Skipton has won its way into another RegionalOne Lexton Plains Football League grand final.The Emus defeated Rokewood-Corindhap by 23 points, 11.18 (84) to 9.7 (61) at Skipton on Saturday.
They led for all but a minute of the day, getting the important first few goals.
Alex Thomson opened the account, which was followed up by a Joel Riske six pointer.
The Grasshoppers finally found range through Carl Matheson, but a reply by Skipton captain Kiernan Molloy gave the Emus the ascendancy.
Rokewood-Corindhap kicked the first three goals in the second term to hit the front, but a second goal to Thomson a minute later reversed the lead for what was going to be the final time.
The loss of key defender Jason Hutchins meant a reshuffle of the backline for Rokewood-Corindhap, which did not help its cause.
And though Skipton was missing Darren Fletcher (who was a late withdrawal) and coach Tim McKay, it still had enough options up forward to post a winning score.
Rokewood-Corindhap coach Tom Mullane-Grant again failed to come up, leaving his team relying on a makeshift forward line.
Matheson did well though with five goals.
Rokewood-Corindhap could not repeat its round 15 result against Skipton, but it lost no friends with the way it played Saturday.
Leigh Dark played well in the backline, but it was the consistency of Xavier Ryan and Chris Hall who kept the Grasshoppers in the contest.
Skipton has the week off, and will have time to work on a plan that will not have them flat once the grand final siren sounds.
Goals: Skipton: Kiernan Molloy, Matthew Hind, Alex Thomson 2, Joel Riske, Toby Boyle, Damien Larkin, Ben Etheridge, Graeme Lench 1.
Rokewood-Corindhap: Carl Matheson 5, Karl Begbie, Denis Biscan 2.
Best: Skipton: Lachlan Wilkie, Alex Thomson, Toby Boyle, Vaughn Dunstan, Matthew Hind, Damien Larkin.
Rokewood-Corindhap: Xavier Ryan, Mark Ashmore, Denis Biscan, Leigh Dark, Carl Matheson, Chris Hall.
Carngham-Linton remains alive in the race for the flag with a comprehensive 63 point win over Navarre in the Second semi final at Rokewood on Sunday.
The Saints quickly put their authority on the game snuffing out any hope Navarre went into the game with.
Leading by 21 points at the first change, Carngham-Linton kicked eight of the second terms ten goals to have the final wrapped up at half time.
Jason Hill was getting kicks all over the ground as the Carngham-Linton joint coach and league best and fairest winner showed why he was adjudged best by the umpires over the season.
Navarre had few winners on the day.
Dean Capewell was nippy early, while Ben Scott also put himself in the play.
But the weight of numbers told as the Saints played arguably their best team game of football for the year.
However a third term incident held the game up for 40 minutes.
A melee erupted 23 minutes into the quarter with play stopped while an ambulance was called to attend to Navarre’s James Watts.
One report came out of the fight – Carngham-Linton’s James Rayner had his number taken for striking, but it was a separate incident to that which involved Watts.
Three quarter time was called early, and a shortened final term followed.
Navarre was 63 points down at the time, so it had no effect on the result of the match.
The final term was played out without any disturbance, as Navarre bid farewell to the year, while Carngham-Linton remains in the race for its fourth flag in four years.
Rokewood-Corindhap plays Carngham-Linton this Saturday in the preliminary final at Natte Yallock.
Goals: Carngham Linton: Clint Ladiges 5, Jarrod Burt, Jake Pring, Robbie Greenbank 3, Jade Keam, Damon Aspland 2, Mitch Giddings 1.
Navarre: Dean Capewell, Wayne Driscoll, Ben Scott 2, Sam Robertson, Louis Hannett, Zac Parry 1.
Best: Carngham Linton: Jason Hill, Joel Kelly, Nathan Wemyss, Clint Ladiges, James Rayner.
Navarre: Dean Capewell, Luke Bibby, Ben Scott, Travis Nicholson, Nick Murphy.
NEXT WEEK
SATURDAY
Preliminary Final at Natte Yallock
SENIORS: Carngham-Linton v Rokewood-Corindhap
RESERVES: Rokewood-Corindhap v Skipton
UNDER 17: Carngham-Linton v Rokewood-Corindhap
UNDER 14: Navarre v Ararat Eagles
By Rhys Brehaut
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