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 74 |
23. Jordan Dessent | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 70 |
30. Cody Henness | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 61 |
43. Jordan Bourke | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 61 |
09. Adam Wallace | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 54 |
11. Jarrod Freeman | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 50 |
01. Kane Martin | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 48 |
14. Mitch Bown | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
07. Cooper Whitehill | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
35. Jonty McGuiness | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
13. Harry Ronchi | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
19. Harry Tatterson | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
*Note
D Disposals | K Kicks | HB Handballs | CM Contested Mark | UM Uncontested Mark | T Tackles | G Goals | RP Ranking Points |