THE Bloods have moved to within touching distance of another South West District Football Netball League grand final, running away 14.8 (92) to 8.6 (54) winners against Tyrendarra at Coleraine on Saturday.

It didn’t look as though it would be a comfortable win for Cavendish throughout the first half, as the sides were neck and neck through one quarter, before the Darras managed to get their noses in front by half time to go up by eight points.

But they call the third quarter the ‘premiership quarter’ for a reason, and in this case the Bloods outscored Tyrendarra eight goals to two to take control of the contest.

Their senior coach Sam Gibson as well as Brodhi Carracher each provided an imposing target up forward for the Bloods, bagging four goals each, while the Bloods also got strong performances from Harrison Rees, Christopher Quinn, Johnny Gardner, Edward Purvis and James Huf.

Gibson said it was a welcome return to form for the group as they “got the monkey off their back” after stumbling at the last couple of hurdles in the home and away season.

“I think what was most pleasing was that we came out of half time and really just played the game on our terms,” he said.

“I think we were back to our best to be honest, which was really good to see.

“We knew that was how we wanted the game to play out for us… we expected Tyrendarra’s pressure to be really high early and slowly drop off in the second half and that’s what ended up happening.

“We emphasised cutting off their short kicks and holding our shape through the middle.”

They’ll now prepare to do battle for the fourth time this season against Coleraine as they look to book a spot in the grand final.

Heywood d Tyrendarra

HEYWOOD has kept its season alive in the most dramatic of circumstances, claiming an elimination final victory over Dartmoor 9.12 (66) to 9.11 (65) on Sunday at Cavendish.

The Giants situated themselves better in the early stages of the match, breaking away to a three-goal advantage by the time the siren sounded for the end of the opening quarter.

However, the Lions were not going to let a subpar start keep them down, and through the second and third terms they set about chipping away at the margin to eventually take a two-point lead into the final change.

And it was ultimately the Lions who were able to execute a special come-from-behind victory to book themselves a matchup with Tyrendarra in another do-or-die final this weekend.

Key tall Nathan Hardingham was once again pivotal for Heywood, bagging three goals while also being named in the side’s best.

Late-season recruit Nathan Lovett-Murray was also impressive, as were Joshua Stiles, Nyawi Moore, Tim Reid and Malakai Walsh-Bannam.

Despite the Giants’ best efforts, headed up by skipper Lachie Polaski along with William Watson, Kaleb Bowd, Rhys Malseed, Kyle Carlin and Joseph Franklin, they were ultimately just ever so slightly short of the mark on this occasion, and will now look to how they can rebuild for another shot at the premiership in 2024.