By Nicholas Duck
Fifth place changed hands yet again on Saturday as the finals race heats up just weeks out from the season's end.
Here's what you might have missed this week.
Warragul vs Traralgon
Warragul coach Jed Lamb has seen a lot across his footy career, including 66 games in the AFL.
As far as he's concerned however, Saturday's win was the best he's ever been a part of.
Lamb's Gulls came from the clouds in a stone-cold classic at Western Park, kicking the final three goals of the game after trailing by 19 points late to knock off reigning premiers Traralgon by one point.
The 13.9 (87) to 13.6 (86) triumph is Warragul's sixth straight win and, more importantly, now has them trailing the top three by percentage only with four rounds left to play.
In short, after years of suffering and heartache, Warragul have finally arrived.
Even the most ardent Gulls fan couldn't possibly have been dreaming of victory as the clock wound down in the final stages of the top five tussle.
Having broken away to an early lead courtesy of a six-goal-to-two opening quarter, the home side found their lead slowly chipped away and overtaken as the Maroons' running power took over.
When you're down by 19 points past the 20-minute mark, there's not much reason to hope. Doesn't help when you're Warragul, a team that hasn't exactly been renowned for their fight in a good long while.
But the 2025 edition of the Gulls is a different beast as goals to key forward Jordan Stewart and midfield guns Will Hayes and Tom Hobbs drew them back level before a last gasp behind from Stewart put them in front.
It's not a stretch to say Warragul fans haven't seen a better win in close to a decade.
Defenders Patrick Mulqueen and Sean Masterson were the main contributors in the result, desperately getting a hand in on more than a few Traralgon entries inside 50.
Masterson's game will likely be most remembered for a magnificent one on one mark against Maroons star Dylan Loprese in the day's dying seconds, saving what would have been a certain shot at goal and ultimately the game.
Jordan Stewart again fired when required, finishing the day on four goals despite his late – and rare – miss.
Tom Hobbs went ballistic through the midfield at times, barging through like a man possessed as Warragul made their final charge.
Ruck Sam Whibley put on a hit out clinic to give his midfielders silver service while young defender Lucas Carter continues to grow, especially after Liam Serong's call-up to Coburg.
Traralgon's best for the day was Tristen Waack, who put a forgettable first term in defence behind him to exert his influence in the middle instead.
Waack played a big part in the Maroons' turnaround post-quarter time and would have enjoyed plenty more plaudits had they held on.
Luis D'Angelo, Connor Ambler and Jordan Cunico combined to take it right up to the Warragul engine room, who are hardly slouches themselves, as Mitch Membrey and Tye Hourigan impressed in defence.
Going by the first quarter alone you might not have guessed which of the two teams was out for back-to-back to flags.
Warragul's control with the footy matched up well on Traralgon's usual run and gun style, holding them in good stead in the early goings.
There were highlights for both teams, Traralgon's a wonderful pick-up and goal on the run to Jordan Cunico and Warragul's a rare defender's goal as Masterson floated forward on Daniel McKenna.
Halfway through the quarter the Gulls' patience going inside 50 paid off as they made their move.
Hobbs got on the end of an overlap to run one in, kicking off a run of four straight Gulls goals to end the quarter as Tom Stern, Jordan Stewart and Kai MacLean got in on the action.
It's not often the Maroons are left on the back foot early but their usual devastating ball movement was being stifled entirely by a Warragul side clearly keen to take a scalp.
Troy Hamilton's message to his troops at quarter time had some effect, the Maroons looking to work their way back into the contest after being shellshocked.
Moving Waack from floating in defence into a midfield role proved an effective one as he gave them some extra grunt where it was desperately needed, especially with Whibley tapping it how he pleased.
The Maroons reeled off four goals to one to pull the margin back under a kick by half time and likely could have had the lead if not for some inaccuracy by Jackson McMahon.
Traralgon's efforts to shift the momentum continued into the third term, slicing and dicing their way off half back.
An early goal to Jordan Stewart was soon cancelled out by Jackson McMahon hitting the target as a deft checkside by Liam Willaton gave the visitors the lead.
Harvey Neocleous let the crowd know about it when he slotted a beauty close to the boundary line and suddenly the reigning premiers looked set to run away with the game, punishing every Warragul turnover with impunity.
Stewart again stood up when required, keeping the home side within a goal at three quarter time.
Gulls coach Jed Lamb implored his team to dig deep and take their moments but wouldn't have been a happy man minutes into the last when McMahon hit McKenna on a searing lead to extend the Maroons' lead.
