THE ultimate has happened for South Gippsland sports fans with Leongatha and Wonthaggi set to do battle for the Gippsland League Premiership of 2023.
Wonthaggi has appeared in three Gippsland league grand finals, losing to Leongatha in 2001, Maffra in 2002 and Morwell in 2014. The last time they defeated Leongatha in a grand final was back in the old South Gippsland League in 1962, so it's been a long time between drinks in that regard. They've never one a major-league premiership in Gippsland.
So whatever happens, there’s history here in the making, with Leongatha going after a 12th premiership in just over 50 years playing in Gippsland and all roads will lead to Morwell on Saturday, September 23, for a match starting at 2.30pm.
For Leongatha footy fans, their Reserves are also involved, playing off against Sale at 12.30, while the C Grade Netballers play Maffra from 12.15.
The Parrots came through a physical clash at Sale last Saturday against a rejuvenated Moe side, ultimately tackling the Lions to a standstill before running out 33 point winners in a relatively low-scoring affair, played in superb conditions, probably better suited to the beach than football.
But the Parrots set up the win with a dominant first quarter with the likes of big Benny Willis in the ruck, Aaron Heppell and last year’s league best player Tom Marriott somewhere near his best out of the centre.
Missing this week was the Parrots’ foil for talented intercept marking defender Declan Keilty, Luke Bowman, who was left on the sidelines with injury.
There was no loved lost between the teams and that was in evidence in the first five minutes when Moe’s Bill Gowers dumped Leongatha’s Noah Gown into the turf with a bruising tackle, but while the umpire was looking on, kept his knees in the back of the prone onballer.
Gowers took off with the ball to where James Blaser pushed Jack Hume gratuitously over the boundary line, earning a free kick near goal when Sean Westaway retaliated. Blaser passed to Jacob Balfour within close range, and it might have been an inauspicious start for the Parrots – but he missed a sitter.
The Parrots also avoided further embarrassment when Cade Maskell kicked into the man on the mark before an alert Will Littlejohn helped him clear the ball.
A quick transfer of play was initially repelled by Keilty but ultimately Aaron Turton got the Parrots on board at the six-minute mark, Olden and Marriott involved in the build up.
Thereafter, the Parrots kicked into gear.
The Parrots’ forward pressure was immense, resulting in a free kick to Drew, who handed off to Maskell coming down the ground.
He’d already experienced the strength of the breeze kicking out from full back and bombed this one from 55 metres, with it sailing through post high. The Parrots got around him as the two flags went up.
The next passage of play, straight out of the centre by Gown, produced a double blow for the Lions, their key defender Keilty injuring his shoulder in the play, and Jenson Garnham awarded a free at close range which he promptly converted.
Adding insult to injury in their next forward thrust, Harry to Vanderpligt, the pass found Ginnane who out-marked an injured Keilty, unable to get his arm up for a trademark spoil or intercept mark.
Ginnane, who had a watching brief on Keilty in the absence of Bowman, went back and kicked the Parrots’ fourth.
Whatever the trainers did for Keilty, he was able to mark and rebound the Parrots’ next attack but they had the wall up across half back, with Maskell, Westaway and Harry engaged, and Leongatha went again.
Ben Willis used the body to nudge his opponent Chris Prowse out of the way to take a mark on the flank which translated directly into the Parrots’ fifth goal, without a response from Moe. Drew to Garnham on the lead was silky smooth.
It was a five-goal head start for Leongatha and Moe didn’t look to have the answer.
The Parrots were suffocating the Lions’ efforts but finally, on the back of more good work by Riley Baldi, Moe forced the ball forward to big Nick Prowse, who handed off to James Blaser, who kicked from 50 metres to get their first goal at the 23-minute mark.
Moments later, Moe’s Jacob Wood single-handedly got the ball forward to Nick Prowse, first with a tackle on Willis and then with a twisting turning run, but Prowse, from no more than 15 metres out, missed a sitter.
The Parrots were doing everything right, but Moe was giving them a chop out as well.
It had been a most productive quarter for the Parrots, back to something like their trademark running and pressure play of the past few years, winning their share of the stoppages and quickly releasing their outside pace to produce multiple forward entries.
It was to be the best quarter by either side on the day, and thereafter, it was a fairly defensive affair with a winning pressure and tackling game by the Parrots, evident all over the ground, and great defensive effort by the back six led by Cade Maskell and Sean Westaway back to his very best with Jackson Harry, Will Littlejohn, Sam Forrester, Wil Dawson matching Nick Prowse for height, others playing their roles and the likes of Marriott, Drew, Vanderpligt and Heppell happy to get back there in support.
It was by far the Parrots best all-team performance for months and they seem to have recaptured some of their very best form at exactly the right time of the year.
The Parrots threatened to ice the game on several occasions with plenty of other gettable shots for goal but in the end, they strongly protected that first-quarter lead and were clearly the better side on the day in general play.
The only downside, and it could be a serious one, is that talented forward Jack Hume was reported for allegedly striking James Blaser of Moe midway through the last quarter when the match was done and dusted. A melee of players ensued and Blaser was marched to the goal square with a 50-metre penalty for a certain goal.
Moe received a warm round of applause from their fans for a great ride this season, as they left the field, and in turn the Lions’ players returned the favour, clapping the clubs’ volunteers and supporters as they disappeared into the rooms.
Final scores: Leongatha 10.13.73 def Moe 5.10,40.
