BEN Willis made his 200th Senior game for Leongatha one to remember, booting five last quarter goals to surpass opponent Drouin’s entire score, with four of those majors resulting from marks.
That helped the Parrots to a 100-point win despite stern opposition from the Hawks for much of the first quarter.
Drouin booted the game’s opening major and ensured Leongatha struggled to find time and space early, but as the first term wore on, the Parrots started hitting marking targets, particularly forward Patrick Ireland.
The swag of last quarter goals for popular ruckman Willis was just reward for a player who always gives his all, and showed that while most renowned for his commitment to the team and the contest, he possesses a good measure of skill.
While Leongatha became increasingly dangerous up forward from late in the first term, despite many committed efforts from the Drouin defence, the Parrots also impressed in their backline, the return of Tim Sauvarin particularly welcome.
His polished performance saw him named Leongatha’s second-best player, behind only Aaron Heppell.
Although time away meant Sauvarin hadn’t played since Round 7, he returned looking as fit and sharp as ever, showing his usual composure in clearing defence and finding targets.
Zavier Lamers and Ty Hall were others who had plenty of the footy and used it effectively for Leongatha.
Willis also featured in the winning side’s best, giving his all in the ruck against Denver Lund before putting the exclamation mark on his milestone match as a key forward in the final term.
Having played in the Reserves for the opening three rounds of the season, Willis has been a terrific performer at Senior level since his Round 4 return, complementing his wholehearted ruck work by contributing strongly around the ground.
Ireland matched Willis’ five goal output for the game, Heppell booting three majors and Lamers and Hall contributing a couple each.
Kye Quirk and Zayne Atkins performed strongly for the outclassed Hawks, being named their side’s best, with Aden Quirk unlucky not to feature on the best players list, having also had plenty of the Sherrin and used it well.
In addition to creating opportunities for teammates, Atkins was one of Drouin’s four individual goalkickers for the match, no Hawks managing more than a single major.
While the battle between first and last finished in an unsurprisingly lopsided margin, the final term exploits of Willis will long be remembered.
With Moe stumbling to a narrow loss against Morwell, the Parrots appear assured of finishing on top of the ladder, two wins and a healthy dose of percentage ahead of the Lions, with just two home and away rounds left.
Leongatha visits local rival Wonthaggi in Round 17, Power desperate to win after falling out of the finals places.
However, victory in the final two rounds may not be enough for Wonthaggi, with fifth-placed Morwell a strong chance to see off Sale and Bairnsdale to wrap up its home and away campaign and march into finals.