Campbells Creek v Trentham
Campbells Creek captured the final spot in the 2015 MCDFNL Finals Series on Saturday courtesy of an 81 point victory over Trentham giving them eighth spot on the ladder.
After a hard fought first half in which Campbells Creek led Trentham by seventeen points at half time, the Creekers came out with a match winning third quarter in which they kicked eight goals and six behinds, while keeping the Saints to just two behinds.
With the game in its keeping and the knowledge that they would be playing finals football next week, Campbells Creek maintained the upper hand in the final quarter to run out winners by eighty one points.
Mark Ashmore was outstanding for the winners as he marked everything that came his way and he kicked truly on seven occasions in a match winning performance.
He was well supported by Ryan Jeffrey and the consistent Daniel Klimeck who has had a very good season to date.
Brendan James was judged to be the Saints best player while Chris Whelan and Luke Whitehouse also played well for the losing team, and Mark Strickland finished with three goals.
Campbells Creek will now face up to Harcourt in a Elimination Final next Sunday at Princes Park.
Maryborough Rovers v Royal Park
Maryborough Rovers 2015 season has ended in heartbreak, with the Magpies delivering an impressive victory after defeating arch-rival Royal Park, yet still missing out on the MCDFNL finals on percentage alone.
With a finals chance seemingly within their grasp, the Magpies rose to the occasion for veteran Brad Fraser's 300th appearance in the black and white, defeating the Tigers by just five points, 18.10 (113) to 18.5 (110), yet ultimately missing out on a finals berth after Campbells Creek held on to eighth place via a big win over Trentham.
Missing coach Scott Sellers and integral ruckman Dion Hedger though injury, the Pies still mangled to find d a way to win over the Tigers, despite being down by 23 points at the final break.
The Magpies got the jump on their more favoured opponents in the first quarter, booting five goals to the Tigers' two and establishing a 17-point lead by the first break. Royal Park clawed their way back into the match in the second term however, piling on nine goals to five to close that gap to just five points at half time. Another stellar quarter from Royal Park saw them boot five goals to Rovers' two, with the Tigers taking the lead, and coach Greg Stewart would have been confident that his side had taken all the Magpies could throw at them.
The Pies had different ideas however, drilling home six final quarter goals to the Tigers' two, and delivering their most impressive victory of season 2015 in the final round.
Karson Guareschi was again Rovers' number one target up forward with four goals, while Aaron Westbrook, Grant Ryan and Dylan Gibson all snared three and Bryce Fletcher booted two. Westbrook, Brendon Hedger, Gibson and Fraser were named the Pies' best in a stellar team effort.
Josh Brown drilled home five goals for Royal Park, Murray Bond kicked four and Jake Pring, Michael Noonan and Stefan Pye all kicked two apiece. Zac Tunbridge, Jay Anderson, James Lindeback and Brown were named best in a disappointing showing from Royal Park, which has now finished the season in sixth place and will take on Talbot in an Elimination Final at Hedges Oval next Sunday
Avoca v Harcourt
Harcourt had a great pre-finals hitout against Avoca this past Saturday, destoying Avoca by 58 points and climbing to fifth spot on the MCDFNL ladder.
Harcourt brought back some experienced players into their line-up with Daniel Smith, Matt Giri and Jack Douglass returning, but they lost Josh Collinson early in the opening term with a hamstring strain.
Avoca gave a good account of themselves early in the first and second quarters, but allowed Harcourt to kick late goals to undo all of their good work. Scores were tied at the 15 minute mark of the opening term, but Harcourt finished the term strongly with four goals to lead comfortably at the first change.
The Bulldogs hit back with the first three goals of the second quarter to lead by two points at the sixteen minute mark, however Harcourt then went on a scoring rampage and kicked six goals in succession to lead by 35 points at half time.
The third term was one way traffic as the Lions kicked the first six goals of the third term to put the game out of reach of the Bulldogs well before the final siren was sounded. The Bulldogs did show some fight in the last quarter but it was to no avail as the Lions had the game well in its keeping.
Harcourt were winning the ball out of the centre square through some outstanding ruck work from big Adam Pollock, and he was also resting up forward and finished with five goals for the game.
Adam Ward was again the best man on the ground for Harcourt for the second week in succession, but it was up forward that the Lions were well on top, beside Pollock’s five goals, Matt Giri, Jeff McMurtrie, Joel Smith and Chris Stone all kicked four goals apiece.
Avoca’s Joel Carter was a solid contributor for the Bulldogs with four goals and he was judged their best player while Cameron Holland and Jimmy Walton were also players that were amongst the better players.
Harcourt now face up to Campbells Creek next Sunday in the First Elimination Final at Princes Park, while the Bulldogs season is done and dusted.
