SALE recorded a much-needed win in Round 5 of the Gippsland League on Saturday, May 11.

The Magpies made the trip to Drouin and returned with all they wanted – a win, no matter how ugly.

The match was every bit a danger game for Sale, who entered with two consecutive losses under their belt, against an opposition that is traditionally very hard to beat at home.

Drouin showed exactly that in the first half, as both teams went into the sheds with six goals on the board, separated by only three points.

Sale put the foot down in the third quarter, adding nearly as many goals as their first half effort.

Having established a 20-point lead at three quarter time, the match had the makings of one that could go down one of three paths: Drouin rally home, Sale kick away, or nothing much changes.

With two of those options working to the benefit of the visitors, they selected the last one, and led by virtually the same amount at fulltime as they had 30 minutes earlier.

Goals were shared by the winners, with Will Leslie kicking four, Tom Campbell three, and Bohdi Walker three.

Walker, Will Leslie and Jack Leslie, who will play his 50th senior game when he next takes the field, were listed in the best. Hudson Holmes and Shannen Lange also played well, as did Derek Eggmolesse-Smith.

As football has a way of keeping you grounded, that connotation might have been seen in Eggmolesse-Smith. Just three years ago he was playing for Richmond on the MCG, last Saturday he was having a kick on good old Drouin Rec Reserve.

Drouin’s best were Kye Quirk, Will Papley, Aden Quirk, Ed Morris, Kaleb Hermansen and Jacob Sandman, an ironic twist perhaps given the same initials and very similar sounding name of former Sale 100-gamer Jordan Sandeman.

MAFFRA narrowly missed recording their first win of the season.

By contrast, their Morwell opponents breathed a big sigh of relief after the game, after getting up 8.14 (62) to 6.17 (53) at the Eagles’ nest.

In a game described as entertaining despite the inaccuracy on display, Morwell staved off a second half onslaught from Maffra to win by nine points.

It appeared how far Morwell when the Tigers had five goals to one on the board at the main break, however, Maffra was able to claw their way back into the contest.

The Eagles certainly had their chances to win as well.

The home side flipped the script in the second half, getting their running game going, all the while forcing Morwell to take a slow and timid approach.

Only three goals separated the sides at the last change, and for most of the final term, the Tigers defence was well and truly under siege.

Maffra came hard, and a goal to John Butcher grabbing the ball out of the ruck at the 10 minute mark reduced the margin to 12 points.

A long range effort from Brodie Tohara breaking clear from stoppage a short time later made it just one goal the difference, before Butcher again found himself with a scoring opportunity at the 15 minute mark after accepting a pass from Alex Carr on a slight angle on the netball court side.

Taking his time, the former Port Adelaide forward sent a trademark wobbly punt on its way, but it hit the post halfway up.

By this stage, Morwell had not scored a goal since the five minute mark of the third quarter, and when their leading forward Brandon McDonald was met front on by Maffra hard nut Danny Butcher as the clock neared red time, the Tigers’ avenue to goal became seemingly harder.

Morwell benefited from a reversed decision at the 18 minute mark, which was crucial as Maffra captain Daniel Bedggood had just taken a mark on centre wing.

The resultant play saw the Tigers take the ball forward, where playing-coach Boyd Bailey found himself with space inside 50.

His kick went wide of the goal face, but an ever-alert McDonald had the presence of mind to take a sliding mark before it went out of bounds.

Having just been met by the Butcher freight train, McDonald showed tremendous composure to snap a clutch goal on his left foot to give Morwell breathing space by way of 11 points.

The Tigers lived life on the edge from there as the Eagles threw every punch they could, but the visitors were able to force enough stoppages to kill crucial seconds off the clock, which eventually sounded inside 27 minutes.

Zac Anderson and Boyd Bailey were named best-on for the winners. Tyler Brown was also industrious, as was captain Aidan Quigley and Tom Gray, while McDonald kicked three goals.

Maffra was well-served by Ashton Wright, James Read, Alex Carr, Lachlan Allman, Jonathan Boyd and Jett Killoran, who has strung a number of good weeks together.

THE importance of being able to kick on your left foot was never more evident than in the game between Moe and Bairnsdale.

