by Nicholas Duck
It was a tough day at the office for Warragul on Saturday as they were handily beaten in a fiery and at times spiteful contest by Traralgon.

The Maroons were in control from the outset, booting five of the first six goals to set up a cruisy day on the scoreboard, despite some tension on the field.
Neither side minds a bit of biff and things threatened to spill over at times, with words being exchanged even after the final siren.
Much of that centred around a fourth quarter incident involving Traralgon superstar Tye Hourigan, who collected Vinnie Caia after the Gull had gotten a handball away, requiring Caia to be taken from the field by trainers and ending his day early.
Hourigan was not reported at the time and no free kick was paid but league officials have said the incident is under review, leaving the Maroons skipper with a stressful few days to look forward to.
Caia was later seen walking around the Warragul rooms in good spirits.
The 8.12 (60) to 17.16 (118) defeat sees the Gulls slip to seventh on the table with consecutive losses for the first time this year
It's the third time a slow start has cost them this year, their poor first half largely to blame for a game where the margin never dropped below 30 points after quarter time.
Cheap turnovers came back to haunt the visitors, the Maroons getting their run and gun offence back in order following their shock loss to Maffra last week.
Traralgon's success was somewhat marred by some injury troubles throughout the day with the Maroons left with just one healthy player on the bench by the final term.
Several missing players from the starting line-up the Gulls' case either, including star midfielder Tom Hobbs, who was out due to a wedding.
Among the Warragul players who could hold their heads high was Senini, the young gun putting his body on the line all day, including in the final term when some friendly fire saw him leave the ground worse for wear.
Defender Sean Masterson fought hard, taking on a sort of tagging role on Hourigan at times to limit his effectiveness. Tom Stern presented well as a forward and Kai MacLean impressed, while Alby Phillips and James Harrison were also solid.
Traralgon enjoyed an excellent performance in defence from the versatile Tristen Waack, who used his wheels to reach contest after contest in the air.
Jackson McMahon and Liam Willaton were able to put their skills to use to hurt the Gulls on the outside, Luis D'Angelo did plenty of damage through the middle, Jordan Cunico played well and Hourigan was able to impact despite the close checking.
Knowing how important a good start would be to their chances against the reigning premiers, Warragul wouldn't have been happy with how the first quarter ended up.
Traralgon were switched on from the outset, pouncing on the Gulls errors as they piled up, switching from the wings to the corridor in an instant to give their forwards ample space and time.
Accuracy was their main enemy, a much larger quarter time on offer had they converted better than their 5.9 for the term. Dylan Loprese was one of the main offenders as he finished the day with a three-goal haul that could have been at least five.
In a worrying sign for Warragul their one goal of the term probably shouldn't have even happened, a rolling dribble from Isaac Wallace in the pocket being called good by the goal umpire despite Mitch Membrey seemingly getting a hand on it well before the line.
A set shot goal from Zac Stewart had the visitors off to a better start in the second only for the Maroons to respond in term through Kade Ruyters.
McMahon curled through a beautiful checkside goal from deep in the pocket not long after and it was getting pretty clear this wasn't going to be Warragul's day.
Trailing by 46 at the half Warragul finally clicked into gear in the third, putting together their best patch of footy for the day.
Pressure was suddenly at the forefront of their game and although they didn't make the most of their chances it had them running the Maroons off their feet, at least for a little bit.
Brayden Fowler, Luke Garner – with a brilliant dribbler from the boundary – and Caleb McIntosh saluted on the scoreboard, Cooper Brown booting the only Traralgon goal for the term as the Maroons were decimated by injury.
Despite their positive work, however, it was undone in the last as the Maroons pulled away again, driving through five goals to one despite the advantage in numbers.
Tensions threatened to boil over late, a very vocal group of Traralgon fourths and thirds players on the sidelines not helping Warragul's mood, but it mattered little to the overall result.
Warragul coach Jed Lamb described it as "a tough day."
"When we were in the fight we looked really good but just the efficiency going forward let us down. Overall some positives came out of the game but definitely a bit of feeling in it," he said.
"That's the most frustrating bit...our good's really good. When we match it in the contest and the spread and defend really well then we play a good brand of footy."
Lamb added that some of the verbal barbs between the teams wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.
"We'll put that in the memory bank, that's for sure."