Harcourt 23.10.148 def Avoca 13.12.90
Carisbrook v Newstead
Carisbrook has conducted a demolition job on Newstead to finish the home and away in devastating fashion as they completely outclassed Newstead from start to finish to keep the Steaders to just one goal for the game, winning by 141 points.
The Redbacks kicked five goals in each of the first three quarters and finished off strongly with an eight goal final term in an ideal preparation for Saturday’s 2nd Qualifying Final against Lexton at Hedges Oval.
Jack Ross and Ty Stewart led the way for the Redbacks, while Tim Heenan and Hayden Barby also figured amongst the better players as did Joel Riske who is improving as each week passes and could be a key player in the final series. Nathan Wright had a day out up forward kicking seven goals and Matt Bilton again showed his prowess around the goal mouth with four goals as well.
It was a difficult day for the Steaders, but Joel Smith, Adam Hunter and Kaleb McBride tried hard all day as did Pat Cummins, but they were no match for the might of the Redbacks.
Carisbrook 23.12.150 def Newstead 1.3.9
Dunolly v Maldon
Maldon ended what has been a topsy-turvy season in style, travelling to Dunolly on Saturday and returning home with an impressive 36 point win.
After an even first quarter, it was the Bombers that were able to take the upper hand in the second term, but the game was still in the balance at half time.
A three goal to one third quarter gave Maldon enough confidence to run the game out strongly with a four goal final quarter to eventually win by a comfortable 36 point margin.
Shaun Burchell proved to be a very difficult opponent and was very dangerous up forward finishing with five goals for the Bombers, while Josh Pascoe gave his midfielders good usage off the ball. Matt Gray, Chris Milham and Hayden Kelly were also amongst Maldon’s better players.
Justin Laird, Grant Raven and Martin Gale, gave their all for the Eagles as did Joe Thompson, and Jamie Townsend, but the Bombers were too good on the day.
Navarre v Natte Bealiba
Navarre has saved one of its best performances of the 2015 season for the competition's final round, with the Grasshoppers eclipsing a shellshocked Natte Bealiba by 92 points on Saturday.
The Swans had no answers whatsoever to Navarre's all-out attack, with the Grasshoppers landing an ominous victory, 26.5 (161) to 11.3 (69), highlighted by nine goals to Cody Driscoll.
The highly-anticipated clash between the competition's top side and one of its closest rivals turned out to be something of an anti-climax for spectators, with the Hoppers piling on 10 first term goals to Natte's four, and establishing a 37-point lead by quarter time. Things were about to get a whole lot worse for the Swans however, with the Grasshoppers drilling home seven second quarter goals to Natte's three, blowing the lead out to a near-insurmountable 64 points at the main break.
Yet more pain was on the way for the Swans however, with Navarre refusing to take their foot off the pedal in the second half, restricting Natte to just one goal, while piling on seven more of their own. Only a four goal to two final term in favour of the Swans saved the home side from joining the expanding list of teams who have been on the end of 100-plus point maulings from Navarre in 2015.
Along with Cody Driscoll's nine-goal haul, older brother Ash booted four, Josh Fowkes snared three and both Lachlan Slorach and Daniel Reading contributed two majors. Cody and Josh Driscoll were standouts for the Hoppers, along with Fowkes, co-coach Daniel Parkin and Slorach.
In what was probably Natte's most disappointing day for the year, Michael COlumbro and Ash Evans both booted two majors for Natte, while Evans, Tom Douglas, Stephen Ross and Trent Mortlock were the standouts.
Lexton v Talbot
Lexton has closed its 2015 season with an encouraging victory over fellow finals contender Talbot, with the Tigers scoring a 35 point win over the Hawks on Saturday.
Nine goals to the competition's leading goal kicker, Matt Brown, was the highlight of the game, which saw score a 15.8 (98) to 9.9 (63) victory over the Hawks.
The clash was effectively finished at half time, after the Tigers had kept Talbot to just one goal across the opening two terms, while booting eight of their own to establish a 44-point buffer at half-time. The Hawks did manage to fight their way back in to the game, booting four goals in both the third and fourth quarters, but it was task too much for the Hawks, who finished the season in seventh place and will now turn their attention to next weekend's opening round of finals, as will Lexton, which held on to third position.
Brown was the only multiple goal kicker for Lexton, and was named their best player, supported by Jordan Egan, Nick Spolding, Jordan Phelan and Scott Clark.
Talbot had nine individual goal kickers, while Jon Arnel, Kane Heathcock, Tom Sutherland and Mat Whiteman were the Hawks' better players.
Last Modified on 24/08/2015 12:48