Tom Hayes
There has been movement in the top five, and with just one round remaining in the North Gippsland Football-Netball League home-and-away season, results have major ramifications.
Some positions are completely tied up, while the five teams that will continue after next weekend are also confirmed.
Those five teams’ positions are not confirmed yet, and with a week to go, there is most likely going to be some more twists and turns.
THE Jets hold a double-chance position, for now.
Yallourn Yallourn North secured a win for the ages at Gaskin Park, downing the Cougars.
This was a proper see-saw affair, one that saw Churchill start the better of the two.
The Cougars burst out to a 13-point lead at quarter time, kicking three goals to one.
Both sides showed inaccuracies in front of goal, in a quarter that saw nine behinds scored.
YYN came to life in the second term, this time keeping the home side to just three behinds.
While doing so, the Jets added 3.3 (21) to their score line, taking the lead in the all-important encounter by the time the halftime siren rang.
On the scoreboard, the third quarter appears to be a tight one, but in fact it could have been blown out of proportion for either team.
Both sides enjoyed sways of momentum, but neither side was able to take full advantage of it.
The Cougars kicked 2.7 (19) to the Jets’ 3.3 (21), extending ever-so-slightly on their five-point advantage which now stood at seven.
The final term went down to the wire, but it was Churchill who started to turn it on, blasting into the lead, looking to overrun the Jets again, like they did in their last encounter in Round 6.
Consecutive goals from Jarrod Henderson, Joel Mason and Travis Brighton gave Churchill a handy buffer with little time left on the clock.
As time ticked, up stepped the Jets’ twin towers, Dean Macdonald and Keenan Hughes.
Macdonald kicked YYN back into contention with a long range effort, but still trailing by three points, the Cougars were on lockdown.
Within the final minute, the Jets looked inside 50 for what would be the final time, kicking to the pocket and it was Hughes that stood tallest over two Cougars, promptly running around the corner and snapping truly on his left.
YYN had stolen it, and 45 seconds later, the siren confirmed it, 10.14 (74) to 9.17 (71).
For YYN, Mitchell Luck stood out the most, as did Anthony Young, Dylan Bath, Matt Twaddle, Barrie Burnett and Kyle Jennings.
In the Cougars camp, Blake Slater was recognised for his defensive efforts, while Kurt Holt, Chris Williams, Hayden Weir, Jordan Fenech and Nick Celima also made the best.
The Jets moved into third on the ladder, but now their final position is out of their hands.
With a bye this weekend, they need both Churchill and Heyfield to lose in order to hold onto the double-chance.
As for the Cougars, they were ever-so-close to confirming a place in the top-three, and now looking into the final round, it’s probably most likely they will finish fifth and play YYN again in an elimination final.
TRARALGON Tyers United are the minor premiers.
The Bombers jumped back out to two games clear, after a 156-point win over Glengarry.
In an effort that saw the Bombers hold the Magpies scoreless for a half of football, the game was all but over by the main break.
TTU did it with ease, going from 33 points up at quarter time, to 78 at halftime.
Glengarry got going in the third time, but unfortunately for them, that’s all they did for the game on the scoreboard.
TTU extended the lead out to 99 points by three quarter time, before the Bombers buried the Magpies on their home deck.
The Bombers kicked 9.5 (59) to two behinds in the final term, blowing the lead well over 100 points, then 150, sealing the minor premiership in style, 27.14 (176) to 3.2 (20).
Goals came from multiple sources for the Bombers. Brad Kelleher and Jye Neilson kicked five each, Beau White had four, while five other players slotted two each.
Brouns was best-on for the winning side, complimented by Kade Duncan, Michael Jacobsen, Zach Kilgower, Neilson and Kelleher.
For the home side, Jesse Lee, Jack Burgess, Spencer Poulton, Kyle Wheatley, Michael Ryan and Callum Mitchell were all stand outs in defeat.
TTU can deny Churchill a top-three berth next week, and I’m sure on top of that they will want to finish the season undefeated.
As for Glengarry, they’re currently 10th, but a win against Gormandale on the final weekend could see them jump Cowwarr into ninth.
SALE CITY ended Yarram’s season.
The Bulldogs denied the Demons a chance of making finals, taking their opponents out of contention with a win on their home ground.
Yarram had slim hopes of finals coming into the last two rounds, needing a handful of results to fall their way in order to claim a spot.
