Elimination Final v Drouin (Wonthaggi)
Drouin exacted revenge for last year's first final departure by turing the tables on Leongatha by running out convincing winners by 58 points.
In a game they controlled from the start, their two ins of Clint Proctor and Dean Woodhead proved extremely valuable and it seemed that the hawks had too much class on the field for the young parrots especially through the middle of the ground as they moved the ball from defense to attack with far more precision than the parrots.
As the season ends for the Leongatha senior side, it still remains very much alive for a number of its' senior players who are eligible to play in this weeks under 18's semi final against Traralgon. Coming into his side will be Matt Willcocks and Tom Marriott, which were again in the best for the senior side, Nick Nagel, Sam Sperling and Dylan Westaway. Given the boys great second half performance to get over Maffra last week, it is certain that Glenn Sullivan will leave no stone unturned in attempting to dismantle the undefeated maroons.
Good luck also goes out to the A grade, B Grade, under 17's and 13's that are still in the finals race. It has been a great year so far at the club, and some premiership silverware will be a fitting way to finish it off. Our fifty year old motto of "Victory through Harmony" rings just as loud now as it did when conspired. full details: https://websites.mygameday.app/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=101277078&c=0-6208-0-105298-0&pool=1001
Round 18 v Moe (Home)
Leongatha broke a six year hoodoo by downing Moe by 20 points at home on Saturday, and with the victory, finished eight points ahead of the lions, ensconsed in the finals and finished the last two months of home and away football only being defeated once.
The negatives to come out of the day were Sean Westaway breaking a collar bone and Col Sanbrook straining a hamstring. The two have been instrumental in the return to form of the team in the last third of the season.
The half forward line for the Parrots was most impressive in testing conditions. Matt Willcocks marked strongly all day, Jared Morehouse's desire at the contest has been brilliant all year and really stuck out against the lions, and the smooth-moving Daniel Jago used the ball better than any other on the park.
Deja Vu this week as Leongatha take on Drouin in the elimination final as was the case last year. The boys will be going all out to hopefully repeat the result of 2009. full scores: https://websites.mygameday.app/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=99965968&c=0-6208-0-105298-0&pool=1
Round 17 v Drouin (Home)
Leongatha have all but booked a place in the 2010 Gippsland League finals series with a victory against Drouin in front of a strong home crowd on Saturday.
With the 1960 and 70 premiership reunions there to relive past glory, it was fitting to see the standard of football the Parrots served up for the first three quarters.
The game was extremely tight in the first half with Leongatha taking a three goal lead into the long change. The Parrots were kicking with the wind in the premiership quarter, they blew the hawks away with an eight goal to three third quarter which Drouin valiantly tried to claw back in the last but it was to no avail with Leongatha walking away with a 20 point victory.
It was a great display by the forwards, namely Nick Nagel with six goals and Dwayne Holt with five. Full scores: https://websites.mygameday.app/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=98301076&c=0-6208-0-105298-0&pool=1
Round 16 v Maffra (away)
Leongatha ran head-on into a switched on Maffra who were too slick for the parrots and ran away from them at every change to win by 49 points.
Without its' spearhead Dwayne Holt for the first time in two years, Leongatha had to re-structure their forward line and probably took their fair share of marks inside fifty thanks to Matt Wilcox, but the willingness to run defensively by the Eagles on-ballers meant that a lot of the Parrots shots on goal were from difficult angles.
Maffra's slick ball movement by hand was particularly impressive and had Leongatha chasing tail for most of the day. Having said that, the Parrots endeavour to tough the game prevented an all too familiar blow-out on the eagles home track. full details: https://websites.mygameday.app/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=96763245&c=0-6208-0-105298-0&pool=1
Round 15 v Traralgon (home)
Another inspired effort from the senior side has seen them knock over second placed Traralgon for the second time this year. It was not without its' nervous moments though.
After dominating the game all day and leading by 51 points at 3/4 time. The Parrots went to sleep in the final term with the maroons throwing caution to the wind, they stormed home only to lose by 15 points. A crucial snap from Marc Truscio in the final term gave Leongatha the goal they so desperately needed to steady the ship.
The game was very much in the home side's favour from the outset as they blasted out of the blocks to lead by 31 points at 1/4 time.
There were stellar performances from players across every line for the Parrot's but it really got started in the engine room early where Marriott, Casey, Sutherland and Sanbrookg ot the ascendency early and didn't give it back until late in the game. Full Details: https://websites.mygameday.app/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=93838643&c=0-6208-0-105298-0&pool=1.
