Thorpdale clinch tight victory in two-goal win

TARWIN’S chips had to be “all in” on the weekend as they welcomed Thorpdale to their home ground for what loomed as a last-chance showdown for both clubs.

A win would enable a coach to continue to sell the story of finals and when getting there, anything could happen, a loss meant that rather than telling a story, a coach needed to become a storyteller, selling the dream as to still being alive.

Thorpdale gets to tell the story, their two-goal win, 12-17-89 to 11-11-77, earning them the valuable premiership points. 

“Four points was what we wanted and that’s what we got,” Jason Winderlich, Thorpdale coach stated. 

“Played some really good patches of footy, just couldn’t capitalise on the scoreboard. Tarwin played some great footy rebounding from half-back as they were trying to keep their finals hopes alive.”

The Sharks day started as well as it could, all building the hope that the home side seniors could follow suit, and for much of the afternoon it appeared the careful planning might pay off.

“Our day started well with the reserves coming home with their second win in a row with a mixture of experienced and young players having a crack. Followed by our senior/ junior buddy day. This was a rewarding way to kick-start our day and all involved really enjoyed it. We also had a few good wins in netball which was great to see,” Jason Kennedy, Tarwin coach explained. 

“For the seniors, it was a huge game for us in regard to continuing our pursuit of the top six. Thorpdale ended the first quarter with a two-goal lead and in the end, this was the difference that we couldn’t peg them back. All in all, I can’t fault our effort and we battled hard all day and also played some good football. We have the bye this week so it’s a good chance to freshen up and finish off the year strong.”

The year is not over for Tarwin, the challenge is much greater this week than last, but a fast finish towards finals can still change things very quickly.