Blues best fast-finishing Rovers

by Mitchell Berechree
Round five saw the league's two winless teams chalk up their first wins for the season with one of them, Stony Creek, causing what may well remain the upset of the year in their local derby with MDU.
And Boolarra too was finally able to sing their song after, for the first time this year, capitalising on their front half entries to kick a winning score over Morwell East.
At the other end of the table the status quo remained with Fish Creek, Yinnar and Foster all cracking the ton and running out big winners over Newborough, Toora and Mirboo North respectively.
Hill End v Thorpdale
Thorpdale continued to go about their business with a strong win over the improving Hill End.
The Blues, who find themselves in fourth spot with their only loss coming at the hands of the undefeated Foster, had this clash with Hill End put to bed at half time when they led by a whopping 11 goals.
A second half comeback by the Rovers saw the finals scores much closer but still handed a comfortable win to the visitors 16-18-114 to 12-10-82.
For Thorpdale, recruits Jesse Patullo and Ayden Ramm were joined by stalwarts Shannon Pickering and Gavan Low as their best four. Patullo also headed the goal kickers list with half a dozen. Jerimiah Jones was the only other multiple goal kicker with two while eight other players found their name on the scoresheet.
Thorpdale coach Daniel Taylor praised his side suggesting he felt this was "the best we've moved the ball since my time at the club."
He was pleased with "the dominant second term which set up the win" and also acknowledged his side's efforts to kick the first two goals of the last term after Hill End loomed as a threat after a strong third term.
For Hill End it was Luke Summersgill with five and Liam Cumiskey's two that led the way in terms of goal kicking. Bayley Paul, Seth Calway and Tom Johnstone were listed as their best three.
Post game Hill End coach Tom Hallinan said "dropped marks in our forward half hurt us in the first quarter where Thorpy capitalised on the rebound." As reflected on the scoreboard which showed a nine goal to zero term, Hallinan said the second quarter "was all Thorpy" adding they "were slick and really put the foot down" and capitalised on his side's inability "to initiate first hands on ball."
At half time Hallinan said the "boys responded with a six goals to one quarter" and made several positional changes. Hallinan said the changes meant "the midfield were getting first use and we were changing lanes which forced movement and created one on one isolations" that in turn led to an increase in scoring.
On winning the second half Hallinan noted "finishing as we did shows that we are trending in the right direction."
Mirboo North v Foster
After an arm wrestle in the first quarter that saw Foster held to a single major and Mirboo North not trouble the scorers, Foster turned it on in the second term to set up a 107-point win.
They slammed on 8-4-52 to Mirboo North's 1-1-7 and the tone for the rest of the day was set with Foster eventually running out winners 19-12-126 to Mirboo North 3-1-19.
Mirboo North coach Damian Turner sent youngster Ollie Mahoney to Angus Norton in a tagging role in the middle and placed his faith in Beau Peters and Joe Brooks to get the job done on Brett Eddy and Jake Best in the Foster front half.
Both Peters and Brooks toiled manfully all day but with the supply coming in, eventually Eddy and Best took control of their match-ups and finished with six and seven each.
After the second quarter onslaught Turner and his hometown Tigers, resplendent in their pink socks supporting breast cancer research, went to a slow mode style of game.
They chipped the ball around wherever possible and maintained possession across half back to start the third term. This kept the ball out of Foster's hands and led to the home team's second goal of the game when Archie Woodall marked and kicked truly.
As if taking personal offence to the goal or perhaps style of play Jack Weston went on a tear for Foster.
The next few minutes of game time saw him intercept mark, run and carry the ball and set up multiple forward 50 entries resulting in goals.
In the blink of an eye the score had blown out and Foster were cruising.
Mirboo North however cracked in and finished the quarter how they started, with a goal. This time it was Kerr, who was outstanding early, who snapped truly, on his non favoured right foot to raise the umpires' flags.
The last term saw Rawlings, of Mirboo North, and Rathjen do the majority of the ruck work. Sam Crane, Gippsland FM's stat man credited the home side with their highest number of forward 50 entries for the game but it was still Foster hitting the scoreboard.
Damian Turner, who appeared to be playing injured, said after the game "we came up against a very strong outfit in Foster."
"As always, when these sides get uncontested ball they really make you hurt, and that was the story this week," adding that Best and Eddy were a tough duo to hold off for four quarters.
Turner suggested the scoreboard didn't reflect his side's "start and pressure" but conceded "Foster are going to be tough to beat."
Winning coach Jake Best acknowledged the tight start to the game noting "it was a great contest in the first quarter" adding that Mirboo North "really took it up to us".
"As the game opened up we got it on our terms" and as the scoreboard showed this is a dangerous place for any opposition to find themselves in," he said.
