by Nicholas Duck
Anyone up for a bit of goalkicking practice?
It was harder than it had to be but Warragul Industrials are back on the winners list courtesy of an error-ridden 31-point win over Korumburra Bena at Western Park on Saturday.
Inaccuracy and fumbles plagued the Dusties throughout the 11.17 (83) to 8.4 (52), keeping the Giants within reach even when the tide of general play was well against them.
Despite some nervous moments, however, the class of the home side proved to be enough to see them through safely, securing their fourth win of the season.
Veteran Nic Visser was at his fearsome best for the Dusties, crashing through stoppages with reckless abandon in a way fans have come to love.
Recruit Jeremy Monckton put in his best stint for the club to date, streaming up and down the wings all day and providing a consistent option for his teammates as he ran the Giants ragged.
The Beck brothers, both Todd and Bailey, were again strong. Todd (two goals) was Warragul Industrials' only multiple goalkicker for the day as he got plenty of touches, despite a few spills. Meanwhile there's a decent chance Bailey is leading the club's best and fairest at the current time, such is his versatility around the ground.
Will Gibson also put together his finest showing of the year, having missed most of 2024 due to injury.
For Korumburra Bena coach Josh Hopkins was again enormous for his side. The former Leongatha Parrot has been racking up some video game numbers this year and was again prolific around the footy, also sneaking forward to nail three goals.
Jordan Ceppi, Bailey Nation, Guy Dickson, Tom Crocker and Luke Walker rounded out their best in an encouraging, if not pretty, performance.
In general, 'not pretty' is a good way to describe how the day played out.
Neither team was exactly chaining together many attractive pieces of play, the Dusties seemingly out of sorts after a week off.
Marks weren't sticking, handballs and kicks weren't hitting targets and if you played a drinking game every time a player fumbled you'd have left Western Park in the back of an ambulance.
Frustrations were evident, especially for the Dusties, who missed out on a real chance for a needed percentage boost in a match they were expected to win by a lot more.
With the teams surrounding them in the top six all boasting much healthier percentages it mean they're going to need a big win or two in the run home if they don't want it to be a factor when the whips are cracking.
Things began well enough for the home side after Todd Beck snapped through the first of the day in traffic.
The Giants fought back thereafter, goals to Crocker and Hopkins giving them an early advantage.
The Dusties peppered the goals for a while – a theme of the day as it turned out – but were able to get the scoreboard ticking their way thanks to majors from Todd Beck again, coach Bob McCallum and a rare foray forward from defender Sam Russell.
They continued to spur some chances to take a real stranglehold on the game in the second term as the Giants continued to keep them honest.
A late mark and goal to the returning Tim Hancock gave them some momentum heading into the second half – though that was quickly erased.
Scoring dried up for the Dusties in the third quarter. The home side just couldn't string together a play to goal for the term, while the Giants fought back with two of their own.
It didn't help when McCallum found himself sent off for 15 minutes following an incident with a Giants player. After copping a hand to the stomach, McCallum retaliated and was duly punished, handed a yellow card and forcing the Dusties to play a man down.
The margin hovered at 19 points heading into three quarter time, tantalisingly close for the Giants if they could get on a run.
That potential only got stronger after Aidan Simmons struck the first blow of the term for the visitors, reducing the deficit even more.
Nic Visser put a stop to that, pouncing on a missed handball from a Giants defender to gather the footy and pop one through from close range.
Young ruck Damian Leslie was able to throw it on the boot and curl one through not long after, essentially putting the game to bed save for a few late goals to both teams.
McCallum wasn't overly pleased with his side's efforts, saying the day was a missed opportunity despite the win.
"The most disappointing thing in the wash up is at some point it's going to be some wet, windy days where scoring's impossible and we've just had a perfect day for footy where we didn't get it done," he said.
McCallum said his side needed to shrink the gap between their best and worst footy going forward.
"We wanted this to be a week where we put our best foot forward and we didn't quite get that...the effort was there, we just weren't as clean and methodical as we'd like."
Warragul Industrials now have another week off before an imposing match with reigning premiers Nar Nar Goon. The club is hopeful injured star Kuiy Jiath can make his return for that contest. Given the Goon's current form, they'll need everyone they can get.