Though the Gulls refused to say die, the clock ticked over 20 minutes with the deficit at an imposing 19 points. Safe to say most were expecting another honourable loss.
Well if that was the script, Warragul didn't read it.
It started with that man Jordan Stewart again clunking a one-on-one mark and nailing the shot to give the Maroons some nerves.
Tom Stern, nursing an injured ankle from earlier in the day, kicked truly after marking on the lead, leading to a chorus of roars from the home crowd.
If they were happy with that, they were ballistic just moments later as the Gulls burst from the middle, Hobbs streaming towards goal before dishing it off to Hayes, whose shot sailed through in a manner reminiscent of Clayton Oliver in the 2021 grand final.
Having looked dead and buried, the Gulls were suddenly on level terms and looking like a team born anew.
Hobbs and Hayes combined again, finding Jordan Stewart 40m out with the game on his boot. While normally a natural in front of goal, Stewart suffered a rare miss, leaving the Maroons with a chance to win the game.
Though they threatened, Masterson stood tall in front of Loprese late, clearing the footy before celebrating with his teammates as the siren sounded not long after.
Lamb was a little lost for words post-match but said he was extremely proud of his group.
"I said to the boys that'd be the best win I've played in to be honest. I've had some milestone games in AFL like Simmo's (Kade Simpson) 300th, Gibba's (Bryce Gibbs) 200th but I guess when you've come from where we've come from and get a win like that, six in a row, it's definitely one of the best wins I've ever had," he said.
Lamb said while he always believed Warragul could win, he did have a few doubts late.
"You never say die, like the attitude of this group is unbelievable and as a coach you never want to throw the towel in but you think 'oh we can kick a couple of goals and lose by a goal we show we can match it with the best.'
"But the willingness to win and the want to win, I was a bit speechless in the rooms afterwards. Backs against the wall, we've been training these scenarios for a little while now and to finally see it come off is really good.
"For them to get on top and for us to find a way to win speaks volumes of the group I reckon."
Warragul face another major test this Saturday as they travel to Parrot Park to face the league's top team in Leongatha.
Leongatha vs Morwell
Leongatha has brought Morwell's charge into the top five to a grinding halt, crushing the Tigers by 55 points and sending them back to sixth as a result.
The Tigers were held to just a single goal after half time, the Parrots powering home with eight last quarter goals to prevail 12.12 (84) to 4.5 (29).
It was a surprisingly free flowing final term from the home side after what had been a real slog of a game to that point.
Just seven goals had been kicked between the teams to three quarter time as the Parrots' wayward kicking in front of goal threatened to come back and bite them.
No better cure for some poor kicking than eight straight to finish the day.
The final margin itself was a far cry from many of the recent encounters between these two sides, which have been surprisingly close despite the difference in ladder positions.
For whatever reason Morwell has generally matched up well on the league's most dominant side recently, including their nine-point loss earlier in the year.
Well it was a different story on Saturday, the Tigers looking toothless up forward without star forward Brandon McDonald.
The Parrots may have taken their time finding their mojo but when the chips were down and the game was there to be won, you can usually count on them nailing the moment.
Aaron Heppell, Luke Bowman, Jack Hume, Benjamin Harding, Benjamin Willis and Kim Drew were their best.
For Morwell, Flying their flag on Saturday were Aidan Quigley, Stephen Mills, Max Linton, Maclan McInnes, Zachary Anderson and Sam Walsh.
Wonthaggi vs Sale
Wonthaggi picked up a much-needed four points on Saturday after comfortably accounting for Sale.
Coming into the encounter with just one win from their past six starts the Power looked at ease at home against the Magpies, kicking six first quarter goals to build an early lead and never looking back.
The 12.12 (84) to 5.7 (37) win also puts them back into fifth position after sliding out of the five in recent weeks.
Even more pleasing for the Power was the strength of their defensive unit, who kept the visitors to just the two goals past the first break.
Sale, who had seemingly rediscovered some form by thrashing Drouin last week, were back to old habits in a disappointing overall performance.
Wonthaggi's attention is now firmly on the long journey to Bairnsdale this week before a gruelling three weeks against the league's top three teams.
They're back into fifth for now and if they end up keeping it, they'll have earned it.
The Power's stronger performers included Brodie Mabila, Kaj Patterson, Joshua Bates, Reeve Moresco, Cooper McInnes (four goals) and Jai Williams.
Cooper Whitehill, Thomas Wrigglesworth, Derek Eggmolesse-Smith, Jack McLaren, Thomas Glenn and Harry Ronchi were the Magpies' more admirable players.
