West Gippsland FNC Round 11 review

KORUMBURRA-Bena scored its third win of the year after defeating Kilcunda-Bass at home on Saturday.
The match was a special occasion for the home side, as coach Damien Holmes played his 200th game in his accolade filled Kilcunda-Bass career.
The five time best and fairest winner was met by a guard of honour formed by juniors of the club and the victorious Reserves players.
The Giants however, were determined to ruin Holmes’ party and make amends for their loss against the Panthers earlier in the year.
The visitors started off well and kicked the first two goals of the contest.
A small but speedy and silky midfield led by Brenton Fitzgerald was able to kick the Giants into gear and they weren’t allowing much of the ball to enter their defence.
Aiden Paton was once again a rock down back for the Panthers but the onslaught of entries was too much to handle at times.
The home side was competitive in patches but poor skill errors – that seemed to be the theme of the day for them –were the downfall when going forward.
After not scoring a goal in the opening term, Kilcunda-Bass responded well and managed to snag three goals in the second.
Chris McKay was awesome in the midfield and used his dash and long boot to gain deep entries.
Sean Casey was also getting plenty of the sherrin in the guts and was able to dish the ball to outside runners often. Riley Scapin was also going well in the ruck for the home side but the Giants were able to wrestle back the momentum before half time as they put on another goal and a half to their quarter time lead.
The game was still very much in the balance at half time and the Panthers were hoping that a couple of early goals would get them right back in the game.
Unfortunately for them, goals were hard to come by as former Panther Matt Edwards and Will Jeffs down back, either intercepted or spoiled a lot of entries.
The case was the same for the Giants though as both sides only kicked one goal for the quarter.
Some poor kicking for goal from Korumburra-Bena let the hosts off a couple of times but they seemed to be only one last blow off knocking out their opposition.
Determined to not let the Panthers peg a couple of goals back and make the game interesting, the Giants started off the final term extremely well and sealed the game up.
Jake McMillan who kicked four majors for the day was taking plenty of strong grabs up forward and up on the wing, proving to be a major factor in the success of the game plan.
The visitors kicked four goals to two in the final term, making them 39-point victors.
Next game the Giants will host Phillip Island in what will be a much tougher contest and the Panthers will face another hard task when they travel to Garfield.

The Great Southern Star

It’s safe to say Anthony Young and Ricky Clark won’t forget Saturday in a hurry.

Not only did their struggling Bunyip side pull off one of the upsets of the WGFNC season to date on Saturday in defeating Cora Lynn by a straight kick, they both made their returns for the clash after overcoming serious injuries.

Fittingly, Young was one of Bunyip’s best on Saturday in its win over the Cobras, 8.8 (56) to 7.8 (50).

Former Beaconsfield star Damien Szwaja was also particularly influential, as were the likes of young guns Dylan Gallasch and Matt O’Halloran.

Jones said the on-field leadership of Young and Clark was particularly noticeable on Saturday.

“I think most of our frustration (over the season to date) has come from playing really good footy against every side, but not for long enough,” he said.

“We put our first four-quarter performance together on Saturday and we just hope the guys get a bit of confidence from that, and a bit more consistency.

“I hope we’re a bit scary for the finals sides to come.”

Jones said the feedback from some of his side’s midfielders after the game on Saturday was that the clash against the Cobras was the hardest they’d worked in a game of footy for a long time.

He said the unity among the Bulldog group had been fantastic throughout the season, even though it had struggled to convert that into wins.

“Our good is really, really good,” he said.

“We’ve just got to limit the difference between our best and worst.”

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Pakenham Gazette

Inverloch-Kongwak bounced back to account for Koo wee rup, 12-9 (81) to 10-8 (68).

With the reigning premier coming in on the back of two straight losses, the Sea Eagles started strongly with five goals to two in the opening term to set up a 17-point buffer at the first change.

The slow start continued for the Demons in the second term, managing just two behinds as they fell to a 29-point deficit at the long break.

The Demons made a response in the third term, booting five goals to three to reduce the margin to three goals and keep in touch.

Jason Wells led the charge for KWR with six goals, but the slow start proved too much to be able to reel in.

Nar Nar Goon hosted Garfield in what promised to be a tough and dour affair.

Prior to the senior game beginning, storm clouds were brewing and the wind was picking up. One could sense the conditions getting worse than better very quickly and the side that capitalised early could hold a strong advantage leading further into the game.

Garfield started the first term all guns blazing. It was hard and tough footy, and the Stars pushed hard early with the ball being played exclusively in their half of the ground. It wasn't until about 5 minutes in that the game saw it's first score, a blemish to Garfield. NNG would then take the ball coast to coast and score a behind themselves. There was plenty of niggle early and neither side were willing to give their opposition ascendancy.

Around 10 minutes into the first term the Goon started to find their feet a bit more and started pushing forward. A few more behinds were registered as the crowd started to crave a major score. Trent Noy provided an almost comical attempt at goal in the goal square around the 20 minute mark. It was a golden opportunity to put 6 points on the scoreboard, but he struggled to get his footing correct and with the ball attempting to escape him, he managed to soccer it off the ground, only to see the ball roll along the goal line and hit the post.

Nar Nar Goon continued to butcher their shots in front of goal, missing both set shots and snaps in general play. The Goon would go into quarter time with 8 behinds registered to Garfield's sole behind that opened the game. However the Savs could've easily been 2-3 goals ahead.

Garfield coach Hayden Stanton would use his maximum time to address his troops at the first break, but it would all be in vain as the Stars could only muster another singular behind in the second term.

The second quarter saw a lot of play early on the far wing, with numerous boundary throw ins. It wasn't until the inclement weather died down around the 10 minute mark that we saw some more free flowing football, which allowed Nar Nar Goon's Tom Dovaston to score the first goal of the game. The Goon would then add another major in the next two minutes and all of a sudden the home side were out to a 21-point lead. Halfway through the term one felt if the Stars couldn't get a goal on the scoreboard this game could get away from them. Garfield responded and had the upper hand of the last 10 minutes of the second quarter, but couldn't capitalise. Two set shots from reasonably tight angles went out on the full and a golden opportunity from a 50 metre penalty went begging as it sailed through for a behind. NNG would then manage one more behind just before the siren to lead by 21 points into the main break.

Returning from the ground after the long break, Garfield owned the first half of the third quarter. Two minutes in the Stars managed to score their first major and confidence of the group lifted. Five minutes later Denysenko kicked a great goal from a tight angle and the Stars were up and about, with the margin now reduced to 9 points. The dour struggle which ruled the trend of the game of the first half returned with the rain and wind. NNG managed a few behinds moving forward, with the lights being switched on halfway through the third term. Garfield then regained the ascendancy of play and worked the ball forward for their third goal of the quarter and the game. The Stars were now only a solitary goal in arrears, and the home crowd may have started cursing their side's inaccuracy in front of goal. But against the tide late in the quarter, NNG managed to slot a goal and take the margin back out to 10 points. A bit of umpire involvement saw two more goals to the home side, though the Stars managed to squeeze in their fourth major right on the siren, with the margin now 16 points leading into the final quarter.

The last term was all Nar Nar Goon, as the home side added four goals to one. The Goon had a couple of shots on goal early on, with one out on the full and the other getting the maximum points offered. NNG had now stretched their lead back out to 22 points and with the rain and wind picking up again, it was hard to see the visitors clawing their way back into the contest from that moment. Scoring from both sides was the only thing that was dry for the next 10 minutes until NNG snapped a goal out of congested play in their forward 50. The home side then controlled the play for the remainder of the quarter, with Garfield managing to slot their fifth goal of the game in junk time.