MGFNL Season 2026 - Round 12 Review

Wet and wild conditions across Gippsland didn’t prevent some big scores in Round 12 of the MGFNL. But in and around those big scores some much closer games were played, a few of which had massive finals ramifications. Another, which ultimately had no impact on the finals, loomed as one of the biggest upsets in living memory but more on the clash between Stony Creek and Foster later.

Mirboo North v Tarwin

A fast-starting Tarwin jumped Mirboo North early and never really looked back ultimately running out winers 10-9-69 to the home side’s 7-4-46.

With less than 100 seconds played Troy Harley kicked the first of his four goals for the day courtesy of a sizzling pass from Vice Captain Dan Houston to set the tone for the visitors. When Rem Dal Pozo slotted the first of his three with only a few additional minutes played the alarm bells were ringing for Mirboo North coach Damian Turner.

The coach moved himself to half back and took up residence on Brodie Senior-Gibson who was lively early for the Sharks. Turner’s midfield weapon Hudson Kerr appeared to have Tarwin Skipper Ben Ellen for company around stoppages and despite the ruck dominance the Tigers had through Pat Lewis the Sharks dominated clearances and territory early.

It took a defensive error from Tarwin and around twelve minutes for Mirboo North to register their first goal of the day via Jesse Chilla. Mirboo moved the ball, which was at this stage still somewhat dry, through four sets of hands before it ended up with Chilla who kicked truly from the top of the goal square. After all the early play the Sharks lead was only seven points.

But late goals to Tarwin saw them take a more than handy thirty-three-point lead into the first break. It was Harley again with his second goal of the quarter as the rain started hammering down at the 18-minute mark before Kyle Yann put on some Globetrotter style magic to win the subsequent clearance. He danced around three opponents before lacing out Harley thirty-five meters out on a slight angle.

Next it was Toby Mahoney’s turn. He hit a front half stoppage at speed, grabbed the wet ball like it were dry and snapped around the corner. Not to be out done in the fancy work Yann went from provider to goal kicker shortly thereafter. He too benefitted from some excellent ruck work by Harrison Cuming sharking a ball from a forward fifty stoppage. He pivoted one-way, swung back onto his right leg and kicked it straight over the goal umpire’s hat from thirty-five and everything was coming up Tarwin.

Needing to shake things up Mirboo North through Haydn Potts into the middle for a burst. His attack on the contest helped the home side work the ball forward and it was Potts himself who was rewarded with the first shot on goal for the second term. He kicked truly and this, importantly, gave the home side some much needed momentum after the visitors first quarter onslaught.

Tarwin however responded immediately with a Del Pozo soccer off the ground from yet more excellent ruck craft from Cummings before scoring was put on hold for many a minute as the rain poured down.

It took a free kick to break the shackles and of course it was none other than Troy Harley who won the free that subsequently ended the goal drought. For all intents and purposes that was the game but Mirboo North kept grinding. Their coach led the way across half back, Kerr came into the game and Potts provided presence both around the ground and in the front half.

In need of some scoreboard recognition of their hard work, it was Chilla who again stepped up. After a ruck stoppage where both ruckmen seemed to miss the Sherrin on its way back to earth Chilla swooped on the loose ball and snapped a quick one round the corner to peg a goal back for the home side.

Not content with a two-goal quarter Chilla lit up the scoreboard again before the half kicking his third after some excellent defensive pressure. Outnumbered three to one Chilla managed to halve an initial contest and then put enough pressure on the Tarwin defenders to cough up a free kick within range. After doing all the hard work Chilla kicked truly and with the quarter coming to an end shortly thereafter Mirboo North somehow remained in touching distance when a blow-out looked likely just ten or so minutes before hand.

A real arm wrestle welcomed spectators and payers alike to the start of the third quarter with neither side able to get close toa shot on goal. The longer the scoring drought went the more important the first goal became and when it went the way of the home side all of a sudden there was hope.

Ethan Woodall’s finish was all class however sadly for the home side it was countered almost immediately by Tarwin, and the margin gain looked a bridge too far.

Adjusting to the inclement weather and now water-soaked ground Tarwin set up a press across the ground and used the empty space between their highest offensive player and their goals to advantage. Firstly, it was Yann who found himself free at the top of the fifty-meter arc. He ran his full measure and kick truly to extend the lead back out to a comfortable margin. And when they used the same trick again for Toby Mahoney to score, they looked safe.

Mirboo North reduced the margin to thirty-one points at the final term when Riley Oddy marked and goaled late in the term but for a side that only had only managed six goals across three quarter over coming a five goal margin in the last term, in the rapidly declining conditions was always going to be asking too much.

