Gulls forced to fight for derby win

by Nicholas Duck
Warragul may have claimed Western Derby glory on Sunday but it wasn't without a few scares along the way as they overcame an inexperienced but gallant Drouin side by 24 points.

Having smashed the Hawks by more than 100 points earlier this year it was a much different story this time around as the home side's run and carry troubled the second-placed Gulls for much of the first half.
As the game wore on, however, Warragul's quality began to win out, the Gulls booting nine goals to four after half time to win 14.11 (95) to 10.11 (71).
It was a much improved performance from Drouin, who took to the field without a player over the age of 21 thanks to coach Jordan Kingi being sidelined with a hand injury.
They certainly weren't going to die wondering with some of their ball movement as they continually chipped it short out of defence before rushing it forward to give themselves opportunities at goal.
Warragul are a quality unit though, and after half time came out with renewed purpose, clicking into gear at the clearances and tidying up their own ball use to surge ahead in the third quarter.
More and more mistakes crept into the Hawks' game with a deficit to chase and though they never stopped fighting, they never quite threatened like they did earlier in the day.
Keys to Warragul's victory were the lethal efforts of midfield combo Tom Hobbs and Sam Whibley.
The Gulls' contested ball dynamo enjoyed silver service from his ruck, who used his size advantage over Hawks ruck Riley Wierzbicki to take full toll.
Young Cooper Leighton's decision-making with ball in hand stood out as Riley Senini also put in a solid body of work on the ball and in the middle.
Tom Stern impacted all around the ground and especially in aerial contests while Levi Moore rounded out the best for the winners.
Drouin enjoyed a top notch performance from hard nut Brodie Atkins, who had the ball on a string at various stages.
Up against a vaunted midfield group, the 2025 Morrish Medallist crashed and bashed his way through as he tried to give the Hawks every chance at an upset.
Tommy Trist booted three first half goals and looked like the Hawks' most likely scorer for most of the day, putting himself in smart positions throughout.
Tom Mapleson did well in a job on star Warragul interceptor Sean Masterson, sometimes looking like a full-on tagger in the forward line.
Captain Seb Amoroso's relentless chase on the footy was a sight to see as always as Campbell Bedford and Lane Ward were both strong.
While pre-game expectations had Warragul as big winners, the early toing and froing instead had Drouin looking like the more composed side as they dictated terms.
Despite Jed Lamb finding the first of the day out the back, the Hawks' transition was working well, as shown when they went end to end to let Noah Lafrantz get them going.
Two free kicks handed consecutive goals to Tommy Trist to get the home crowd up and about before James Harrison put on a decent tryout for the Socceroos, booting a beauty off the ground as a response.
With Whibley and Wierzbicki tapping it down to Ward, the midfield battle sounded like a line from Elmer Fudd at times as the teams went into quarter time dead even.
Trist ran in his third soon after play resumed while things became somewhat heated thereafter when Mapleson won a free kick on Masterson and let the Gull know all about it when he kicked truly.
Several 50s were handed out for some ill-disciplined plays, including a double 50 that took Hobbs from half back all the way to the goal line.
That ill-feeling continued past the half time buzzer as the clubs took some time separating themselves heading into the rooms.
Rylie Baker missed a golden opportunity early in the third after bringing down a great mark close to home, with the Gulls sweeping it forward to get Hobbs a second major and instead take the lead.
Warragul were able to keep that momentum going late in the term, kicking goals through Stern, Vinnie Caia and Brad Hefford to extend their advantage out to 21 at the final break.
Needing the first of the last to give themselves a chance, the Hawks got what they were after when Vinnie Kuol baited Masterson into giving away a free, the ex-Gull booting the ball straight back over Masterson's head and getting in his face immediately after.
That momentum was short-lived, largely thanks to Drouin shooting themselves in the foot with some of their turnovers, which allowed Xavier Olsson and Senini to put the visitors firmly back on the front foot.
By the time the Gulls looped one over the top to Cameron Thompson it was essentially game over, despite some late consolation prizes for the maroon and gold.
Speaking post-game, Warragul coach Gary Ayres was happy to get the win.
"Full credit to Drouin today and the way they performed, the way they were able to spread from stoppage, especially in the first half, and their ability to transition," he said.
"Having said that I thought our third quarter was more how we wanted it to look. If you won around stoppage it was a bit of a front half game. I thought Drouin had that in the first quarter but we were quite efficient going forward at times.
"In the second quarter we could have nailed some gettable goals so we left a few out there but I thought the third quarter was the best quarter we played.
"I was really pleased, I think we've got a fair bit of resilience as a group that we've built for three or four months ... I sit here and it's a pretty hard-earned four points and a lot of the credit goes to how Drouin played."
Drouin coach Jordan Kingi said the day was a huge occasion for the club on account of their fundraiser and his side was keen to perform.
"We wanted to make sure we were ready for it. And we wanted to make sure we showed improvement on the last time we played them. And the things that we didn't do very well against them we feel like we did really well today. We took away their uncontested marking today and we were a lot braver with the ball than last time," he said.
"We knew at half time that all good teams, when they're a little bit down, they always respond. So they got on top in terms of the contest especially and then they got their ball movement going from that.
"From our point of view it's huge for confidence to take it up to second on the ladder. They're second for a reason, they're a really good team with some great players."
Warragul will now prepare for a Titanic clash against third-placed Wonthaggi this Saturday at home. Key forward Jordan Stewart is set to return, while the club also hopes to get back Sunday's late withdrawal Zac Stewart as well as Luke Garner.
Drouin will saddle up to face Traralgon away from home with Kingi set to miss again but big man Denver Lund likely to come in and take ruck duties for the first time this season.