The Courier |
PASSIONS flared at Learmonth with a Lakies player and the Springbank coach yellow-carded during a third-quarter melee.
The Lakies run to the Central Highlands Football League finals came seriously undone as the Tigers ran out 70-point winners.
Learmonth's Matt Jackson and Springbank's Sam Giblett copped the wrath of umpires just seconds before the third term break.
Giblett had to address his players from outside the boundary at the final huddle and he implored his team to stay focussed.
With a 35-point lead to Springbank at the final break the Tigers feared it would be on for young and old in the final term.
But the Lakies had run out of puff and could no longer match it with Springbank.
The Tigers cranked up the pace and kicked six majors in conditions which were heavy with sticky mud.
Springbank had a trio hungry for goals Paul McMahon and Tom Eltringham kicked five each and Stuart Taylor banged through four.
Rousing performances came from Kieran Sutherland, Mitchell Keighrey, Joel Maher and Tim Furphy. Also include Daniel Thompson and Chris Harry.
Credit should go to youngster Clay Raine, who put on the afterburners and shook off two opponents in the third quarter to kick the ball forward.
For the Lakies, it was a horror day as they stumbled to their second defeat in a row on the march to the finals.
The man who wore his heart on his sleeve was Matt Jackson, who played a blinder.
Matt Sutherland, Broderick Campbell, Patrick McGuigan, Nathan Reeves and 100-gamer Chris McGuigan tried their hearts out all day.
For the coaches, it was a day of contrasts ... for Springbank's Giblett, passion and drama; for Learmonth's John Northey, cruel disappointment.
Giblett gave a description of the third term yellow card incident.
"Passion and emotion comes into a game of footy. I just wanted to get my players out of the area and address them. There was nothing else in it.
"I just wasn't allowed on the arena for 15 minutes, that's all," he said.
Giblett turned his attention to the finals in a fortnight.
"Our group has a lot to play for this year. I don't know how the other results went today but we had a 10-goal win and 22 players who all played well.
"Our aim is to just keep winning. We may get as high as fifth," Giblett said.
In Springbank's favour, the coach was expecting players back from injury to carry momentum into and during the finals.
"It's been pleasing to see blokes come up from the twos but we'll have players back from injury going into the finals.
"We're going to taste finals again for the second time after 10 years ... it's a good place to be," Giblett said.
Learmonth's Northey was rueing the lack of depth in the side after season-ending injuries to four or five players.
"It was a disappointing day for us," he said.
"Obviously we needed to call on our depth ... which we have very little of.
"We have four or five players out who would normally be in the side. Springbank obviously were just too good for us.
"They had all the run. They kept the ball in but were able to break free themselves and deliver the ball well."
The loss means Learmonth is under siege for the eighth spot on the ladder.
"It depends on other results whether we make the finals," Northey said.
"Maybe it highlights that we are at our peak. Maybe it's as far as we go. We had a chance to consolidate ourselves for the finals."
