Sea Eagles’ dreams doused by ruthless Dusties

By Aiden Box

INVERLOCH KONGWAK have suffered a shock early elimination thanks to a reinvented Warragul Industrials side, who fought off a late charge to kick away to a 14-point win in front of a raucous crowd at Bass on Saturday. 

Having got the better of the Dusties in both their matchups during the home and away season, IK looked confident they could do it again as they came out hard and determined with their eyes on a deep finals run. 

As the sun shone out after a wet morning in Bass, IK looked to have the better of the play early, finding repeat inside 50s for no score, the game had that classic finals tension teething through it. 

Neither team could break the nil-all deadlock throughout the first five minutes, as both defences stood tall and Shem Hawking was yet again dominant for Invy’, taking plenty of intercept marks early. 

Finally, a snap off the boot of star Corey Casey brought the third placed Sea Eagles to life and released the early tension, as the crowd got themselves settled into the contest.

The Dusties were able to answer at the 12-minute mark, but in true finals fashion it was a dogfight in the first, both teams only managing one major after what was a short 21-minute first term. 

Credit to the Warragul defence who were dominated by the likes of Jenson Garnham, Thomas Wyatt and Dylan Clark last time out, they did not allow them an inch on Saturday. 

Having been let down by the skill execution in their round 18 loss to Nar Nar Goon, Ben Soumilas’ men looked committed to back their skills and decision making once again in the Eliminator.

The Warragul pressure was at a season high intensity throughout the contest and fired up their faithful, who were out in full force.

The underdog Dusties just seemed to work harder across the ground, something IK coach Ben Soumilas expressed to the Sentinel Times following the loss. 

“I think any time you’re eliminated its going to be hard to swallow, but if you don’t play well, or don’t play somewhere near your best footy it probably hurts a bit more,” he said. 

“But that’s just how we’re feeling right now, if you stop and reflect on the game, the Dusties were a better side today, that’s undeniable, it looked like they worked harder than us.” 

It was clear from the start of the second term that it just wasn’t the same classy, free-flowing IK that many had seen dominate throughout the regular season, the turnover bug had hit them hard, again. 

The brilliant Sea Eagles back six cut off more than their fair share of Warragul drives, but it didn’t matter, as indecision and skill execution upfield had countless plays come undone, and Warragul took full advantage. 

Soumilas had his say on his side’s high turnover performance and the Warragul pressure.

“We weren’t committed to paying fast today, at our best we think we’re able to pick when we go fast and when we slow it down and control it, so overall today, we didn’t execute our plan well and we didn’t play the way we wanted to play,” he said. 

The young unproven Warragul side played like they had nothing to lose and their superior work rate throughout the game showed it, beating IK to many crucial contests all game long. 

Young first year players Joe Soumilas and Hayden Lindsay were standout positives for the Sea Eagles, showing true grit and fight for four quarters, Lindsay was stout in defence even getting into a scuffle after a brilliant rundown tackle on centre wing. 

Soumilas sounded off on the courage of his youngsters and the fight of his team. 

“It’s always good to reflect on key moments in games and I think most people who have watched lots of footy will be able to pick out moments when they remember young people excite teams in finals,” he said.  

Their (Dusties) immense forward pressure and slick ball movement coupled with their work rate was far too great all afternoon.

They will continue their hunt for a maiden WGFNC premiership next week in the First Semi Final against Cora Lynn. 

As for the Sea Eagles, their hunt for a second WGFNC flag will have to wait another year, as their season comes to an end.