Round 13

There was a building expectation that one week would soon determine a number of clubs' seasons.

Not many however believed that round thirteen might be it.

Foster v MDU

MDU were under no illusions as to the enormity of the task as they ventured to the home ground of the Tigers to take on the top of the table team at their home ground.

Foster had only tasted defeat once in season 2025 and they were determined that their second would not be in round thirteen against the Demons.

Foster 23-9-147 to MDU 10-6-66.

The Tigers comprehensive victory now setting a high benchmark for the rest of the competition.

The win was much more impressive given the coach was actually in another country at the time.

Sam Davies, Foster coach “Unfortunately I was away at a funeral in NZ on the weekend, but luckily we have such a strong club and message across the group we could still go to work. Besty ( Jake Best) took over but our first half was filled with undisciplined acts and giving away goals - we were on top but the scoreboard may not have reflected that. The second half showcased the way we wanted to play and our ability to score and defend as a group. The midfield dominated and our forwards got really good looks. 

We’ll enjoy the week off before our last four games.”

As the Tigers get to rest before returning in round fourteen, the Demons cannot wait to redeem themselves after the disappointment of such a devastating loss.

Rhett Kelly, MDU coach “There's no easy way to say this, but yesterday's performance was poor and extremely disappointing. While the first half showed promise for a great game of footy, unfortunately, we didn't come to play after halftime. Full credit to Foster; they are a great team and had all the answers across the board. They outworked us for longer and were able to score heavily, and we simply couldn't respond. I want to apologise to our supporters who made the trek down the road. That was not who we want to be, and we need to be a lot better than what we dished up in that second half.

The great thing about footy is that we have another chance next week to respond.”

The Demons sit fourth on the MGFNL ladder,  but unless they respond immediately that position will also come under threat from a number of clubs closely pursuing.

Fish Creek v Tarwin

Fish Creek had the opportunity to not only secure four more valuable premiership points but also to send Tarwin spiralling back down towards a pack of clubs all clamouring for the Shark's current position in the leagues top six.

It was an opportunity that the Kangaroos gladly took with both hands in winning by twenty seven points.

Fish Creek 9-12-66 to Tarwin 6-3-39.

Jarrad Walker, Fish Creek coach “A pleasing win yesterday. We knew Tarwin would come out firing after the previous week and it proved to be a tough arm wrestle for the first half. Happy with our boys to keep grinding away, lift the pressure in the second half and kick away to a couple of goal lead. It has been a real positive for us that we are able to stay in games, then have the fitness to lift to another gear in the second halves when required. “

The hard work done through summer is now called on in the middle of winter, the sides that have dug deep when no one was watching can now showcase that work while all eyes are on them.

Lachie Jones, Tarwin coach “Always a tough ask playing Fish Creek as they have quality across every line. I was happy with our response this week as opposed to last week. The guys gave effort and we held one another accountable. A really pleasing aspect was our second quarter response. We had some of our players do some selfless roles and some things worked which we will take away as a positive. 

We took the contest up to them but did drop away in the last quarter.” 

There remains very little between many of the sides in the competition and just when you think you may have things worked out, the unexpected shows up and slaps you in the face.

The moral to the MGFNL story, expect the unexpected.

Newborough v Morwell East

There was so much more to this game than met the eye, for Morwell East it was the chance to claw back some much needed respect after a disappointing season to date, but for Newborough a win would keep their finals chances alive, and in doing so also encourage a host of currently  injured players to do the work and be a part of something much bigger in just over a months time. That dream is still alive for the Bulldogs successful by thirteen points.

Newborough 13-11-89 defeating Morwell East 11-10-76.

Pat Frendo, Newborough coach “Really solid bounce back after a super disappointing outing last week. The boys got off to a really good start which set us up with a 2 goal lead at the first break. In a game that had quite a few momentum swings we managed to hold a 2-3 goal buffer for the rest of the game.

Hoping this win builds a bit of confidence heading into next week when we head to MDU to play them for the second time. We managed to knock them off in round 1, but that seems like an eternity ago and both teams have gone on to have very different seasons since. Will be a tough challenge as our next 3 opponents are all gunning for a top 2 spot.”

There is no questioning the high bar that neds to be overcome by the Bulldogs, whilst for the Hawks, what has been a disappointing year continues.

Paul Henry, Morwell East coach “The trip to Newborough proved disappointing. We both have struggled this season with not many wins on the board between us. Our ability to execute simple skills has been a common factor in our losses this year. It's not at the level it needs to be.”

The Hawks have shown in recent seasons that they are more than capable of competing with the very best.

