Round six

With so much more known about what each of the MGFNL clubs appear to be able to deliver, this weekend loomed as possibly the most anticipated of the year. The results having a dramatic impact on ladder positions as we head towards the half mark of the season.

Fish Creek v Morwell East

A lot was going to be learned about Morwell East as they prepared to take on the reigning premiers on their home ground, one of the toughest challenges in the competition.

The Hawks have appeared to be a shell of their normal selves, but this contest would give coach Paul Henry a look at how his men handle the adversity they are currently going through, the result maybe not a true indication of the Hawk's efforts. 

Fish Creek inaccurate but still comfortable winners 18-25-133 to 5-3-33.

Jarrad Walker, Fish Creek coach “Solid win on the weekend against Morwell East, who from all reports have been struck down with a big number of injuries. Credit to them for fighting the game out and hopefully they can get some numbers back soon. 

Still a bit for us to work on with our skills and ball movement a work in progress.

A nice early bye next week before what will be a big month in shaping our season”

The Kangaroos still working on improvements, the Hawks focused on getting more soldiers on the park, and then on turning their fortunes around after a horror start to the year.

Paul Henry, Morwell East coach “We were undermanned coming into a game you don't want to be undermanned in. We battle hard! To be honest  it was seven minutes at the back end of quarters two and four where the heavy scoring was done. Other than that, like I said, we battled hard.”

Coach Henry defends his team, as he should, but this Hawks team needs to find something from somewhere, and they need to do it as soon as possible, as they seem to be a way off both where they were in 2024 and where they need to be this season.

Fish Creek on the other hand are cruising through the season doing what Fish Creek does.

Foster v Tarwin

Foster may have comfortably accounted for most opposition to date , but nevertheless had also prepared themselves for a fiercer contest in the shape of a Tarwin side on the rebound. 

The Sharks have been competitive, but their long list of injuries has started to take its toll, and it showed, eventually defeated 7-5-47 to the Tigers 10-11-71.

Foster coach, Sam Davies “We were really challenged today, they’ll beat teams and really contend for a finals position if they stay healthy. We showed a lot of grit and just found a way to score and keep pressure on when we were up against it though so I’m really proud of the group.

Foster now sit atop of the MGFNL ladder with five wins from as many matches, the Tigers are good and getting better as we dive deeper into the season.

Tarwin however should not be forgotten in this contest as the Sharks at one stage looked as though might actually steal the win. 

Lachie Jones, Tarwin coach “A tough loss to swallow on the weekend for us. We took the game up to them in lots of areas but a seven minute lapse after half time proved costly and was probably the difference. Good sides don’t have these lapses so we will focus some time on that in our review. A few injuries again doesn’t help the cause but we will keep persisting."

The Sharks are starting to loom as one of a few clubs capable of forcing themselves into the top half of the MGFNL ladder, its feat that this year, more than any in recent years, is a very tough thing to do. In short this competition is tough and tight and very exciting.

Newborough v Boolarra

The Bulldogs had been around the mark, but were well aware the bar was to be lifted and they therefore needed to find another level as they welcomed a much improved Boolarra side to the kennel.

The Demons, who started the season so brilliantly with three wins in as many rounds, had since come off a fortnight of losses and desperately needed another "w". However the fiercely fought encounter was claimed by the home side 8-13-61 to 4-11-35.

Pat Frendo, Newborough coach “Solid win from our boys at home today against the demons. We started off dominant but were unable to put any scoreboard pressure on. Boolarra responded really well in the second and we went into the main break only up two points. Put a fair bit of pressure on the boys to lift the intensity in the second half and they answered really well only allowing twelve total points in the last two quarters. A great team win with eight different goal scorers for all our majors. It was past players day at the kennel so a win in front of a packed can bar will do wonders for our momentum.”

As the Bulldogs momentum starts, Boolarra has stopped, three early season wins, followed now by three losses.

Brendan Mason, Boolarra coach “In a game that failed to reach great heights we were out-worked by a more mature and desperate Bulldogs outfit. 

Two game day changes seemed to unsettle the side and the dogs were deserved quarter time leaders.

After working hard to level things up at half time the dogs poured on the pressure and were more efficient going forward than us after the main break.

Whilst we made them work hard for their five second half goals we could only manage one ourselves and look forward to another big clash next week against Thorpdale.

We will be keen to put on a better performance at home and keep our noses in front of the ledger by going 4-3 with a victory. 