Maffra vs Bairnsdale
Maffra's rebuild continues to take shape following a hard-fought 14-point win against Bairnsdale.
The Eagles remained within striking distance even as they trailed for most of the day before taking their chances late, kicking the final three goals of the day and securing their fifth win of the year 13.10 (88) to 10.14 (74).
They've now more than doubled last year's win tally (two) and as a bonus have moved above the Redlegs on the ladder.
It was tough to pick a winner for a lot of the day at Maffra's home ground, the Redlegs making the early moves to lead by three goals.
Although they held sway through the majority of the second and third quarters, Bairnsdale found themselves unable to shake a persistent Maffra side eager to keep hanging around.
In the end they regretted that terribly, leaving them to drive back to Bairnsdale empty-handed.
Alex Carr reigned supreme for Maffra, alongside Jett Killoran, Thomas Scott, Danny Butcher, Jonathan Boyd and Andrew McKenzie.
Keeping Bairnsdale in the hunt were Ethan East (three goals), Will Mitchell, Brayden McCarrey, Tom Blenheim, Lachlan Cloak and Tate Clay.
Drouin vs Moe
Drouin were left standing in the wake of a perfect 10 from Moe forward Ben Crocker as they suffered a 94-point defeat.
The Hawks were generally a more competitive unit than the one demolished by Sale a week ago but were made to pay by a relentless Crocker as well as a deflating final 10 minutes that saw the final margin blow out beyond 15 goals, the final score 8.9 (57) to 24.7 (151).
The battle between the league's bottom team and one of its leading contenders went about as expected, the Hawks generally up for the fight even as they were well outmatched in terms of talent and execution.
Tackling, pressure and effort were certainly there, something that has not always been the case in season 2025.
When you keep missing targets inside 50, however, you just leave yourself open for a quick rebound. Also doesn't help when the opposition has a Crocker.
Crocker was in no mood to mess about on the expanses of the Trafalgar Recreation Reserve, taking on a variety of different opponents and enjoying his time on all of them.
Couple that with a nice five by Lions coach Leigh Poholke and it was always going to be an uphill battle.
Seb Amoroso was again Drouin's standout, taking on a full time role in the middle with his usual fervour and effort.
Kye Quirk joined him in those efforts, as youngsters Max Williames and Zach McMillan enjoyed some time in the engine room as the day wore on.
Peyton Saddington's return from injury was a positive one as he played a solid game on Moe tall Nick Prowse and competed well one-on-one all day.
Denver Lund provided a solid marking target around the ground, even as he gave away a few frees in the ruck.
Crocker was the clear standout on the Moe end of things as a 100-goal season remains a chance if he can keep up his form.
Alex Dijkstra was as effective as ever at the coalface in his first season at the Lions and Jacob Balfour (three goals) was admirable in his supporting role inside 50.
Scott van Dyk, Jaryn Makepeace and Myles Poholke were the other Lions to impress as most of the team enjoyed a day out.
Drouin being forced on the road this year has caused plenty of issues this year but the Moe fans certainly weren't complaining about the quick 10-minute drive down the freeway as a solid crowd settled in at Trafalgar.
The gap between the two teams was evident early when the Lions made all the early moves, sweeping the ball from the backline to the forward line in an instant and catching the Hawks out on the rebound.
Drouin coach Leigh Horsburgh found himself frustrated at times by his side's decisions when they did have their chances, the Hawks often going shallow inside 50 and being made to pay the price.
Down by six goals at quarter time, other parts of Drouin's game were clicking into gear nicely at least, namely their uncontested ball use as they chipped their way around the ground's wider wings.
They were able to string together some solid pieces of play during the game's middle two quarters despite the game being all but gone.
By the time the day reached the last term the Hawks were able to put some consecutive scores on the board and the margin stood at just under 70 points. It might not sound great, but if you're the Hawks that's not a terrible return in a game like this.
Drouin couldn't keep it up though, dropping away late and allowing the Lions to slam home five late majors and put the final deficit at one larger than they probably deserved.
Speaking post-game Horsburgh wasn't totally displeased with his side's efforts.
"To be honest we played reasonably well...but we just turned the footy over," he said.
"When the momentum stops the thing with our group is we get scored on too easily and too quickly. It's something we really need to work on moving forward.
"For me it's just about improving the second time we play someone, we've played five opponents twice and we've improved four times. You take away the Sale game and we've shown a lot more as the year's gone on."
Things don't get any easier for the Hawks this week as they meet reigning premiers Traralgon, who will be out to rebound following their defeat to Warragul.
Image: Shaz Caia
