WGLFL round 8 review

By Ken Moore
Garfield tried hard to peg back the deficit in the second half but made few inroads, its forward moves being punctuated by mistakes and poor decisionmaking. Garfield captaincoach Ben Soumilas set the example for the youngsters around him and received stoic defensive support from Brent McFarlane. Aaron Bradshaw and Terry Mildren both gave good account of themselves and Mal McKenna kicked four goals to be the pick of the Stars’ forwards. Both teams had to scrap hard to generate goals and showed they were crying out for more scoring power. Both will have to improve significantly on Sunday’s performance to become viable finals prospects.
Sale preserved its unblemished record with a 78point victory over Traralgon. The injurystricken Maroons were competitive until halftime but could not stay with the more polished and biggerbodied Magpies in the second half. Sale halfback Kane Fraser, along with Justin McLay and Shane Fyfe, won stacks of possessions and James Hamill offered plenty of drive from his halfforward flank. Rosedale recruit Jeremy Reid returned to the lineup after being injured early in round one and did well to negate dangerous Maroon forward Dane McGennisken. For Traralgon, Sam McCulloch provided good cover across defence, young centreman Jesse Bird impressed again with his ability to find and use the ball and Michael Geary sacrificed his usual offensive game to tag Jacob Schuback when former Adelaide Crow went into the midfield. For all Geary’s good efforts, Schuback hurt the Maroons when he went forward, bagging five goals. Ruckman Adrian Harper toiled manfully and there was a lot to like about nuggety back pocket and debutante Ben Lindsay, who never took a backward step.
Maffra clobbered Leongatha by 166 points. The Eagles could see a win looming early when they racked up seven firstquarter goals on the way to a 17goal first half. Tommy Rawlins provided pace and bite around the goalmouth, drilled home eight majors and is one of the surprise packets of the season. Key Parrot defender Paul LePage displayed his trademark courage and unflinching desire but could not stop his opponent Justin Bramich from steering through six goals. Maffra cantered to victory in the second half, playing Adrian Burgiel as a loose man in defence and resting captaincoach Hayden Burgiel. The most salient sign for Leongatha was the performance of 16yearold Roy Mullins who showed good pace and clever skills. Caine Salmon had a redhot go but lacked a few experienced heads around the midfield to provide him with adequate support. All was not bad for the Parrots with debutantes Troy Harris and Tim Pellicano both showing plenty of vigour and hardness at the ball.
On Sunday, Moe returned to form with a 40point victory over Morwell. It was game on until midway through the second quarter when two consecutive goals by young Moe powerhouse Karl Mutke and another by veteran Jason Shields helped the visitors to a twogoal lead at the main break. Moe seized control with five unanswered goals inside the first 11 minutes of the second term and set up a handy 28point lead by the last change. The game petered out in the last quarter and Moe cruised to victory. Stuart Robertson, with four goals, including three inspirational efforts in a 10minute spell in the third term, provided the midfield spark and had great support from Rod Peatey, Gary Blandford and improving ruckman Chris Hancock. Centre halfback Adam Kennedy conceded many inches to Ben Webb, but regularly eclipsed the big man and offered plenty of run out of defence. For Morwell, Adam Bailey ran hard, won heaps of possessions and looks a quality player in the making. Lachlan Dowling offered stout resistance in the last line of defence and pintsized youngster Matt Brown showed he had an appetite for goals, notching four in an impressive debut. Morwell lacked midfield runners and too often its talls failed to hold their marks.
While Sale and Maffra and to a lesser Warragul all look certain finalists, there is a logjam building with only one game separating Morwell, Traralgon, Moe, Garfield and Drouin who are all vying for the fourth and fifth spots on the ladder.