Round 13 v Warragul (away)
It was the "Banger and his little helper's day" at Western Park on Saturday with Leongatha's full forward line piling on 18 of the 23 goals posted in a 109 point victory against the Warragul.
After Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade took the club for training on Thursday night and provided some valuable pointers to the group, the senior side put on a clinical performance and stretched their lead at every break to post their first 100+ point victory in a number of seasons.
The stars of the day were Nick Nagel (5), Dwayne Holt (6) and Sam Sperling (7) who were all too much to handle for the Gul's defence especially when given gilt-edged delivery by a hardened midfield led by Jason Casey and the pace of Col Sanbrook. Full details: https://websites.mygameday.app/get_file.cgi?id=934174
Round 12 v Sale (Home)
Leongatha are in the top five for the first time this year after a solid four quarter effort against Sale to come out winners by eight goals.
The parrots had winners back, forward and in the middle and extended their lead at every change.
Praise has to be given again to some of the youngsters who dominated their positions on the day. Dylan Westaway owned his wing and once again showed a cool head when under pressure. The forward line is also looking potent with Sam Sperling and Nick Nagel chiming in with bags to compliment an in form Dwayne Holt. Full score details: https://websites.mygameday.app/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=89621767&c=0-6208-0-105298-0&pool=1
Round 11 v Morwell (Away)
Leongatha will be forced to put last week behind them and get set for the old "eight point game" against Sale next week as they fell well short of Morwell on the weekend.
The Parrott's were forced to play catch up football again after failing to start well out of the blocks, an all too familiar occurrence in season 2010. When Dwayne Holt goaled after the half time siren. the home side were only in front by 14 points and it looked like we were set for a thrilling second half.
Unfortunately, Tom Marriott and Hayden Browne were unavailable for the second half and consequently, the Morwell midfield got right on top providing their forward line with quality scoring opportunities while Leongatha were forced to scramble for their goals. full scores: https://websites.mygameday.app/get_file.cgi?id=904714
Round 10 v Wonthaggi (Home)
The gamble of playing a night match in June against South Gippsland rival Wonthaggi has paid off in more ways than one for Leongatha as a huge gate and similar size victory came the way of the Parrot's faithful on Saturday night.
Rhett Kelly stepped in for the late withdrawal of Marc Truscio who is having on-going quad issues. To Rhett's credit, he didn't miss a beat as one of the many contributors to the 95 point victory. The Parrot's were at their slickest for 2010 with quick movement of the ball, along with some straighter kicking from the forward line.
The return to form of Dwayne Holt with seven goals put smiles on the faces of the supporters in probably the trickiest goal kicking conditions for the year. He was well supported by his young helpers again who seem to be stretching opposition's backlines currently.
The only sombre note of the evening came when Centre Half Back Clint Johnston disclocated his elbow in a nasty incident in the second quarter. Unfortunately, he looks almost certain to miss the remainder of the season. Full scores: https://websites.mygameday.app/get_file.cgi?id=893286
Round 9 v Moe (Away)
At the halfway mark of the season, Leongatha now sit seventh on the ladder on three wins five losses, one win worse off than where they sat this time last year after Saturday's defeat at the hands of Moe.
Playing at Yallourn North for the first time, the usual disadvantage of wearing the white shorts should have been lessened by the boggy conditions on a big ground, something the parrot's are accustomed to.
The Lion's jumped Leongatha in the first quarter and yet again were forced to play catch up football after the parrot's were left a man down with Dwayne Holt being sent from the ground after being involved in a scuffle with his opponent. When the match resumed as an 18 on 18 contest, it was very much an arm wrestle against two very evenly matched teams.
After half time, Leongatha looked the better team and crawled back a 23 point deficit to hit the front late in the third term. From then on, they only scored a further four behinds and Moe finished the stronger to run out 29 pooint winners in another game which didn't reflect the tightness of the contest with Leongatha posting more scoring shots.
If you resist looking at ladders and scoreboards and focus on analysing how the parrots are playing, there wouldn't be a supporter out there that would suggest that Leongatha shouldn't be ensconsed in the top five. But playing finals football is all about chalking wins up and at this stage, the boys are going to have to win almost all of the 50/50 games in the second half of the season to see September action. Full scores: https://websites.mygameday.app/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&compID=105298&c=0-6208-0-0-0
Round 8 v Drouin (Away)
After this week, the Gippsland Football League is beginning to take its' regular shape as one of the tightest competitions in the country as once again, only a couple of wins separate the majority of the teams.
