Stars leave it too late in Dees defeat

by Nicholas Duck
A wild rollercoaster of a game has seen Garfield go down swinging against Koo wee rup by nine point.
The Stars trailed by as much as 45 points partway through the third term before throwing caution to the wind, taking the game on at all costs to give the finals-bound Demons an almighty scare late.
And while it wasn't enough to see them claim the four points, the 13.8 (86) to 14.11 (95) defeat had a lot more to like than other Garfield losses in the past few years.
Koo wee rup built their lead largely off their ability to punish the visitors' turnovers, clinically pulling apart the Stars' sloppy disposal and making the most of their chances inside 50 in the first half until bursting away in a powerful display at the beginning of the second half.
Another quickfire run of three majors to kick off the final term was enough to hold the Stars at bay, even as they booted six of the game's last seven goals.
The win has come at a cost for Koo wee rup, however, after skipper Nathan Voss limped from the field in the first quarter with an apparent hamstring injury.
With finals just weeks away there'll be plenty of eyes on how he pulls up.
Playing well for Garfield despite the defeat was Tom Kelly, whose run and drive off the half back flank held him in good stead all day, including when he kicked a ripper goal from distance in the last quarter.
Angus Emery provided a steady hand in the midfield, matched up on Demons stars Josh Bateman and Ishak Bashir for large portions of the match, as Harrison Cant helped quell Brodie Lake after a monster first quarter.
Cooper Alger was excellent in the middle and Will Cole fought hard down back to round out their best.
Despite the attention they received Batman and Bashir were both at the forefront for the Demons, the latter playing his first game since round 15.
Matt Voss stood tall in his brother's absence as Brodie Lake – playing up forward – Lachlan Hinde and Taj Stanley were all strong.
Most of the first half was played on relatively even terms scoreboard-wise, with Garfield able to keep pace despite some mistakes by hand and foot.
In particular their desire to rush the ball forward from defence came back to bite them when they turned it over, leaving the Demons ample time and space to capitalise.
Despite that, the deficit stood at just 10 points at the half and the game remained up for grabs.
Unfortunately for the Stars it seemed like someone forgot to tell them the second half had started.
The Demons went ballistic to kick off the famed premiership quarter, piling on the pain with six straight majors to catch the visitors napping and break clear beyond 40 points.
Just when it seemed a total collapse was on the cards, however, Garfield clicked back into gear, ending the term in style via four goals of their own to keep things within reach at three quarter time.
Just as they had kicked off the third quarter the Demons were on fire, slamming home three quick goals to again put the game into thumping territory.
But like before the Stars were up to the task, and began to creep closer and closer.
Panic seeped into the Demons at times, like when Stars small Jed Pinkerton (four goals for the day) got up to his usual tricks, booting one and antagonising his opponent into giving away a free right in front for a second within minutes.
Some controversy hit late after a Cooper Alger tackle was rewarded at the top of the Stars' 50. A Koo wee rup player handed it to a teammate instead of Alger but despite the Stars' pleas, the umpire said there was nothing doing.
The final siren came as something to a relief to the home crowd, who had become a tad restless as their team almost gave up the game.
Speaking post-game, Garfield coach Eddie Morris said there was a lot to take out of the loss.
"We had a poor first half. We were good defensively and in the contest but up forward we were just rushing," he said.
"We just managed to change the mindset of the group and we got a bit of momentum."
"A little bit more luck, a little bit more time and we might have gotten there... it was a really good step for the group to learn that mindset, that resilience. It's something they haven't shown in my time so far."
Garfield will finish their season at home this Saturday against Phillip Island.