Th final term saw only the home side trouble the scorers with Mirboo North kicking a solitary goal and twice as many points, but the damage was done and the Sharks finals hopes remain alive with even the most ardent Mirboo North fan having to concede season 2026 won’t see the Tigers back in the finals.

To highlight exactly how hard scoring was the sides managed thirty-one inside fifty’s between them in the last term according to Gippy FM stats man Sam Crane for just the three scores. The stat that probably summarises the last quarter even more accurately was Crane’s recording of a game high tackle count of fifty-eight tackles combined for the two sides.

Winning coach Lachi Jones, himself playing a good game down back, said post-game he was “very happy to be back on the winners list”, adding that “the game was played in tough conditions, but our first quarter set the tone and was dominant and it was really the difference in the end”. 

Asked what he thought his side did well Jone responded, “it was about doing the fundamentals well and taking our chances on the scoreboard”.

In terms of individuals Jones noted “Ricky O’Loughlin was great at centre half back” and that “our mids worked well with Ben Ellen, Kyle Yann and Jordy Bertacco all playing a good game”. Jones finished by saying “Harrison Cumming in the ruck I thought gave us the presence we needed and Troy Harley was reliable as always”. 

Losing coach Damian Turner agreed with Jones when it came to the fast start saying, “We were left ruing a sluggish start, while full credit goes to Tarwin, who were cleaner, sharper and made every early opportunity count”.

Turner continued “as the contest wore on, we started to wrestle back some momentum and even the ledger around the ground, but the early damage had already been done. To the boys’ credit, they never threw in the towel.”

When asked about individual efforts of note Turner replied “Jesse Chila was outstanding and looks to have well and truly found his groove after an injury-interrupted start to the season. Archie and Ethan Woodall were again prolific around the ball, while young defender Oli Budd’s grit and determination certainly didn’t go unnoticed”.

Hill End v MDU

In a round that contained a couple of huge margins it is ironic that the biggest winners might well be Hill End who only won by twenty points when they took care of MDU 8-10-58 to 5-8-38. Yet a quick look at the ladder says this win could well be the one that see Hill End celebrate a finals spot at seasons end.

They led all day did Hill End in a match where coach Tom Hallinan said his side played with a terrific mix of “balance, composure and hardness” to chalk up a “win built off grit, hunt and energy”.

When Hill End’s Bailey Sword slotted the matches first major inside a minute few thought they’d be in for a dour contest but as the remainder of the game showed goals would be worth their weight in gold. A fact which only highlights the impact best on ground Sword had in kicking three of the games thirteen goals himself.

Sword was joined by Kade Perkins and Ambu Uliando who kicked two each and Liam Cumiskey on the home sides goal kickers list.

Seth Calway, Rohan Marra and Zac Mills joined Sword as the best afield for the winners.

For MDU it was all single goal kickers with Thomas Niven, Jacob Whitesside, And Noah Bee-Hickman finishing behind Jaymie Youle as the better contributors.

The loss sees MDU currently out of the top six with potentially season defining matches against Newborough and Thorpdale in the coming month.

Post game the Hill End coach summed things up saying “a win that simply had to be a win for us in context of the season. We had multiple targets up forward and overall we continue to build belief in what we have been training towards over preseason”. He then added “hopefully welcome back a few in the next three weeks” in a sign that if anything the Rovers are only going to get better between now and when they play their last game of the season, whenever that may be.

Rhett Kelly, MDU coach, was effusive in his praise of Hill End saying “full credit to Hill End, who outworked us around the stoppages and at the contest all day. They played to the conditions a lot better than we did and were able to control the game for long periods”.

On his own side Kelly continued “there are still plenty of areas of the game where we are not getting it right. We'll continue to knuckle down and work hard on those areas of our game that will help us win these types of games”.

With a view to the remainder of the season Kelly finished up by adding “every game from here on is crucial for us, and we need to focus on taking the right steps forward to make sure we get the most out of this season”. 

Fish Creek v Boolarra

Fish Creek took no mercy on a depleted Boolarra senior side that was only able to name nineteen players in their senior side handing out a spanking to the tune of 21-18-144 to 3-1-19.

Coach Jarrod Walker said he was “happy with the performance today” noting his side “attacked really well but at times didn’t defend to our standards”. When asked about his opposition he commented “credit to Boolarra they moved the ball really well and had it on their terms a lot in the 3rd quarter”.

But by the third quarter the damage was done with Fish Creek piling on ten second term majors to extend their quarter time lead of twenty-two points out to eighty-five. With Charlie Wilson leading the way, he finished with five for the day, it was gaols galore, with Cameron kicking two of his three, Mitchell doing the same and Harrison Smith also slotting a pair.

