Leongatha sets up finals’ blockbuster with Wonthaggi

A BAG of eight goals in a Gippsland Elimination Final by Leongatha’s Cam Olden has propelled Leongatha into a Second Semi-final match-up against arch-rivals Wonthaggi at Morwell next Saturday, September 9.

It was a master class of crumbing, marking, positioning and anticipation from Olden as he opened his account within the first few minutes of the game at Wonthaggi, replying to an opportunist goal by Moe’s Jacob Balfour, the first of the day.

And he all but evened up the first quarter scoring with a goal from a free kick right on the siren.

There were three more in the second quarter, the first immediately after the restart followed by a great team goal by Leongatha; Cade Maskell to Noah Gown, to Aaron Hillberg and then to Tallin Brill who wheeled around and popped through a team lifter.

Olden then kicked two more in a minute, one from a mark after a Mason McGannon pass, and his fifth from a free kick after good lead-up work by Cam Stone and Jenson Garnham.

Moe’s tall ruckman Chris Prowse won a stoppage forward, and expertly palmed it down to James Blaser goal-side for a much-needed goal for the Lions but Leongatha had a reliable system going out of defence, built on Jackson Harry covering the dangerous Bill Gowers, Sean Westaway leading a busy fleet of role players including Will Littlejohn and Sam Forrester, and Cade Maskell in total command, marking and clearing at will.

It was Maskell’s next clearance that found a leading Jenson Garnham, who kicked long and straight for the reply and Noah Gown, proving to be a revelation on the ball, capped off a great first half by him with a goal.

Moe pulled one back through Blaser again to reduce the margin to 23 points, but by then the Parrots had put their stamp on the contest.

Olden could easily have finished with 10 or more, at one stage late in the second quarter swinging out of bounds after what he thought was a mark, giving a run-around hands-off to Josh Hopkins when he could have kicked it from 40 metres himself, and playing on after a mark near goal, seconds before the siren, but getting his kick away milliseconds after the bell.

It sailed through, by all accounts, for what would have been a record-equalling ninth, but it wasn’t to be.

Of course, it wasn’t all about Olden.

The first person praised by Parrots’ coach Trent McMicking after the game was Luke Bowman, who sacrificed his own game as an elite onballer to play a forward defensive role on Moe’s coach Declan Keilty. So successful was Bowman and his Leongatha teammates at stopping Keilty’s access to the ball that he was ultimately moved forward, with Bowman following.

It was a tactic that worked for the Parrots on the day but who knows what happens if the teams meet again.

The second thing coach McMicking said after the game was how pleased he was to see the whole team get back “to what we do best”, nominating several aspects of the Parrots’ game, which all players bought into on Saturday on the way to a turnaround victory, after losing twice to Moe in the regular season.

The third thing he stressed after the game was “recovery” ahead of a much-anticipated finals’ match-up against Wonthaggi.

Leongatha went into the game without the likes of Jake van der Pligt, Jack Hume and Kim Drew, who should now be available, although they’re unlikely to get rebound defender Guy Dickson back due to work commitments.

But the emerging senior players including Tallin Brill, Mason McGannon and Travis Nash added the necessary spark of youth throughout on Saturday, presenting McMicking with a selection problem, he’s probably pleased to have, if the Parrots are to go deeper into September.

Moe, to their credit, never gave up, at times taking a real run at the Parrots, especially early in the third quarter, and keeping the margin to 28 points at the end, while kicking seven goals to eight in the second half and having just three fewer scoring shots in the final analysis.

They’re a quality outfit.

The playing surface at Wonthaggi was in superb condition for the town’s first time hosting Gippsland League finals, and with the weather perfect as well, there was a big crowd in attendance, enjoying the early spring sunshine.