2025 has fallen short of expectations but with a sharper focus at the tail end of this year and a new opportunity in 2026, better days are no doubt ahead.

Hill End v Stony Creek

Hill End started the afternoon of round twelve with a real belief that this could be their chance for its first win of the 2025 season.

A healthy local crowd coupled with the appearance of former AFL player Will Schofield as a guest of the Carlton Draught ensured that all the stars were seemingly aligned.

The result sparked home ground celebrations for the first time this year.

An accurate Hill End 19-5-119 comfortable victors by seven goals over Stony Creek 11-11-77.

Adrian Burns, Hill End Coach "We all played well, but big Will Schofield got us plenty of the ball and lifted the whole side, Stony Creek came back in the third quarter, but we kept them at arm's length, and I've been waiting for them to do what I knew they could, it was just great to see the boys get a reward and for the whole community to enjoy it."  

In some ways the win was inevitable for Hill End, who throughout the season had sometimes teased a win was on the way, but consistently fallen short, which in some ways made the win so much sweeter.

Troy Shepardson, Stony Creek coach “Congrats to hill end getting there first win for the year, and putting on such a great day with the Carlton draught player. With so many injuries to our list we are battling the best we can.”

The Lions, like a handful of clubs in the competition have battled as best they could with too many injuries to successfully manage, and when your talent pool is also limited, it makes life that much togher.

All that said, Stony most certainly has the foundation from which to build in the season of 2026. 

Thorpdale v Mirboo North

Two weeks ago, Thorpdale would have entered this clash against Mirboo North as hot favourites, but with the Tigers coming off an impressive and comprehensive win over Newborough just one week ago, many were unsure just how this clash might unfold.

The Tigers found a way to win in the most memorable of victories.

Morwell East 9-7-61 defeating Thorpdale 7-15-57.

Damian Turner, Mirboo North coach “Huge result for our season and this group. Thorpy are a strong hard contested team and that’s exactly what they brought. They had a lot of the early play and fortunately let us off with some wayward kicking. But the grit, run and determination of my boys got us there. 17yr old Jono conlan kicking a huge goal in the last qtr in his 5th senior game, these moments can make players. Proud coach! 

We roll into the bye now, rest up, reset and hope to keep the momentum up for the last month of footy- one week at a time for us!”

The Tigers now in seventh, are just percentage from the top six, and a game from jumping two spots further up the ladder, while the Blues who could have secured a finals spot with a win, now face a nervous five weeks to the finals.

Daniel Taylor, Thorpdale coach “Frustrating day. Inaccurate kicking and undiscipline play right throughout the day proved to be costly in the end. After a pretty dominate 3rd quarter we had our chances early in the last to put it to bed but didn't convert. Full credit to mirboo nth, they finished off strong and were running on top of the ground to pinch it late.”

The untimely loss is a tough one for the Blues, who could have all but secured their spot for finals time in just over a month, but the battle continues where the outcome is far from certain.

Toora v Boolarra

All that stood between Toora and an unlikely late season surge towards the MGFNL finals was a Boolarra team that pretty much wanted the exact same thing that the Magpies did, a victory, four premiership points and continued contact with the top six sides in the competition.

Toora took their chances claiming victory in yet another nail biting victory of round thirteen.

The Magpies 9-10-64 defeating Boolarra 8-12-60.

Jay Acardi, Toora coach “A tough contest against Boolarra we came out firing in the 1st quarter and controlled the majority it with good ball use which gave our forwards good looks at goal. But as Boolarra do so often they got the game on their terms and out played us for the majority of the last 3 quarters. Was great to see the boys stand up when it counted in some big moments in the last quarter to get the victory one that could have gone either way.”

The Demons now seemingly on the wrong side of too many that could have gone either way.

Each week there are patches of play that indicate they could and possibly even should be further up the ladder. The weekend gone, no exception.

Brendan Mason, Boolarra coach “A lightning fast start saw the Toora side lead five goals three behind to one goal three at the first break. 

We were the victim of self-inflicted wounds with some poor ball use from the halfback line through the middle of the ground gifting three of Tooras five goals.

Then  Magpies star Jack Weston injected himself into the middle and started to influence the flow of play. In the last quarter and after a tug of war saw a scoreless 5 minutes Joel Mason kicked the ultimate skippers goal to get the lead back for the Demons with 19 played.

With 24 gone a Toora free kick found their gun forward Craig free in the F50 and when he kicked truly the home side led by 4 with that being the ultimate margin in a cracking game of football.”

There were so many passages of play, decisions made that the Demons could reflect on and say “what if” but with the premiership points missing from their bank, Boolarra appear just one more loss away from looking at their season and saying  “what if?”

Bye: Y

innar