Great Gulls maul Maroons in finals breakthrough

by Nicholas Duck
A seven-goal showcase from Warragul forward Jed Lamb has helped lift the Gulls to their first finals win since 2008 with a dominant 54-point thumping over Traralgon in Sunday's elimination final.
Having come into the clash at Drouin off the back of four straight losses the Gulls defied all expectations, keeping ahead of the Maroons for much of the day before storming home late, slamming through nine last quarter goals to prevail 17.14 (116) to 9.8 (62).
Lamb was in good touch from early on, putting his strong bodywork to use and kicking his side's first three goals before cashing in again later.
Coach and AFL legend Gary Ayres showed every bit of his tactical nous on the day, putting into place several plans that all worked to effectively put a stop to Traralgon's normally free flowing ball movement.
While the Maroons love to rebound from defence, sweeping the ball in a rush and going end to end in a heartbeat, Warragul's pressure was up to the challenge.
Their defenders pressed high, leaving their opponents with no room to breathe and creating turnovers that led to repeat opportunities.
Couple that with several match-up wins, including Jake Hughes essentially tagging star interceptor Tye Hourigan, and the game looked far more like a Warragul one than a Traralgon one. The Maroons stuck around, as good teams do, but sorely missed star Liam Willaton, who broke his leg last week against Wonthaggi.
And for as hard as they tried, when the dam began to break in the last it was game over.
Ruck Sam Whibley shone brightest on a brilliant day for his club, taking solo ruck duty for the first time since round 10 and making the most of it – including an incredible set shot from the boundary late in the day that had the crowd chanting his name.
Liam Serong's work through the middle, particularly in nullifying Maroons danger man Joel Scholtes, was extremely impressive, with Brad Hefford stepping up similarly on wingman Matt Northe.
Hughes stuck firmly to his task on Hourigan, making the Maroons marking man earn every one of his touches and even cashing in for a long-range missile of a set shot when the Gulls began to run riot.
Riley Senini never gave an inch in the midfield while Warragul's defensive unit – led by a strong showing from leader Sean Masterson – deserved just as many plaudits as the rest of their named best.
Despite the attention he received Hourigan still fought tooth and nail, even swinging forward in an attempt to get something going for his side.
Kade Thorley (two goals) and Tom Hamilton (three) did what they could with the limited supply, as Frazar Brouns, Jackson McMahon and Northe all battled manfully.
Lamb got his day rolling early in the first term, kicking two straight after the Maroons found the opening goal through Northe.
Warragul looked a far different team to the one that limped to a loss against Morwell just a week prior, but went into the quarter time break a goal down thanks to some silly mistakes, including a misjudged pass from Lamb that allowed the Maroons to execute their end-to-end game style and walk one in.
He quickly made up for it, throwing it on the boot to open the scoring in the second term.
The chaos ball was working beautifully for Warragul as it pinged around between the arcs, allowing them to build a lead thanks to consecutive Tom Stern majors.
Masterson, Kai MacLean, Patrick Mulqueen and Rhys Galvin were resolute defensively and by the time the main break came the Gulls had built a handy 19-point lead and Lamb had four.
Traralgon needed a response, and got one when Cooper Brown got a hand in on a Gulls handball, collecting the footy and delivering a perfect kick to Brouns in front of the big sticks.
Another Maroons major had the Warragul bench frustrated, with Ayres overheard letting some expletives fly.
Late goals to Stewart and Lamb kept the black and red in front at the final change of ends and a fired-up Ayres urged his troops to "control the moment, don't let the moment control you."
Controlling the moment is one thing. Warragul seized it.
It began via Lamb again, clunking a mark close to home and capitalising.
Hughes then rode the wave of momentum, bombing one from downtown to send the crowd into raptures.
And those raptures quickly turned to a frenzy when the big man Whibley, hard against the boundary line some 40 metres out, slotted the unlikeliest of shots, pumping his fist in celebration and kicking off party time for Warragul.
Most Gulls fans wouldn't have exactly bet the house on either Hughes' or Whibley's kicks going through. Both of them right after the other? That's some manifest destiny right there.
Warragul continued to pile on the pain, kicking six unanswered goals for the quarter before Traralgon could peg one back.
The scoring didn't stop even with the game well and truly in hand, and when James Harrison ran in yet another one late, an audible "yes!" could be heard from Ayres' direction.
Speaking post-game, Ayres was immensely proud of his team's performance.
"We gave some jobs to some guys and I thought we were outstanding in so much of the areas you've got to win in finals footy," he said.
"We were winning it out of the middle and we were using it in offence quite well. Our defenders were defending high and turning the ball over high and I thought our pressure in every facet when we didn't have the ball was great.
"I think it's a bit of validation for the group we've got this year too. We've probably lost more than we gained over the summer. The improvement was always going to be from the guys we know. We sit here saying it's a job well done, but it's not finished."
Having now atoned for their heartbreaking elimination final loss last year the Gulls will gear up for a semi final clash with Wonthaggi this Sunday at Leongatha.
Like the Gulls, the Power have come into finals in less than ideal form, and are on a three-game losing streak as things stand.
Should Warragul play as they did on Sunday, there's no reason they can't go even deeper.