Round 12

"We got a lot of looks on goal, we just didn’t finish. We probably should have put them to the sword a little more in the second quarter"

Wang coach Ben Reid on their inaccurate win over the Raiders

Around the Grounds

The new look Raiders coaching panel received a baptism of fire, powerless to stop the rampaging Maggies. Gun Cam Ellis-Yolmen, assistant Joel Price & head of the 2’s Beau Packer took the reigns after the shock immediate resignation of Mark Almond late last week due to family reasons.

Myrtleford put another nail in the Albury coffin. Despite being down to 1 on the bench - ruckman Toby Cossor & forward Charlie Crisp spending the final term on the timber - the Saints kicked out to a 40 point lead before the Tigers reeled the margin back.

Missing pretty much their entire forward line, Wodonga struggled to hit the scoreboard in their thriller against North. Ethan Redcliife, Kyle Winter-Irving, Oscar Willding and leading goalkicker Noah Spiteri all missed - Spiteri receiving news through the week that he’ll sit out the rest of the season after proper cooking his knee against Lavi.

Yarra’s late charge confirms they’re the team to beat, overrunning the Rovers in a top of the table clash. With 4 points in it halfway through the last, the Pigeons slotted 3 unanswered goals to claim the W - and top spot.

Growing whispers that Daryn Creswell might return for a third stint in charge of a battling O&M club.

Speculation abounds after two of his South Cairns chargers appeared for Corowa-Rutherglen over the weekend - former Brisbane Lion Josh Clayton and ex-North Melbourne VFL on-baller Tyler Roos joining All-Australian Heath Shaw at John Foord in their loss to Lavi.

That, after Roos officials reportedly flew to meet with him in Cairns, coupled with his relationship with former Rover & Roo Sam Carpenter (now Corowa recruiter) says there might be a bit to this.

Imagine what he could do with an extra 20 player points & $25k in salary cap…

Goalkickers

🏉 Pie Cal Moore single-handedly outscored the Raiders, with a blistering 6 goal final term taking his day’s tally to 9.9 - and season to 43, 11 ahead of North’s Josh Minogue.

🏉 Lachy Murphy-Dale bagged 5 in the Saints win over Albury, while Sam Dunstan continued to shine up forward for the Roos, also with 5.

🏉 Two of the competition's leading goalkickers in Alex Marklew & Leigh Williams were held goalless as the Rovers & Pigeons slugged it out for top spot, while big Panther forward Tim Oosterhoff’s radar was well off, kicking 1.7 against the Roos.

The Good - Head Hopper Timmy Broomhead’s footy nous. Scores level in the final minutes, collects a spillage on the goal-line, knows he can’t concede & finds an elite spot up to begin the D-50 exit.

The Bad - Hard to be critical of a bloke who had 18 shots on, but a 50/50 strike rate by Moore left some big percentage on the table for Wang.

The Ugly - Umpire abuse. It’s cost the TDFL’s leading goalkicker a month on the sidelines, & a Hume teenager one of the longest bans in league history. Now it looks to have been the difference in the Wodonga v North clash, a costly free allowing Hopper Nathan Dennis to level things up late.

Don’t have to like the call, but you can’t play without ‘em.

Match of the Round

North v Myrtleford

We’ve got another week to wait for the genuine ring-dinger in the Wang Darby given the split round, but the Hoppers & Saints promise to put on a show at Bunton.

Fresh off their best win of the season over the Tiges, and considering they’ve been right in most matches this season, the Saints will be brimming with confidence heading into the return fixture.

The Hoppers are also fresh off a character-builder, finding a way to hold onto the 4 points against the Dogs & regaining their spot in the top 3.

Their R1 meeting was a real battle of wills, minimal separating the teams all day - but accuracy determined the outcome, with the Hoppers running out 10 point winners despite even shots on, so expect another cracker.

"The theme this week is put up or shut up. It is a huge match in the context of our season"

RWW co-coach Dan Athanitis ahead of this week’s giant clash with Jindera

Some interesting matchups on return from the King’s Birthday break, the time hopefully doing the goods for some struggling injury lists.

CDHBU will be looking to create some breathing room in the top 6, but face a dangerous 8 point road trip to Lockhart - the Dees themselves keen on keeping their own spot.

Henty host Howlong in a tough one to pick. The Swampies started strong, albeit with a friendly draw, whilst the Spiders have shown mere glimpses of what they’re capable of.

Meanwhile, Culcairn & BB go head-to-head in both teams best opportunity to get on the winner’s list this year. It’s the only time they face off, so expect it to be fierce.

Match of the Round

RWW v Jindera

In another of the round’s 8 pointers, the Giants have the opportunity to draw on level points with the Doggies with a win, but a loss could potentially see them drop a spot to the Power.

A slip-up by Jindera would likely see them in a 3 way tie for second spot, with the Brookers surely taking care of business against the Maggies this week - whereas a win would keep them on Osborne’s tail for top…Dogs.

But they’ll have to go it without Zach Bye again - the O&M premiership ruckman having not been seen since suffering a meniscus torn from the bone in the Doggies R1 win over the Brookers. Still awaiting surgery, plus recovery & rehab, he's a flip of the coin to play again this season.

Boom recruit Luke Garland will also miss for the Dogs, while Matt Grantham, Clay Thomas & Fraser Elliott will return for the Giants.

"Our challenge is to try and spring an upset and knock one of those top-four sides off their perch"

Doggies coach Dan McAlister ahead of their showdown with KSC

Heading into the bye saw a round of very nasty results. Returning could be a similar story.

The Swans, Bushies & Roos will all be chasing big wins against the Cats, Hoppers & Saints respectively, as final positions & the coveted double chance may well come down to the battle of percentage.

Yack certainly have the upper hand as the only top 4 team to face Wahgunyah & DMB twice, while KSC look destined to battle - barring a near perfect run home with matches against the 3 above them.

Match of the Round

Thurgoona v KSC

Thurgoona need a big scalp to announce themselves as contenders, and announcements wouldn’t come any bigger than upsetting powerhouses KSC.

A revitalised & vastly improved Thurgoona outfit has been superbly led by captain Tom Rake, along with Nick Brennan, Luke Gerecke and Tyson Neander. But the Hawks boast arguably the best list in the league, and need to assert themselves in matches like these given they’ve the toughest draw in the competition.

Should the Dogs fall short, they’ll head into a must win on the road to Barny next week, potentially playing for their spot in the 5.

“I’ve played in a lot of good teams who have got a lot of talent, but this group, I can just tell they’ve hungry, I can feel something special’s about to happen with them"

Goorambat spearhead Duane Haebich on what’s brewing in the Bat Cave

King Valley face a real danger game, with any prospect of a finals appearance hanging on whether or not they can get over the lowly Tarrawingee. The Doggies have gotten the better of the boys from Whitfield twice in the last 2 seasons, despite not much else to be said for their ‘23 or ‘24 seasons.

Any slip-up by the Roos will give North Wang an opening to jump into the 6, should the Hawks take care of business at home to Whorouly.

Greta have the opportunity to dethrone Bonnie Doon with a win over Moyhu - if only for a short time, given the Bombers will be enjoying the double break.

Match of the Round

Goorambat v Bright

Bright coach Paul Harrison has been critical of his chargers performance coming off the bye, even as recently as a month ago when the Mountain Men only just got across the line against North Wang.

Add in the fact that their main focal point in Cooper Thomason will be serving the second week of his suspension for striking, and things suddenly look very interesting.

If ever 4 points were prime for the taking, this would be it for the up & coming Bats.