An enthralling North Gippsland Football-Netball League Preliminary Final was played at Gaskin Park, Churchill on Saturday.
Yallourn Yallourn North defeated an impressive Woodside outfit 13.10 (88) to 10.5 (65).
The Jets won their way through to the Grand Final, where a re-match with Traralgon Tyers United awaits them.
This did not come before an all mighty scare, however.
In a game that ebbed and flowed throughout, it was Woodside who took the early ascendency.
Unfortunately for the large contingent of supporters in the blue and white hoops, a lack of composure in front of goal meant that even though their side had three of the first four scores of the game, they headed into the first term trailing by 15 points.
With Ryan Foat clearly dominating the tap work, the Wildcats were unable to take advantage of his efforts, and when Elliot De Carli, Dylan Keyhoe and Dylan Bath kicked truly for the Jets in the last 10 minutes of the quarter, fears were high for a one-sided game.
Game-ending injuries to Jets’ onballer Jai Massese and high-marking wingman Brad Paulet before the end of the first term left the door ajar for Woodside to perhaps grind out a result.
In the absence of Massese, James DiVirgilio stepped up through the middle and was terrific for YYN.
For Woodside, Lee Stockdale had plenty of it early, as did the helmet-wearing Alfred Jessup.
Michael O’Sullivan, added to last week’s side in place of Braden Askew, looked as if he might take the game apart for the Wildcats up front if the midfield could get him enough supply.
After an arm wrestle in the first term, the game came to life in the second, where in the space of 10 minutes, from the seven-minute mark onward, the teams slammed home three goals each.
The run on goal was started by O’Sullivan when he kicked the first of his three.
This was followed by Joh Fythe, who pressed forward from his wing and all of a sudden, Woodside was back in the contest.
The dynamic duo of Keenan Hughes and Dean MacDonald then came to life in the YYN forward 50.
Hughes went back-to-back before, in one of the best bits of team play of the day, the man known as D-Mac kicked truly.
It started with Mitch Luck across half-back, who found Dylan Keyhoe with a searing pass on his left foot. Keyhoe then found his brother Josh on the run, who in turn laced out MacDonald 40-odd metres from goal.
He may have been much closer to the boundary than directly in front, but from the moment the ball left the star forward’s trusty boot, the result was never in doubt.
The Jets looked pretty comfortable with half-time on the horizon. After nearly 10 minutes of goal-less footy after the rapid-fire burst mid-term, the last goal of the half would be crucial.
When Keenan Hughes marked and kicked truly as the hooter sounded to end the half, it was the Jets who got it.
They had themselves a handy 26-point lead with plenty of momentum, and those earlier fears of a blow-out had again re-surfaced.
Whatever went on at half-time in the Wildcats’ room should be bottled and sold.
After looking all but buried, the Wildcats found the gear that saw them kick 11 unanswered goals in the final term last week and the outsider, down by north of four goals at the main, found themselves in the lead when three quarter time was called. The third quarter procession started with Fythe, who again pushed forward off his wing and found O’Sullivan who goaled.
When the big fella sharked the ball from the ruck moments later and kicked his second in a minute, a genuine contender for goal of the day, the Wildcats were on the prowl.
A quick reply by De Carli, which was the Jets’ only score for the term, couldn’t even slow the flow.
By the time Jessup kicked truly and Cam Whiteoak had done the same, the Wildcats were in the lead. It looked as if the momentum that had pushed Michael Duncan’s team from fifth at season’s end to a preliminary final would sweep them all the way to the decider.
The Jets headed to the three quarter time huddle a goal behind, with two players off the ground since early in the game and Mitch Luck back in the senior side after missing months of footy.
Questions were rightfully being asked about their ability to keep up with the Wildcats.
Would it be straight sets for the Jets? Surely not.
Alas, the last quarter was much like the third; this time however, it was YYN who did all the scoring. And I do mean all the scoring.
They managed to ram home 4.5 (29) while keeping the Wildcats off the scoreboard.
After injecting himself into the middle, the ageless Barrie Burnett followed the ball forward and kicked a terrific dribble goal around the corner.
This piece of brilliance put the Jets back in front, and as if inspired by watching their very own senior citizen lift his side, the Jets ran riot.
Hughes played closer to goal and started to hit the scoreboard, registering three of his four goals in the last term when the game was well and truly on the line.
As if that wasn’t enough, he then turned provider to set-up MacDonald for the sealer at 21 minutes.
As much as Will Broadbent and a clearly injured Ben Johnson toiled in the back half, the dam wall had well and truly cracked and it was season over for the Wildcats.
YYN may have won their way through to the big dance, but it will be a worrying week for the Jets with MacDonald noticeably favouring his left leg post-game.
His injury, along with those to Massese and Paulet earlier in the game, will be the major concerns for the Jets as they look forward to the premiership decider at Heyfield on Saturday.