Post game Boolarra coach Brendan Mason acknowledged the onslaught and said “our 2nd quarter hurt us with the ball basically living in their forward fifty for the quarter”. He continued that his felt his “boys fought hard” but were ultimately outmatched before adding “I can see Fishy playing in the final game of the year again”.

For Boolarra it was a dirty day with just the three single goal kickers. Their best players were Tim Potter, Matt Dyer, Mason Porykali and the coach himself.

Stony Creek v Foster

In a game many, myself included, felt might be memorable for a seriously lop sided result we were nearly presented with the upset to end all upsets with Foster pinching a win over Stony Creek in the last quarter 8-4-52 to 9-15-69.

When group chats and message alerts start lighting up before full time on a Saturday afternoon it is usually a very interesting time. And so it was Saturday gone when half time scores from the Stony Creek Foster game started to circulate.

To put it in perspective Foster sit atop the ladder, undefeated, eleven wins on the bounce and a percentage of 332. Stony Creek are in the bottom five, have won three games and have a percentage of just under fifty-nine.

Who were they to be in front seven goals to one? Surely things would correct themselves in the third term, the premiership quarter. Well sort of. The Creek still led by fourteen points at the final break. Sure Foster were inaccurate but they were still meant to be a dozen or so majors in front, even without Brett Eddy and Jake Best. Right?

Well, the reason the biggest upset in living memory isn’t being written about is that Foster found a gear, or two, and stormed home kicking six goals to one in the last term to get the result by seventeen points.

Tom and Cameron Stone were joined by Tyler Neal and Jai Bright as the best for Stony Creek with Luke Firth again leading the way in terms of goal kickers with two. He was the only multiple goal kicker on the day for Stony Creek with half a dozen team mates booting singles.

For Foster it was Jack Weston who was best on. He was joined by Tom Schnieder and James Morris as the best afield for them and like Stony Creek Foster too only managed one multiple goal scorer with Lachlan Rathjen kicking two.

In the post-game Stony Creek coach Troy Shepherdson acknowledged his opponents were down on personnel when he said, “had league leaders Foster come to Stony, with a few missing” before continuing that “we knew if we cracked in and had a dip that we could put a fright through their camp”.

And if the objective was simply to put a scare through the Tiger’s camp he can consider that goal achieved!

But as Shepherdson added “for three quarters we controlled the game, but in the end it showed while they were sitting on top of the ladder”.

There are a couple of take aways a neutral observer might make from this game; Firstly, you don’t want to sleep on Stony Creek in the run to the finals. They are officially the banana peel team from now until Round Eighteen. Secondly when the best sides, even the very best, are down a couple of key personnel there is always a chance.

And wont sides two through six on the ladder be holding on to that thought as the spectre of Foster looms large comes finals time.  

Toora v Thorpdale

Thorpdale continue to impress in the back half of the year and did their finals hopes no harm with a percentage boosting at Toora kicking 19-11-125 to the home side’s 5-8-38.

In an outcome that will undoubtedly please coach Daniel Taylor it was a spread of goal kickers that did the damage for the ‘Dales with Matt Powell, Shaun Falla, Kieran Albanese and best on ground Ayden Rann all kicking three each. Rann was joined in the best by Trav Pattern and Albanese.

For Toora young gun Tex Dyson continued his god form slotting three with Sam Bright and Lachi Smart getting one apiece. Smart was joined in the best by Jordyn Coulthard and josh Halsall who continues to contribute for his side week in, week out.

Morwell East v Yinnar

Yinnar did what they needed to do against Morwell East in registering a ninety-point win 7-3-45 to 19-21-135. Inaccuracy in front of goal aside there was little more the visiting Pies needed to do than claim the four points on offer and ensure their percentage remained high as they enter the pointy end of the season.

In the absence of Kane Grinstead Jones Will Robertson again stood up for the Pies booting six, playing a little closer to goal than his usual high half forward role. Lachlan Platt also helped fill the void with three along with mid fielder James Devirgilio.

Nixon hall booted two in a best on ground performance for Yinnar. Hall was joined by Roberston and defender Mark Stolk in the winning sides best trio.

For the East Bailey Galante continued his excellent season by getting the votes. He was joined by Frank Mars and John Conquest as best afield for the home side.

Zac Mangion was the only multiple goal kicker slotting three.

After the match Yinnar coach Sam McCulloch said “it was a pleasing result in challenging conditions. While we probably didn’t make the most of our inside 50 entries, there were plenty of positive passages of play throughout the match”.

McCulloch continued that “at times, the game became scrappy and highly contested, but the group responded well overall”.

Newborough had the bye and will be ready and raring to go for a huge clash against Yinnar next week.