by Jim Gordon
Beulah v Jeparit Rainbow
It was dismal day for the Lakers at Beulah. After a string of very good performances this season, it all unravelled for the visitors when they were comprehensively torn apart by a side that is the deserved MFL premiership favourite heading into the finals.
Jeparit Rainbow were competitive in the first term when they kicked with the breeze scoring five goals and matching it with the Blues. In a disappointing effort for the rest of the day, the Lakers only scored a miserable five behinds whilst the rampaging Beulah went on their merry way kicking 26 goals and ending up ruthless winners by 163 points.
Chris Meyer, Heath Clugston and Ben Marra won lots of the ball for Jeparit Rainbow, but they were up against a very strong Beulah midfield who did much more damage. Scott Smith, Dale Shannon and Callum Buchanan not only formed a powerful midfield, they all went forward and kicked goals. Marra and Clugston did this in the first term, but from then on, the Blues took over..
Jeparit Rainbow players struggled against the bigger bodied and more experienced Blues. Time after time Beulah players were able to brush off the opposition and break free from any contest. They were then able to use handball and precise kicking to set up play further downfield.
After sticking with Beulah for the first quarter, the Blues kicked three quick goals with the wind at the beginning of the second quarter to open up a gap. With Heath Clugston playing more in the back half, the Lakers were able to hold the home side for the rest of the quarter. Then the floodgates opened.
After half time Beulah’s high marking forward Dennis Redden got completely on top of Tyler Edelsten. Redden was helped by his team mates’ quick ball movement and good delivery and rewarded their good play by scoring a dominant ten goals.
In the last quarter Jeparit Rainbow’s full forward Greg McLeish swapped positions with Edelsten in an effort to try and quell his dominance. The only problem with this move was that the Beulah defence got completely on top and were able to continually run the ball out of defence and into attack. Meyer and Marra tired in the last term no doubt due the hard work they had done earlier in the game.
Clugston played a lot of the game in the back half trying to stem the tide and was Jeparit Rainbow’s best player on the day. Chris Farrell had been playing across half back then went into the ruck and played a strong last quarter around the ground. Tom Clugston also stood up in the last half. The youngster spent time opposed to Callum Buchanan giving away a lot of experience and class.
Jeparit Rainbow players struggled against the bigger bodied and more experienced Beulah players. Time after time the Blues broke free from a contest and used handball and precise kicking to set up play. With games coming up against the three other top four sides, the Blues have the chance to stamp their authority on the MFL and go into the finals as outright favourite.
Hopetoun v Walpeup Underbool
Walpeup Underbool were big winners over Hopetoun by 74 points on Saturday. The Roos were too big, too strong and too talented for their smaller opponents and with a final two spot beckoning, they were never going to give the Devils a sniff of a chance.
The Devils were smashed in the first quarter. Walpeup Underbool onballers were under little or no pressure and were able to deliver with precision to their high marking full forward Wade Champion who dominated with ten goals.
Hopetoun were able to arrest the momentum and slow down the scoring in the second half, but by then the damage had been done.
Walpeup Underbool began the game kicking with a slight breeze and in a commanding quarter of football they played all over the Devils scoring nine goals to nil. Forwards Wade Champion and Kyle Munro worked well together and were proving to be a handful for the Hopetoun backline. Their midfield was running and linking together, pushing the ball forward whilst the Roo backline was playing in front and running off their man at every chance. Even at this early stage of the game the Roos were well on top of their opponents.
The usually prolific Luke Carr was used as a loose player in front of the leading Wade Champion. With Champion marking everything that came his way, this meant that Carr could not get into the game.
Zac Robins was a shining light for the Devils. He was brilliant across half back while Scott Heath and David Baulch also battled hard. Leigh Stewart has developed well this season and is proving his worth in the Devils’ lineup.
Walpeup Underbool had a slow start to the second term as Hopetoun began to work together and put pressure on the Roos. In this term onballer Cade Wellington was trying hard for the Devil who were finally able to score two goals in a row, one from a long Lucas Puckle kick and the other from sharp shooter Deek Roberts. Hopetoun had finally began to challenge the Roos.
