IN what is shaping as an unpredictable South West District Football League finals line up, Cavendish was able to get its nose in front in the final quarter of its clash against Heywood with a 11.14 (80) to 9.4 (58) victory at Heywood Recreation Reserve.
Heywood would have been full of hope going into the final quarter with a buffer of 13 points between themselves and Cavendish.
However, Cavendish, as has been the norm, asserted itself in the final quarter to come out comfortable winers by 22 points.
As occurred the week before against Tyrendarra, it was their premium midfielders who were thrown into the centre square at the last break, the experienced quartet quickly asserted its dominance.
Cavendish coach Sam Gibson said there were adjustments made after last week’s game at Tyrendarra.
“Last week we were strategic in our decisions at three quarter time, placing our experienced mids into the centre bounce,” he said.
“This week we had no choice, due to illness some of our young midfielders could not play and as a result we had to keep the same midfield in place for 80 per cent of the game.
“We were fortunate this week that Heywood’s midfield did not have a great deal of depth as well, they appeared to run out of legs.
“We had Brodi Carracher having to play everywhere this week, high half forward in at centre bounces as well as kicking goals from deep forward, he was terrific.”
While Dane Handreck was back to his best with three goals it was not enough to drag his side over the line in the final stages.
Along with Handreck, Heywood had solid contributions from Brad Martin, Mark Troeth in the ruck and from Billy Bell playing his 300th game.
Entertaining battle
Based on early season results the battle between Tyrendarra and Coleraine may not have created a great deal of interest after a 100-point win to Tyrendarra in round one.
It was an enthralling battle that was not laid to rest until late in the last quarter with Tyrendarra defeating a resurgent Coleraine, 14.8 (92) to 11.6 (72).
Coleraine jumped out of the blocks to have a handy lead at the first change as their two key forwards Marcus Rhook and Will Slattery were making the most of the slick ball movement from further afield.
Slattery was outstanding kicking three goals in the first quarter.
This required Tyrendarra intercept defender Josh Atwell to spend more on negating Slattery than zoning off to intercept.
While forward entries were similar, Coleraine’s midfield was more precise with their delivery to their key forwards. At the other end, the crowd was entertained to a battle between two emerging talents in Tom Antony and Harry Armstrong.
Antony eventually kicked two goals for the Darras while his opponent in Armstrong rebounded consistently from defence.
While numerous lead changes emerged during the day Tyrendarra, was slowly able to assert its authority taking an 11-point half time led to a 20-point hard fought victory.
Tyrendarra’s defence was outstanding with John Tucker and Lachie Kirk constantly rebounding out of defence, with Atwell keeping Slattery goalless after quarter time.
Tyrendarra’s assistant coach, Mick Ford, said there was a clear plan to maintain the energy amongst the group the further the game progressed.
“We had a clear plan to rotate through the midfield throughout the day, using the bench to rest players has become the norm,” he said.
“It helped us run on top of the ground deep into the last quarter. We had multiple forward entries in the last quarter on the back of that energy. Baker, Anson, and Withers then made the most of their opportunities.”
While the result did not go Coleraine’s way their coach Adam Ward was upbeat after the game.
“We created an 80-point turn around since round one,” he said.
“We lost today by 20 after a 100-point loss round one, that is with eight inexperienced players coming into the side today, most of those are junior players. We are still building.”
Improved performance
While a 50-point plus deficit may not be a sign for optimism it is a significant improvement after a 100-point defeat from the previous week.
This was the case at Branxholme Recreation Reserve on Saturday after Dartmoor 13.14 (92) accounted for Branxholme-Wallacedale 6.2 (38).
It would have been easy for the Saints to shut up shop at the end of the first quarter after trailing Dartmoor by 34 points, but instead they showed patches of control to keep the scoring much lower in the remaining three quarters.
It has been a similar story during the season where a one quarter lapse has resulted in significant scoreboard pressure from the Saints’ opposition.
The reliance on a few, especially in the forward line of Branxholme-Wallacedale, made the job of the Dartmoor bench that much easier.
Kieran Barker was a shining light for the Saints kicking four of the teams six goals.
While the league’s leading goalkicker, Dartmoor’s Damian Monaghan, again had a positive day out with five goals, the spread of contributors in front of goal for Dartmoor was much more significant.
Roos’ dominance
While conversion in front of goals is still a work in progress the rapid rise of Westerns continues with a resounding 24.24 (168) to 2.4 (16) win against Heathmere on Saturday.
Some of the missing pieces of the Westerns puzzle are in motion with the inclusion of Dylan Bromley into the Westerns forward and midfield structure with a significant contribution of four goals in his first game in 2024.
With Ash Hill (six goals), Rhys Carlyon and Mitch Ridell (three goals each) all productive in front of goal, Westerns are beginning to develop a multi-pronged forward attack capable of challenging most backlines in the league.
The only blemish for Westerns was the third quarter where Heathmere, to their credit, were able to keep them goalless while scoring themselves.
Heathmere relied on familiar names such as Mathew Payne, Cody Driscoll, and Sam Fidge to try and halt the tide, but sheer weight of talent took its toll.
The only concern for Westerns at this point in their progress is that they are playing under the maximum player points allowed which may influence some selection decisions going forward.