Stony Creek v MDU
The league finally got the upset result it was looking for when the previously winless Stony Creek held on for a one-point win over their nearest and dearest rivals MDU 11-7-73 to 11-6-72.
When sides with history like these two take to the park you can generally throw the form guide and ladder out the window and so it proved Saturday just gone in a result that will have near on everyone in the league cheering for the underdog.
The Stony Creek boys jumped the Demons and slotted five of the finest in the first term to let the visitors know they were in for a contest.
When Stony Creek slotted the first of the second term inside a minute the upset was not only on the cards but in full swing.
As if roused by the challenge, MDU responded with five of their own while keeping the home side off the scoreboard and turned a 15-point quarter time deficit into a nine-point lead.
The home side rallied in the third term and with Tully Bernado and Cameron Stone in everything, the opportunities continued to present for Luke Firth who slotted five for the day. Bernando managed two majors to add to his best on ground performance along with Colby Michael who also booted two.
With the home side leading by nine points at the final break, and MDU coming home to the scoring end the scene was perfectly set for a dramatic last stanza.
And no one was let down in terms of drama. Stony Creek kicked two of the first three goals of the term and with 15 minutes gone looked almost safe with a 15-point lead.
But with Jamie Youle heading the charge MDU kept coming and coming and had the last four scoring shots of the contest. McRae kicked his fifth and it was back under two kicks. When the siren sounded MDU was back within a point following an enthralling last quarter where home side had hung on for one of the best wins in recent seasons.
An enthusiastic Stony Creek coach Troy Shepherdson said "in a tight contested game we were able to pull off a great win". "The boys have dug in hard and deserve the win," he said.
MDU coach Rhett Kelly said "full credit to Stony who played like they had nothing to lose". In particular he praised his opponent's midfield who he said, "were on top all day" while his side "didn't defend hard enough to stop their spread from stoppage."
Yinnar v Toora
Yinnar coach Sam McCulloch said he was "pleased to come away with a strong win" after his side routed Toora 29-13-187 to 4-2-26.
Kane Grinstead-Jones filled his boots with a bag of seven with the ever-green Mick Geary slotting six. Nixon Hall kicked three in a best on ground performance as did Blake Van Der Meer who seemingly enjoyed a stint away from the defensive area.
Whilst undoubtedly happy with the margin and subsequent percentage, McCulloch was content his side was "able to put together a consistent four-quarter performance, with contributions right across the team".
In what might sound as a warning bell to opponents across the league he said "after an interrupted start to the season, we're beginning to build some real momentum in our football."
Toora were again best served by Lachi Smart and Mick Bezzene with their goal kickers all singles in Jared Bent, Bezzene, Sam Bright and Tex Dyson.
Morwell East v Boolarra
Boolarra tasted success for the first time in season 2026 with a comfortable eight goal win over Morwell East, 15-7-97 to 7-7-49.
The visitors jumped the Hawks and led at the first change by 20 points. The coach and the captain, Brendan and Joel Mason had plenty of it for the Demons and set up several scoring opportunities with the coach also kicking five of his own.
Matt Devon, recruited from Trafalgar in the off season continued his recent good form by also slotting five. Rounding out the goal kickers was Ethan Smith with three and Tarmah Little and Nick Miller with one each.
An injury hit East battled out the game but were unable to bridge the gap on the scoreboard. Brandon Francis led the goal kickers for East with three.
The remainder were all singles to Clymo, Jay Francis, Iorangi and Mangion. Iorangi, up against his old coach from his junior days was named in the East's best three along with Bailey Galante and Eric Semmler.
Boolarra coach Brendan Mason concurred with East's assessment of their best saying post-game "Lorangi was moving well and was easily in East's best with Galante."
Mason said it was good to be back on the winner's list with a complete four quarter performance. He praised the game of Devon whom he labelled "lively up front" before adding it was "good having a couple of the Darwin boys down who both contributed well."
Fish Creek v Newborough
Fish Creek kept on doing what Fish Creek have been doing since round two, kicking scores of in excess of 100 and restricting their opponents to around that. This time it was Newborough who saw how efficient they are as Fish Creek ran out winners 21-10-136 to 8-5-53.
Across the four quarters an eerily consistent Fish Creek kicked five, five, four and four goals. They had five multiple goal scorers and winners all over the park. Blaine Coates, who has an amazing record of three Fish Creek premierships from only 38 games, was named best on ground along with Mitch Hicks and Harrison Smith.
For Newborough the Nathans, Curtis and Whieldon, managed two goals each. Macally Brosnan was named best on ground along with Kyle Jennings and Liam Cordner.
Bye: Tarwin