The Southern Mallee Giants have staved off a persistent Woomelang Lascelles to take back second spot, with a thrilling 11-point win.

While they need an Ouyen United victory over the Cats next week, the Giants have given themselves a chance for a top 2 finish.

It began as a shootout in the first quarter with both teams moving the ball freely. Kain Robins strated his dominant display early, kicking all 5 of the Giants’ goals in the first term, but it wasn’t enough for his team to take the lead into the first break.

The tempo slowed in the second quarter. The Cats missed opportunities and failed to kick a goal. Giants’ onballers Luke Mahony and Liam Price were starting to get on top of their Cats’ opponents and helped their team add another 4 goals.
The Giants extended their lead in the third quarter slightly, but it was still anyone’s game when players broke from their huddles for the final time. Bryn Weadon was giving the Cats excellent rebound of half-back, and Joel Donnan took some excellent contested grabs.

Things got heated late in the game, and undisciplined acts left Woomelang Lascelles one short for about the final 10 minutes of the game. While the Cats got within a kick, the Giants were able to utilise their extra player to chip the ball around and soak up valuable time. A goal from Lachy Foott from deep in the pocked sealed the victory for the Giants.

David Baulch and Zac Robins stood up in tough circumstances in the defensive half for the Giants, while Arnold Kirby and Trent Donnan were at their consistent best for the losing team.

The game unfolded much differently when Sea Lake Nandaly and Ouyen United clashed in a home game for the Tigers.

It was a struggle for either team to find any fluency early in the game, both defenses not giving an inch and the midfield matched up very evenly.
The Demons had more opportunities but weren’t able to put the Tigers on the back foot. Henry Armour was gathering plenty of possessions and Marc Hahnel was a welcome inclusion for the Demons.

With no Andy Jardine and Colin Keatch there is too much left to their less experienced players. Unfortunately they just didn’t have the capacity to go with the Tigers’ forwards and the game quickly opened up. Jordan Doering played well for his 5 goals, and with Berbnard Rigby and Scott Weekley doing plenty of damage allowing the Tigers to run away with the game.

The efforts of Jacob Grigg and Alex Morrish were commendable, and Robert Scanlon played his best game for the year, but the Demons will have to find a bit more to be a chance of beating Woomelang Lascelles next week.

The Tigers will be glad to get back on the winners list and will now look to make it 2 in a row when they come up against the Roos next week.

By Dale Shannon