Drouin was the site last year of a season defining come from behind victory for Leongatha and history repeated itself on Saturday with almost a carbon copy game to inspire the parrott faithful.
It definitely was a game of two halves with the first being an extremely entertaining affair with 18 goals kicked. But with both coaches fearful of the opposition stringing goals together, defensive moves were made to turn the second half into an arm wrestle seeing only a further five goals posted.
The atmosphere at the ground was electric as the parrots hung on to the lead they wrestled back from the hawks in the second quarter to win a cliffhanger by seven points.
Leongatha's back line were the stars of the day with Clint Johnston, Col Sanbrook, Ben Geitz, Jack Hughes and Paul Lepage turning defence into an attacking onslaught 50% of the time it entered into Drouin's arc.
Down the other end of the ground, it was "Bangers young helpers" that posted the winning score, with multiple goal kickers Nick Nagel, Sam Sperling and Matt Willcox being able to strut around the school ground this week with a bit more "wobble" than usual. Full scores: https://websites.mygameday.app/get_file.cgi?id=869152
Round 7 v Maffra (Home)
It seemed that the football gods weren't smiling on the parrots this week as late withdrawals hamstrung the senior side in causing another boilover against ladder leaders Maffra.
Adam Govers getting tied up with work, Marc Truscio injuring a quad Thursday night, Rhett Kelly declaring himself unavailable and Jason Casey's wife going into labour (with little Lucas William Casey, 8.25 lbs, all doing well) an hour before the game threw the coaching staff into meltdown. Todd Mackie, Dean McCaughan, Nick Nagel after playing in the thirds and first gamer Phil Williams were asked to fill the breach. What transpired was a herculian effort from the boys that saw them take it right up to the Eagles until the final siren.
The final margin of 23 points was the greatest gap in the game as the plucky parrots didn't give an inch to their more fancied opponent. In fact for the majority of the match there was less than two straight kicks in it.
Our mid field put in a lion hearted effort, led by Hayden Browne and Tommy Dowd along with our back line, marshalled by Paul LePage, Jack Hughes and youngster Sean Westaway kept the potent Maffra machine to under 100 points and had all meaningful statistics in the game to a break-even or above level, showing in black and white the effort put in.
While the senior unit is improving, the top half of the ladder seems to be pulling away from the bottom and wins are now what's needed to satisfy the players and supporters hunger for success, full details: https://websites.mygameday.app/get_file.cgi?id=855883
Round 6 v Traralgon (Away)
Parrots supporters that made the trek to Traralgon on Saturday were rewarded with one of the best home and away wins in the clubs 106 year history by an exhausting 24 points against the premiership favourite who had only lost one game since this time last year.
The exhausting part came with the 37 scoring shots Leongatha compiled, 14 more than the maroons. The win came through a rapid improvement in decision making when in posession and suffocating pressure which denied the premiership favourites an adequate percentage of posession time to win the game.
The old "team effort" cliche could be printed underneath best players this week, apart from three clear standout performances from ruckman Justin Sutherland, on-baller Hayden Browne and new recruit Col Sanbrook.
The challenge for Adrian Campbell and his coaching staff now is to keep the side grounded and recognising the scope of improvement that still needs to come if the Parrots are to string similar wins together and get themselves back into the top five.
On a sombre note, we wish three of our star sportsmen, Stu Kilsby who fractured his neck in this week's senior game, Travis Brown, who found out he will need a full knee reconstruction last week from an injury received during the Morwell match and a grade netballer Kate Sperling, who is still recovering in hospital from complications of abdominal surgery last year, all the best in their recovery. As devoted Parrots, us as fellow members are there to offer our support. Full score Details: https://websites.mygameday.app/get_file.cgi?id=827175
Round 4 v Warragul (Home)
A big sigh of relief would have been evident on Saturday evening as both the senior and reserve Leongatha teams came away with their first wins of the season. With Warragul and the home side yet to notch up a win for season 2010, the pressure being applied was fierce and the skill level suffered as a result. Yet, it was the guls who were more effective when entering their forward line in the first half despite Leongatha having the lions share of posession.