A lack of discipline hurt both teams when in front of goal as the umpires clamped their authority on the game. The Roos responded to the Hopetoun revival and were able to work their way back on top to finish a strong first half of football and lead by over nine goals by half time.
The Walpeup Underbool midfield led by Chris Lynch, David Piasente and Ben Fisher were giving the Roos plenty of the ball.
After half time the Roos continued to work hard together and were seeing the rewards as Wade Champion booted his eighth for the day in the third term. Kane Munro showed plenty of poise across half back, steering the Roos out of danger and into attack on numerous occasions as Hopetoun tried desperately to push the ball forward. The last term was a scrappy quarter with both teams showing some good running football at times.
The Roos had the game all sewn up in the first quarter and had control for most of the rest of the game. They had too many dangerous forwards for Hopetoun and strong performers all over the ground. Their physical strength was too much for the lighter weight Hopetoun and this could very well be a potent weapon for Walpeup Underbool come finals time.
Woomelang Lascelles v Ouyen United
Woomelang Lascelles came out on top in the battle for fourth spot on the MFL ladder and a probable top four finish for the first time since 2006. The Cats were too good for Ouyen United and ran out winners by 44 points.
Slow to get going, Woomelang Lascelles caught United in the second term, eventually got ahead and were in front for the rest of the game running away in the last quarter with a rampant eight goals to three. The Demons looked good early and stuck with the Cats until the relentless pressure of the home side took its toll. Things started to look bad for United when star full forward Damien Cupdio was sent off in the third term.
This game was a mini grand final for both sides. The Cats haven’t been in the finals since 2006 and United needed to stay in touch with the top sides until they can get a full side together and make a run for the flag. A cloudy day with little or no breeze was perfect for open, free scoring football, but this was not to be. With so much at stake, play became bogged down right from the start, goals were hard to come by and both sides were guilty of poor disposal.
Most of the scoring in the first half was to the southern end of the Woomelang ground. With no wind, there seemed to be no particular reason why United had nine scoring shots to two in the first term and the Cats had eleven to two in the second. The third term was even, but the Cats dominated in the final quarter once again, to the southern end.
Woomelang Lascelles always looked the likely winner after their ordinary first term. They caught up to United in the second quarter and passed them, more than matching the Demons in play around the ground and shots on goal. At no stage could the Dees break away to fully utilise their fleet of foot younger players due to the close checking and fierce tackling of the Cats.
Jayden Lonergan had a great day at centre half forward for Woomelang Lascelles. He lead well utilizing the flanks, he lead his man to the ball and held marks whenever he got his hands on the ball. The not overly tall Lonergan’s final tally of seven goals indicated his dominance against an undermanned Demon defence and could have been more. With Aaron Lonergan marking well at full forward and contributing with two goals, the Cats had a potent two-pronged attack.
Wade Brady lined up in the ruck against Josh Ratcliffe and was able to outleap the Woomelang Lascelles big man. Mark Charleson did better on Brady, but when the ball hit the ground, the Cats midfielders were able to get more of the ball the further the game went. Peter Caldow was invaluable early for United and Bradley Summerhayes worked hard, but the Woomelang Lascelles onballers were able to do more damage.
Dwayne Hamlyn, Chris McMahon and Kane Bannan gave the Cats a lot of drive out of the centre. They worked hard all day, getting the ball out of the centre and keeping it low when passing into their forward line. This set up a lot of chances for the Cat forwards and kept the ball in their forward line for most of the day. The delivery of the ball into the Woomelang Lascelles forward line was much better than anything Damien Cupdio or any of the other United forwards could hope for.
The battle for the final four spot is still open and will depend on how quickly United to get together a side that for patches during the year has been able to match it with the top sides. Laurence Angwin, Ben Mole and Relton Roberts were all missed against the Cats. With these players in the side and in form, they should win their final two games of the season against the Devils and the Lakers. Woomelang Lascelles deserve to be ahead of the Demons at this stage, but they have a much tougher draw and the final position could depend on percentage.
Last Modified on 28/07/2013 13:42
