by Jim Gordon
HOPETOUN V SEA LAKE NANDALY TIGERS
For the second year in a row, Hopetoun has bowed out of the finals race at the first hurdle after going down to Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers at Beulah on Saturday.
It was very disappointing end to what had been a good season for the Devils. They may not have seen themselves in the same class as the top two teams, Ouyen United and Beulah, but they held down third spot for most of the season and would have expected to get over the Tigers.
Hopetoun looked to be in control of the game at half time going into the big break with a handy 16 point lead. They were doing well in the midfield, their defence was on top and they had a target in Kain Robins at centre half forward.
However, the Tigers showed that you need to be consistent for the whole game come finals time, and even though the Devils were on top in the first half, they weren’t so far ahead that with a little persistence and an ability to keep running, they could get back into the game.
The Tigers’ on ball brigade slowly wore down their opposition and came out on top. In fact, Sea Lake Nandaly outplayed Hopetoun all over the ground in the second half. Kicking ten goals themselves and holding Hopetoun to five after half time, this was a well deserved 21 points victory.
Before the start of the game, the expectations of both sets of supporters were high. It was always going to be a great contest as these teams were evenly matched right across the ground.
One of the keys to the match was the midfield battle. Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers won more centre clearances and therefore won the match. This area has been one of the Devils’ biggest downfalls for the season. They have very good onballers, and at various times during the year, their midfield has carried them to victory, but lately they have been just off the boil and you can’t afford to carry anyone when you come up against the quality of Col Durie.
Hopetoun’s Chris Heath battled hard all day as did Ruben Vesikuru and Zac Taggert while Simon Cook was solid in the ruck. Nathan Fitzgerald has lately added some real strength to the Devils as his rate of contested ball gathering is high and he does not shirk the issue.
However, Col Durie is in wonderful medal-winning form at the moment and he almost single handed took on the Hopetoun midfield and tore it apart in the second half.
Kain Robins was once again busy across the half forward line quite often having two opponents at contests. Robins is a real work horse and just keeps plugging away no matter what. Jarrod Alderton and Luke Martin teamed up on Robins and between the two of them, they were able to curb his influence. Hopetoun could really have done with a fit and inform Bryce Wellington to take some of the pressure off Robins.
The Devils’ defence was brilliant. They have performed well for Hopetoun all year and didn’t shirk any issues against the Tigers, but in the end the weight of numbers of forward entries by Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers was just too much for even this highly focussed outfit.
Leigh Hutchinson showed his leadership, astute decision making and control of the defence while Ben Reid had the task of trying to hold Mark Deuscher and did well to keep him goalless.
Zac Robins showed plenty of determination on one wing. His control of the ball and maturity has really elevated his performance this season, way beyond his young age.
Hopetoun had some real opportunities to get on top during the match, but could not utilize them. They let slip a reasonable half time lead through some key periods of inconsistency and an inability to put four quarters of footy together. This ultimately cost them the match. In the end the Tigers were just too good on the day and deserved the win and the right to tackle the loser of the Blues versus Demons 2nd semi final.
In a season that started out with a bang, died off a little midterm, Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers have found form at the right time of the year. Just as importantly, they have found the desire to win, something that has been missing since winning the 2009 flag against Ouyen United.
Last Modified on 28/08/2011 14:22