Both of these two teams are capable of playing a part later in the season but equally both are also aware that improvements will need to be made.

With limited positions in the top six available, there will be no room for both.

Thorpdale v Hill End

Freshened up after a bye and back on their home deck, the Blues were expected to roll up, grab the win and turn their attention to the next contest.

Their opposition however, as they have done in every clash to date, were keen to throw their very best at the home side and snatch their first win of the season, unfortunately the Rovers will have to wait a little longer.

Thorpdale 11-21-87 winners by forty nine points over The Rovers 4-14-38.

Daniel Taylor, Thorpdale coach “It was a great day on Saturday with club legend Dan Hammond playing his 400th seniors/reserves game for the club which is a bloody good effort! It was great to see the 2s boys put in a big performance for Hammo and get their first win of the season!

In the seniors it was tricky conditions which meant for some inaccurate goal kicking by both sides. We had the game under control all day but to Hill End's credit they never went away. Glad to bank the points and get through the game unscathed.”

It was a little like "ground hogs day" for the Rovers, the  visitors doing their best, not embarrassed at all, but still a little way off where they need to be .

Adrian Burns, Hill End coach "I can't complain about the boy's efforts, they are playing some good footy, I asked the boys to hit the scoreboard twenty times, but I would have rathered they kicked a few more goals, than we did, but we are getting opportunities, we just need to keep on improving."

As tough as the season has been to date, as winter looms the real challenge starts for Coach Burns and his men to hold tough and believe in the long journey they are on.

Toora v Mirboo North

It was still reasonably early in the season to highlight this clash as a "must win match" but the reality was that it was very much the case for both of these two teams.

Mirboo North with the two wins and Toora searching for their first, both needed the premiership points to keep in touch with the top six sides in the competition.

The Tigers too tough, even away from home, victors by just eight points, 8-5-53 to 5-15-45.

Damian Turner, Toora coach “Tough road trip to Toora on the weekend.They certainly came to play and never once went away. They let us off the hook a little with some wayward kicking, but it was great for our boys to take our chances and keep pushing to the end. A scrappy affair, but a good tough hard fought win, what’s more a very important one for our season.”

It was a costly loss for the Toora team, who certainly had their chances, but some bad decisions made can turn a game quickly and in this instance there was no coming back.

Jay Acardi, Toora coach “A really tough loss against Mirboo nth who had a crack all day. Quite a few missed opportunities in front of goal and some undisciplined acts were very costly and in a tight contest unfortunately they are the difference. So now we face another big challenge against Morwell East who play their ground extremely well.”

The clash between the Hawks and the Magpies looms as a mst win for both clubs, the losing team can probably kiss goodbye any chance of playing finals this season, which at round seven is a cruel call and makes for a very long home and away season.

Yinnar v MDU

This clash promised plenty and delivered most of what was expected, the Magpies rolling into round six with five wins from as many matches, welcoming an in-form Demons side that hadn't tasted defeat since round one, and a side that would not give up its streak of victories.

MDU 15-9-99 defeated Yinnar 15-6-96 in one of the games of the year.

Rhett Kelly, MDU coach “Another great game of footy on the weekend,  we understood that it was going to be a huge challenge to take on Yinnar on their home deck but I knew the lads were up to it after playing some good footy the last few weeks. I thought we started that game really well, but to Yinnar's credit, they kept spreading hard from the contest and put some pressure on us across the second and third quarters. I asked the boys for a big effort in the last quarter, which is what they delivered. The game could have gone either way, but I am proud that we fought it out till the end. Yinnar is a solid team, and we look forward to another hit out in the second half of the year.

We have the bye this weekend, so we will have some time away from the club to refresh and regroup after a solid block of footy.”

As good as the Demon's were, a case could be made, as is the case in these tight contests for Yinnar, the home side, who has their chances.

Sam McCulloch, Yinnar coach “Very disappointing loss. We played some really good footy at different periods throughout the day, but weren’t able to maintain it for four quarters, which wont win games against good opposition. Will learn a lot from the game and work on the areas which let us down.

Can’t wait to have the opportunity to respond and redeem ourselves against Foster. Will be a good test to see where we are at the moment against what looks like the team to beat right now."

The league ladder has four teams vying for position at the top, Yinnar, MDU, Foster and Fish Creek, and a few mistakes by any one of the four will have another group of teams ready to take their spots.

BYE: Stony Creek