WONTHAGGI won a fantastic contest between two of the top three contenders for this year’s Gippsland League premiership, by one point, at Moe on Saturday.
They’ll bank the four points as they head into the school holidays bye next Saturday, sitting in second place on the ladder, content with an excellent body of work over the first 11 rounds of the season, including nine wins and two losses.
But the only thing the result really proved is that premiership glory this season awaits the best team on the day; almost certainly out of Leongatha, Wonthaggi and Moe.
All three teams have great defences, potentially potent forward lines, particular strengths around the ball and a fierce will to win.
Leongatha just got Wonthaggi in Round 2 and Moe stopped Leongatha’s run in Round 7. Wonthaggi have now exchanged wins with Moe and all that remains, to complete the set, is for Wonthaggi to beat Leongatha on Saturday, July 8 at Wonthaggi and for Leongatha to return the favour against Moe in Round 16 at Moe.
Whatever the case, though, there’s a great race for the premiership in prospect.
As much as it was an important win by Wonthaggi, over Moe at home, a result that was built on a dominant first half by the Power, and a character-building response to a surging Moe, especially in the last quarter, the result could have gone either way in the final minute and a half of the match.
Leading by just three points at the last change, after a third-quarter fightback by Moe, Wonthaggi was first into attack in the last quarter, set in motion by some inspirational play by Jarryd Blair out on the far wing.
Toma Huther won a free kick, got it forward to Jack Hutchinson, who also earned a free kick before kicking his third goal of the day, a crucial one, but also Power’s last.
Thereafter, it was a contest dominated by the defences of both teams; led for Moe by their intercept-marking king Declan Keilty and playmaker Charlie Rieniets, but featuring the likes of Jordan Staley on the dangerous ex-Bulldog Bill Gowers up the other end, Kyle Reid, Tim Knowles, Jack Blair, Shannon Bray, Josh Schulz and other Power contributors to a team defence.
The ball went up and back until a feat of individual brilliance by Moe’s Jacob Wood, spinning out of a pack and kicking over his head from 30 metres, brought up full points.
Moe had cut the lead to two points with time to play.
Moe went into attack straight out of the centre, to where Jordan Staley again got the better of Gowers, Kyle Reid stopped the Lion’s Ben Daniher, Jack Blair laid a characteristic tackle and Aiden Lindsay kicked out of the danger zone.
But in a tangle of bodies near the top of the 50-metre arc, Tom Davey was called for a throw that might just as easily have been a quick handpass to Tom Murray and Moe defender Scott van Dyke was awarded a free kick, 45 metres out directly in front, with little more than a minute on the clock.
He hit the kick pretty well, but it faded right and through the points… just one behind separated the teams with a minute and change to go.
Toma Huther and Aiden Lindsay played key roles in bottling the ball up on the outer wing. Jarryd Blair was desperate and when the ball did come in for a last-gasp Moe attack, one of Power’s best on the day, Tim Knowles was standing there to take a hotly-contested mark to save the day… siren!
Wonthaggi had won by a point but there were no wild scenes from the Power, or even of despair by Moe, just clear acknowledgment that both teams had their chances in a truly hard-fought affair, especially after half time. They’ll meet again.
“I thought we played well all day, but they’re a good side. They were always going to come back at us,” said Jarryd Blair afterwards.
And in that, it was Wonthaggi Power which sparked the Moe revival late in the second quarter.
Leading by six goals to one at that stage, the Power was penalised for a late bump on Bill Gowers, which resulted in Moe’s top goal-kicker getting a 50-metre penalty and being marched to the goal square for an easy goal.
Minutes later Gowers looped around behind his team mate Ben Daniher and slotted one through from 50 and the Lions had found their roar.
A late hit on Jack Blair up the other end resulted in a downfield free to Jack Hutchinson for the reply but Moe were definitely up and about when Riley Baldi capped off a fine game by him with a goal.
Don’t poke the bear they say, and the same goes for lions.
They kicked four goals to one in the third quarter to have the bar on the hill rocking and it was ‘game on’ at the last change, only three points separating the teams where Wonthaggi had led by more than 30 points at one stage in the second term.
In the end, Moe’s Van Dyke might have snatched it for the Lions, but equally, it would have been a cruel way for Wonthaggi to lose it.
They’ve ticked off another box with the win, and there’s another looming, Leongatha, after the bye at Wonthaggi.
Final scores: Wonthaggi 9.9.63 def Moe 9.8.62.