Drouin’s David Olsen in action for the hardworking but undermanned Hawks.By Ken Moore
TRARALGON consolidated fourth spot on the ladder with a 60point victory over Drouin.
Despite the final margin, the Maroons were made to dig deep and only established a break over the plucky Hawks late in the third quarter.
Traralgon can thank its emerging forwards Dane McGennisken and Rowan Hore, who proved handfuls for the Drouin defence with six goals apiece.
A good sign for the Maroons was the performance of Gippsland Power squad member Dan McKenna, a tall keyposition player who presented well across the forward line and appeared to have shrugged off a medial ligament injury that has dogged him for the past year.
Champion Greg Morley showed he was starting to get over his injuries and played his best game of the season, which spells danger for rival clubs before the finals.
Wingman Peter Smith had a hand in many goals and young midfielder Kim Harrold showed he was a good prospect with another fine game.
For Drouin, Jordan Edwards never gave in and was at his strong and willing best around the packs.
Bob McCallum won many tapouts and worked forward to pop through three goals in another top performance.
Joel Backman, a 17yearold in only his second game, showed plenty of promise and drilled home three goals and Jay Barr, Kent Edwards and Corey Jagoe offered plenty of resistance in defence.
Ladder leader Sale comfortably accounted for Garfield by 70 points.
The Stars were a lot more competitive than the scores suggested, for the Magpies scored their last five goals in the final seven minutes to blow out the margin.
Adelaide Crow recruit Jason Schuback, despite close attention from Ben Soumilas, showed good skill and judgement to slot through seven goals and Nick Fowler (five goals) proved difficult to hold.
SANFL recruit Chris Laverty racked up possessions at will in the midfield and wingman Tim Bristow, one of the most underrated players in the league, gave plenty of drive.
Shane Fyfe put his strong body on the line and youngster Tom Hughes played a measured game in defence.
Garfield was well served by Ben Marsh, who never gave in, and the hard running of Shaun Pickering.
Ruckman Tom Marsh belied his tender age and played another mature game.
Centre halfback Brett Reid showed he was growing in confidence, ran the ball out of defence regularly and had good support from Brent McFarlane, who was at his reliable best in the last line of defence.
Ben Soumilas thwarted many attacks, Stuart Edwards crumbed well around the packs, Mal McKenna did plenty of good work midfield and Matt Cunningham presented well up forward.
It showed how much the Stars had missed Dean McFarlane, the versatile utility hitting the packs hard and kicking three goals.
Moe snatched a surprise threepoint victory over Warragul to grab fifth position.
Jason Shields’ fourth goal for the afternoon, after a pack mark at the 28minute mark of the last quarter, sealed victory for the Lions.
After Warragul scored three goals in timeon in the third quarter to hold a 30point lead, the Gulls looked home and hosed, but Moe engineered a remarkable comeback that may well turn its season around.
Lightly built midfielder Gary Blandford picked up many touches and continually drove the ball forward, Chris Hancock did well in the ruck to break even with Matt Gray and Matt Dickason, Brad Wedrowicz and Peter Ainsworth often rebounded out of defence.
Midfielders John Reid, Ben Jostlear and Ryan Davey were prominent for the Gulls and Brendan Sheehan and Brad Nott made their presence felt in defence.
Injured Warragul captaincoach Ash Green was bitterly disappointed with his side’s fadeout and from all reports let his team know all about it after the game.
Maffra was forced to fight all the way by Morwell to record a 31point victory.
The Tigers were torn apart early, conceding the first 54 points before they worked their way into the game.
Adrian Burgiel made clever use of the ball in a loose role in defence and capped off a fine performance with a 70metre torpedo goal in the third quarter.
Ben Coleman, Cam Streeter, Hayden Burgiel and Ben Batalha pumped the ball forward all game and Justin Bramich, with four goals, provided a good target around the big sticks.
Despite a flu bug that swept through the club and sidelined four players, the Tigers outscored the Eagles after quartertime.
Halfbacks Julian Blackford and Jeff Ryan rebounded well from defence, Lachlan Dowling with five goals presented well at centre halfforward, wingman Robert Michaelidis and onballer Joel Soutar were regularly in the thick of things.