Sale City commanded to an early 14-point lead, which soon grew out to 34 by halftime.
In typical fashion, the Bulldogs started fast and put their opponent on the back foot, but this time, they had held onto a lead and defended it.
An eight goal to two half is in no way a fluke, as Sale City looked to extend on their lead.
They continued to make it hard for the Demons, as Yarram saw the door close in on their finals chances, another quarter won by the Bulldogs had all but sealed it.
Forty points ahead with 30 minutes to go, Yarram had their best quarter, kicking 3.4 (22) to 2.4 (16), bringing the margin back to 34.
But for the home side, their season was over, at the hands of the Bulldogs.
Jack Kirkham led the way for the Bulldogs with three goals, earning himself a spot in the best, alongside Jaxsyn Whitehill, Billy Quirk, Daniel Howe, Toby Lock and Lachlan Carman.
Liam Bentley impressed for Yarram, as did Dylan Garnham, veteran Chris Bruns, Jake Mcfarland, Boadie Motton and Tyler Chisholm.
Following some good patches of form throughout 2023, Yarram left it too late and now look to 2024.
HEYFIELD moved closer to the top three.
Despite staying in fifth after this monster win, Heyfield are realistically one win away from the top three, if predicted results fall as expected.
Heyfield showed no mercy to Gormandale, belting them in each quarter to claim a triple-digit win.
The Kangaroos, as expected, would not let anyone get in their way in the final two rounds, and have certainly showed that so far.
The score line could have looked worse if it was for straighter kicking, yet Heyfield looked strong, going from 48 points up to 65 at halftime.
As Heyfield neared 100 points, so did the margin, as another three goals to one in the third term saw the lead grow to 83, before a four-goal to none last quarter allowed the margin to soar past the 100-point barrier.
Heyfield will have confidence galore after this win over the Tigers, 17.22 (124) to 2.1 (13).
The goals were shared around in the Kangaroo camp, with 11 separate goal kickers.
Tyson Birss was best-on-ground, while Jack Christian (three goals), Mitch Bennett, Robert McMillan, Brayden Woodland and Liam Heasley also stood out.
Luke Farry, Jet Krimhand, Flynn Roscoe, Tristian Salerno, Kodie Owen and Nick Millington played their part for Gormandale.
Some great sportsmanship was shown in the reserves game between Heyfield and Gormandale, both sides working together to give Gormandale’s Ben Jones a memory he’ll never forget.
Benny ‘Bang Bang’ Jones is the water carrier for the reserves and seniors out at Gormandale, and always a helping hand around the club.
Benny kicked three goals in the reserves match at the weekend, with both sides getting around him after each goal.
After the match, Heyfield invited the Tigers into their rooms, while presenting Benny with the match ball and their award for goal of the day.
That’s twos footy done right.
THE only game with nothing on the line, between Rosedale and Cowwarr, was the best of the lot.
Every moment of every quarter was close in this encounter, as it should have been, considering these two drew in Round 6.
The lead changed hands at the end of every quarter, even by the slimmest of margins.
It was the Saints who started best and held one of the biggest leads of the game, up by seven points at quarter time.
Rosedale then took a one-point lead into the main break, kicking an extra goal with some change.
The second half was just as close as the first, 2.1 (13) to Cowwarr’s 2.3 (15), which saw the Saints led ahead of the final quarter, also by a point.
But it came down to the last term, where Rosedale eventually showed why they deserved to sit ahead of Cowwarr on the ladder, kicking 3.1 (19) to 2.3 (15), leading by three points at the time of the final siren, 11.10 (76) to 10.13 (73).
Kodie Carnes, Luke Stuckey, Hayden Bell, Corey Buys, Jake Pawley and Will Logan were best.
Mathew Leicester was best for the Saints, kicking three goals, also in the best was Lee Bourke, Shane Morgan (three goals), Ben Coffey and Thomas Pattle.
WOODSIDE had the bye.
SO, with one round remaining, all that is up for grabs is the double-chance, which can go one of three ways.
TTU and Woodside are first and second.
Heyfield face Cowwarr in a game they really should win, while Churchill are tasked with the undefeated TTU – not the easiest game in the world, and YYN has a bye.
Based off those fixtures, you should expected Heyfield to jump both YYN and Churchill and claim third, which would see the Cougars drop to fifth if they lose to TTU.