The last three goals of the match were slotted by players using the superior foot, the last of which saw Moe cling on to win by one solid goal, 12.7 (79) to 11.7 (73).

A high-scoring opening term saw nine goals kicked, much to the credit of those involved as the start of the match was played out with a tricky south-westerly breeze blowing across Ted Summerton Reserve.

Things tightened up from there, so much so the visiting Redlegs only managed one behind for the second term. Moe held some ascendancy during the third, and went into the last change with a handy 11-point lead in the context of the game.

The Lions kicked three goals in the last quarter, but had to dig deep to find them. So deep in fact, they didn’t come until well into red time, and after Bairnsdale had hit the front.

A squaring ball from Tom Blenheim found Jonah Walker, who juggled a contested mark 16 minutes into the last. The set shot, from 40 metres out straight in front at the scoreboard end was true, and saw the visitors ahead by one point.

The Lions responded through Harri Sim, who got the ball from a stoppage inside 50, and showcasing expert vision, handed it off to Jacob Balfour who slotted a goal on his left from close range to hand Moe back the lead.

Bairnsdale however did not let up, and responded themselves a short time later in similar circumstances when Blenheim barged his way through a stoppage and found enough space to mongrel the ball through on his left.

From the next centre bounce, Moe was able to force the ball forward, and kept doing so right to the goal line.

A shot from Balfour, (this time on his right) looked on target in the Can Bar pocket, but the ball dropped literally on top of the pack of players formed almost on the goal line.

That the ball actually stayed in play was a minor miracle, but opportunistic forward Harry Pepper was awake to the situation, snapping the ball through after it had come to ground for his fourth of the afternoon.

The Lions then took enough minutes off the clock, before the siren sounded at 31 minutes.

Moe playing-coach Declan Keilty was again a colossus down back, and had Luke Mulqueen for company. Prowse kicked three goals, while leaders Sim and Riley Baldi were prominent. Winger Bryce Collings also rated a mention.

Will Mitchell, Kieran Vickery, Ethan East, Randall Stewart, Blenheim and Cooper Harvey were best for Bairnsdale.

TRARALGON made it three wins in a row.

The Maroons overcame a determined Wonthaggi, getting the points in a somewhat dour 10.9 (69) to 6.6 (42) encounter.

Amazingly, last Saturday was Traralgon’s first day game at Terry Hunter Oval for the season.

The Maroons may have taken time to adjust to the red four piece, as they kicked as many goals in the last quarter as they had in the preceding three.

The five goals that did come in the final term allowed the home side to break away and eventually win by 27 points.

Up until then however it had been an arm wrestle, with just 10, five and seven points separating the sides at each break.

Traralgon was the superior side in the second half all things considered, evidenced by a seven goal to two showing.

Josh Hamilton kicked three goals and was among the best for the winners, as was Luis D’Angelo, Joel Scholtes, Conor Little, Chance Doultree and Jacob Van Iwaarden.

Wonthaggi, who started the season with three straight losses coming off the back of a Grand Final appearance last year, might slowly be starting to come good.

Despite a current win-loss record of 1-4, the Power have welcomed back a few handy players the last few weeks, and beaten a Sale side that carries arguably the strongest top six players in the competition.

Tim Knowles played his first game at the weekend and playing-coach Jarryd Blair has now strung three games together, while Tom Davey is at least one player still to come back in.

Fergus O’Connor, Jack Blair, Jye Gilmour, Aiden Lindsay, Josh Bates and Josh Schulz were named best for Wonthaggi.

THE match between Leongatha and Warragul went largely as expected.

The only small surprise to come out of the Parrots’ victory was the final margin, which sat at 61 points, 14.8 (92) to 4.7 (31).

Leongatha’s win maintained their unbeaten record in 2024, and on current form, it is hard to see them losing a game before the halfway mark of the season.

Usual suspects Cade Maskell, Tom Marriott and Ben Willis were best, along with Aaron Turton, Jake van der Plight and Nicholas Argento.

Warragul found winners in Jack Lewsey, Tom Hobbs, Chris Raso, Isaac Wallace, Mitch Smart and Levi Moore.