By Rover
MIRBOO North recorded its fifth victory of the season on Saturday, when it overpowered Hill End by 51 points, in the mighty Tigers’ seventh annual Indigenous Round at Tigerland.
With four rounds of Mid Gippsland football remaining, Mirboo North is a game out of the six in 10th spot, but its percentage is lagging kilometres behind nearby teams above it on the ladder.
It’s been a tough year thus far for bottom side, Hill End, which is yet to win a match in 2023.
For a variety of reasons, just four members — Amburu Uliando, Luke Tumino, Robert Fiddelaers and Aaron Fawcett — of the Hillmen’s winning 2022 combination at Mirboo North, took to the field on Saturday.
After a Smoking Ceremony and Welcome To Country were carried out, Mirboo North kicked with a chilly, gusty westerly at its back in the opening term.
Almost immediately, Mirboo North’s dominance rose to prominence, as both teams searched for the same rainbow’s end and the four points that would go with it.
The Tigers quickly dined out on a smorgasbord of Hill End’s defensive problems by using a plethora of scoring options, that saw the home side lead by 30 points at the first break.
After running up three behinds, Mirboo North’s first goal came from Beau Peters, and soon after, Josh Taylor passed tidily to Justin Pellicano for the Tigers’ second major.
Sometimes, there were gasps on the terraces as Tiger fans watched Mirboo North’s runners boldly grasp the Sherrin, then turn tricky and hairy situations into positive forward advances.
Mirboo North was fighting like Kilkenny cats to win the contested ball and had 7.6 on the board, before the visitors registered their first goal, 11 minutes into the second quarter.
Another Hill End major followed three minutes later and at the long break, the Hillmen were trailing by 32 points.
Taking advantage of the wind again, Mirboo North’s youngsters Beau Melbourne, Max Woodall, Jordan Cummaudo, Beau Peters, Taj Wilkins, Jack Couper, Jesse Chila and second-gamer, Hayden Barnes ran their opponents off their feet with fast, play-on football all around the ground.
Mirboo North’s brilliant backing up was a feature of its play, as it speedily shifted the Sherrin downfield with no backing down or beg-your-pardons, whenever the Tigers’ personal space was challenged by their opponents.
Harry Moore, Uliando, Fawcett and veteran 302-game stalwart, Fiddelaers, were all sturdy Hill End performers in the face of its ongoing adversity.
By three-quarter time, Hill End’s deficit was 50 points; however, in the last term the Hillmen added two goals and gamely fought the game out, with plenty of grit, guts and determination, plus a spirit of adventure.
Just as the final sounded, the wind grew even stronger and the rain came tumbling down, as it often does in July.
The Tigers’ leading goal scorer with four majors was Melbourne and a fine senior football career surely awaits this talented teenager.
Mirboo North travels to Ronald Reserve Morwell East this Saturday when it meets the sixth-placed Hawks on their home deck.
