Finalists overcome lack of motivation for scrappy wins

By Kate Butler
Updated November 7 2012 - 1:43pm, first published August 9 2009 - 10:10am
Dennington's Sam Lewis gets his kick away against Kolora-Noorat on Saturday. 090808AM30 Pictures: ANGELA MILNE  The Dogs' Sam Stevens breaks clear of the congestion. 090808AM60
Dennington's Sam Lewis gets his kick away against Kolora-Noorat on Saturday. 090808AM30 Pictures: ANGELA MILNE The Dogs' Sam Stevens breaks clear of the congestion. 090808AM60

THE closest match of round 18 was one you wouldn't have predicted.While 28 points separated the top two teams, the difference between third-ranked Timboon Demons and ninth-ranked Old Collegians was just a goal.Panmure overcame a casual start to run over the top of Merrivale while Russells Creek was casual in its scrappy 67-point win over East Warrnambool.Allansford had a main focus on Saturday.Nirranda v AllansfordALLANSFORD was after what Aretha Franklin wanted - respect. After last week's embarrassing performance, it salvaged some by edging out Nirranda by seven goals.Cats co-coach Tim Rantall explained while the Blues never hit the front, the home side often gave Allansford a scare.The visitors led by 22 points at the first break."A couple of times they would get within two goals and then we would kick away again," he said. "It was pretty tight all game."They really came at us in the second half of each quarter."The Cats led by 32 points at the last change."They came out really hard early in the last quarter and got within three goals at about the 10-minute mark," Rantall explained. "Then we kicked the next couple."While Allansford couldn't compile a goalkickers' list in round 17, on Saturday Bayden Yewers recaptured some strong form with seven while Darren Stenhouse kicked four."They both presented very well and they both play very similar games," Rantall said. "We gave them a heap of space and they used it."We ran the footy well and shared it around."Down the other end Aaron Inia was the Blues' main target.He finished the match with three majors while Paul Cole kicked five.Old Collegians v Timboon DemonsONE of the upsets of the season looked like it was on the cards at Davidson Oval as Old Collegians was up by 10 points with five minutes to go.The margin was a wake-up call for Timboon Demons, which then clicked into gear to kick a couple of goals and regain the lead before the final siren sounded.Assistant coach Mark Delaney questioned whether the Demons were switched on."It was a funny day because you don't know how to prepare for a game like that," he said. "It was hard to get excited because we knew that we had third spot and we would be playing finals."The Demons controlled the opening term as they ran the footy well, particularly through the middle of the ground.They extended their lead of nine points to 26 points at the main break."The third quarter they got back in it and we just looked flat," Delaney explained. "They ran hard and moved the ball quite well."The Warriors' trailed by five points at the last break before the see-sawing finish.Delaney - who believed the Warriors had more centre clearances than the visitors - highlighted the Demons' inaccuracy in front of goal for the second consecutive week."It's something that we need to straighten up going into finals," he said. "Overall, it was just one of those games that we'll just forget about."We'll regroup this week and get ready for Dennington."Panmure v MerrivaleA HALF-TIME spray from Dave Conheady ensured Panmure came out of the rooms a different side.Merrivale matched the Bulldogs in the opening half, trailing by 16 points at the main break.Conheady said his players weren't switched on at Panmure."Our disposal was poor and we were playing selfish footy to start with," he said. "We just thought we didn't have to win it because we were already in finals."The coach's half-time address changed that mentality, with the home side sharing the workload in the third term to take a 34-point lead into the last change."We had even contributions across the board after half-time," Conheady said.The Bulldogs powered home, kicking seven goals to the Tigers' one in the final term.Forward Luke Gavin managed four for Panmure, which named defender Paul Daley as its best as he gave the side a lot of run.Peter Makarona kicked four for Merrivale, which ended 2009 with five wins.For the first time in months, Panmure is likely to have a full list to choose from ahead of its elimination final appointment with Russells Creek.Russells Creek v East WarrnamboolRUSSELLS Creek didn't play the type of football it would like to heading into finals but Adam Main isn't too fazed."Next week is a new week," he said. "Hopefully we're switched on and ready to play."The Kangaroos led by 21 points at the first change at Mack Oval which stretched out to 32 points at the main break."It was a pretty scrappy game and it wasn't much of a game for the spectators," Main said. "We were pretty ordinary in the first half."We were just a bit flat and weren't getting first hands to the footy."Creek started winning the ball in the second half."We started getting in there and winning our own ball rather than waiting for blokes to dish it out to us out the back for the easy kick," the coach said.The home side led by 66 points at the last change, with the Bombers being outscored by only one point in the final term."Full credit to East," Main said. "They battled hard all day and always had a dip."Nathan Sobey will carry good form into next week's elimination final.Since being free from Warrnambool Seahawks commitments, the utility has been judged best for the winners three weeks in a row.Deakin University v South RoversBEN Hood left The Pond with a 12-goal haul as South Rovers powered to a 108-point win over Deakin University.The Sharks were never in the contest as the visitors fired in the opening term, kicking seven goals to zip.The third quarter was the Lions' strongest as they kicked nine goals while containing the host to two.Hood - Rovers' main target as the side was without fellow key forward Frank Matthews - was judged best on ground while midfielder Drew McCaskill was also prominent in the side's last match of 2009.

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