At the commencement of the second half, it was a new Leongatha that ran on the park. Ball movement was slicker and the desparation showed was very pleasing. The only thing that wasn't was the scoreboard with wayward kicking not showing the dominance that the home displayed against their opposition.
The same could be said for the final quarter, with Leongatha's inaccuracy keeping Warragul in the match right up until the final five minutes of the match when it was up to youngster Matt Wilcox to show his more experienced team mates the way through the big sticks and seal victory. Full details: https://websites.mygameday.app/get_file.cgi?id=795166
Round 3 v Sale (Away)
Leongatha's slow and measured approach into the season took a step backwards when they received a 14 goal thumping at the hands of Sale in heavy conditions. As Frustrating as the results may be currently, there were still positives to be found from this sub-par performance. Jake Mackie, unlucky not to be named in round one after a ripping pre-season, put in his best performance at senior level, showing that there's definitely a niche for his style of play at this level.
Another positive to put smiles on the faces of supporters would be the return and performance of dual best and fairest winner, Tom Dowd. Tom slotted straight back into his role as a hard running mid-fielder with aplomb.
There would be no doubt that opposition sides would look at the players names in the follower and be wary about coming up against what could potentially be a very strong side. Yet, for various reasons, at least 6 regular senior players have been missing in the first three games and the pressure for numerous talented teenagers in the group to step up may be a little daunting without a few more older heads to share the load. Keep at it guys! Full details: https://websites.mygameday.app/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&compID=105298&c=0-6208-0-0-0
Round 2 v Morwell (Home)
Three forced changes were made this week due to unavailability and injury to the senior side that was beaten by the narrowest of margins on Easter Saturday by Wonthaggi. Perfect conditions greeted players and supporters on Saturday evening. All encountered an entertaining game of football for just over half a match until the cohesion of the settled Morwell side ran away with a comfortable victory.
Positive signs for the home side shone through in patches throughout the game and some of the best passages of play definitely belonged to the parrots but the teamwork of the tigers seemed to be the difference between the two teams, which in the end, was quite a large difference.
Leongatha supporters should have left the ground disappointed with the outcome but optimistic of their sides chances this year. The team is far from settled currently but the shining lights so far have been enough to put at least a smirk on the face of the parrot faithful.
Matt Willcox's four goals reeked of a youngster with huge potential in football. How he backs up his performance in the ensuing weeks may determine what his stock price may be in the next couple of years. Same can be said for Tom Marriott, overlooked by Gippsland Power, signs so far this year point to him possibly being a great Leongatha player, or something even better. The next couple of months may tell the story.
On the other side of the coin is veteran, in terms of years not games, Ben Geitz's fitness and form. His performance on Saturday night showed the club just what quality has been sitting on the sideline injured for extended periods of time over the last five or so seasons. full scores: https://websites.mygameday.app/get_file.cgi?id=771472
Round 1 v Wonthaggi (away)
Easter Saturday saw the season kick off in the Gippsland League with a heart stopper at Wonthaggi with the new-comers starting their season in perfect fashion by beating their South Gippsland counterparts by a solitary point.
Probably the most interesting aspect to the game was the make-up of the senior teams before a ball had even been bounced. Wonthaggi sported a very strong reserves side with plenty of new faces from previous years in the Alberton league and surprisingly for most punters, stuck with the core of their majorly successful senior side from recent seasons sprinkled with some quality recruits to line up in the main game. It was actually Leongatha that had more new faces in it with almost a third of the side making their senior debut in the green and yellow.
The power started the game with intent and aggression and rocked their younger opponents onto the back foot right from the start and at half time an unexpected blow out seemed to be on the cards with parrots only having 1 goal on the board.
The generally scrappy game settled in the third with the parrots beginning to gather momentum by kicking five goals against the breeze to have more than a shot at stealing the four points coming out after the final change.
90% of the quarter was spent in Leongatha's forward 50 as they failed to convert a number of golden opportunities and the power barely hanging on by a finger nail. In the end it just always seemed that the parrots were going to come up short.
On the positive side for Leongatha, the game showed shades of round 1 2008 where team mates seemed to be getting to understand each other's game along with getting their head around a game style that will take a few weeks to grasp. Although it was extremely frustrating to lose against Wonthaggi this week, it is important that supporters be patient and players work hard over the next couple of weeks as the season will gather momentum at some stage. full details: https://websites.mygameday.app/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=69495299&c=0-6208-0-105298-0&pool=1
Last Modified on 14/10/2011 14:54