JUST when opposition defenders thought they didn’t have to worry about Eaglehawk’s Derrick Filo lining up onfield any time soon, there he was in the Two Blue guernsey lurking in a forward pocket.

It was early May in 2008 and the 400-plus senior game veteran was back marshalling his attack.

He’d coached the three opening games eight seasons back from the sidelines.

But on the Friday night leading into the South Bendigo clash --- the BFNL’s match-of-the-day --- the Hawks’ coach decided more experience was needed for his club’s big game.
“Once Brady Herdman went off because of injury against Maryborough last round, our forward line was Matt Gretgrix and five players aged just 18,” he told the Advertiser.
So out trotted Filo as the teams prepared for the first bounce, wearing not his familiar number 7 but a replacement guernsey numbered 44.
It was something of a surprise to see Filo on-field as he’d announced in late September 2007 that following Eaglehawk’s grand final success on the QEO that would be his last senior game.
It turned out to a straight Filo-for-Filo swap as Derrick replaced son Brodie (the 2015 Michelsen Medallist) who was recovering from a bruised sternum.
The home side was without experienced trio Ben Hynes, Marty O’Reilly and Ryan Pedrotti but managed to hold off a fast-finishing Bloods’ line-up to win by three goals.
Filo booted three majors on his return to senior footy with Herdman and Gretgrix both nailing five.

SOUTH Bendigo had a great forward target in Dayne Frew who booted six majors, while Zac East bobbed up with three and Gavin Bowles with two.
But it was Eaglehawk’s Josh Ketterer who opened the scoring in the big game, drilling two goals at the Simpson’s Rd. end followed by Shannon Milward after he’d soared in the goal square to clutch the mark-of-the-day.
It took a running goal from Aaron ‘Azza’ Connaughton to get South firing and after Michael Leech had started a move down the scoreboard wing the Bloods landed two more to Frew and East.
South found it difficult in the second term to get past the Borough’s key defenders Kain Robins and Tim Hill, who kept South star David McCormick goalless for the day.
Time and again the two Eaglehawk backmen halted South’s attacks with fine overhead marks.
Three goals to Gretgrix broke the impasse, after South had levelled early in the second quarter, and when Richard Tibbett found space and ran into an unmanned full-forward line the Hawks snuk out to a three-goal lead by the long break.
With Damien Lock and Shannon Milward winning the centre breaks Eaglehawk broke clear early in the third with majors to Filo, Gretgrix and Ben O’Sullivan.
The Bloods weren’t done. Coach Ricky Coburn won contest after contest across half-back and majors to Frew (2) and Bowles had South well in the frame.
Another Filo goal halted South’s run briefly. But then Ryan ‘Rhino’ Connaughton replied for South to leave the visitors 25 points down with one quarter to play.
It was end-to-end footy in the final stanza and even though South booted 6.3 to Eaglehawk’s 5.2 the home side rolled on to win by three, straight kicks.

GISBORNE had suffered a setback leading into the 2008 season when star recruit Chris Atkins quit the club to return to his home club Kyabram.
One of the premier midfielders in country Victoria Atkins did pre-season training with the Bulldogs but informed coach Marcus Barham towards the end of March of his decision.
Atkins was a regular in the Goulburn Valley representative sides in the late Nineties-early Noughties. He’d won two best and fairest awards with Kyabram, was runner-up in the GVFL’s Morrison medal in 1998 and spent 2001 playing with the VFL’s Bendigo Diggers before a one-year stint with East Fremantle in the WAFL in 2002.
The Graveyard Dogs won an occasionally fiery Round 4 clash against Maryborough at the Gardiner Reserve with two Magpies booked by the umpires.
Michael Jennings was reported for allegedly throwing his mouthguard at Gareth Bowes while Bowes was lining up for a set shot on goal, and skipper Joel Malone was on report for an alleged striking charge.
Barham was pleased with Gisborne’s 37 scoring shots but also impressed with Maryborough’s fight and pluck.
“They had only 17 players on the park for the last quarter and a bit but they never gave in,” he said.
Barham said veteran long-kicking defender Rod Sharp (later to coach the club for two seasons) was clearly best on the ground. Jordan Barham started in defence but moved forward after quarter-time and booted 5.5.
The Magpies had fine players in Glenn Handley, Wayne Tucker, Jamie Bond and young forward Matthew Brown, who bagged four goals.
The Dogs’ Richard White was impressive across half-forward, Levi Moss (3 goals) won plenty of the ball from his wing while youngster Pat Fitzgerald shut down Maryborugh’s pacy young gun Mathew Bilton and Ollie Messaoudi (2 goals) was in everything for Gisborne.

CASTLEMAINE reminded BFNL followers it wouldn’t just be making up the numbers in 2008 by handing Sandhurst a 100-point thumping at the Camp reserve.
After three rounds the Magpies had been somewhat of the league’s forgotten club following losses to Gisborne and the 2007 wooden spooners Kangaroo Flat.
Maine coach Jamie Elliott was beaming after the big win describing his “bunch of new kids as being thrown in at the deep end and learning to swim.”
And learn to swim they did with 16-year-old Dustin Martin (nowadays a star with the Richmond Tigers), David Taylor, Calvin Philp and Brody Culpitt all starring in the massive win.
Culpitt and Taylor each kicked four goals and experienced full-forward Daniel Christmas five as the Magpies increased their advantage at every quarter break.
Elliott heaped praise on Martin who had 27 possessions and kicked three goals.
“He’s from Castlemaine originally and then moved to Sydney with his father. He’s back here now and he’s a player who needs to stay in the system so that clubs at higher levels can have a really good look at him.
“I certainly think Dusty has the ability to play at a higher level.”
For Hurst playing coach Kieran Nihill, with his club just one per cent above Kyneton in the cellar struggle, he’d tried to inspire his side by playing forward for a half.
Nihill booted three first half majors with the Dragons only four points down midway through the second quarter.
But from then on it was one-way traffic as Castlemaine booted 20 of the match’s concluding 24 goals.
Sandhurst’s core of experienced players in Malcolm Borchard, Tyson Findlay, Michael Cornish and Sam ‘Spekky’ McGee battled away but the younger players barely gave a yelp.

I WAS out at Dower Park where Kangaroo Flat scored a morale-boosting victory over an inaccurate Kyneton.
Apart from the opening moments the Roos led all day and finished with an important 71-point win.
Stylish skipper Tyrone Downie led the way with seven goals and some of his marking across the forward line stamped him as one of the BFNL’s top players.
With Phillip Lobb backing up Downie with four goals and dashing wingers Daniel Manning and Tyson Holt contributing five between them the Tiger defence was stretched to breaking point.
Kyneton dangerman Cameron Tate kicked his side’s only two majors in the first quarter but after that early burst the Roos’ Andrew Gladman blanketed Tate.
Big Joel West battled hard in the ruck all match against Kyneton coach Brett Cook while Rowan Warfe and Brendan Hehir were top defenders alongside Gladman.
Hehir’s ability to break loose and cruise across the half-back line looking for teammates further downfield --- then invariably finding them with pinpoint passes --- were a feature of his game.
In the third quarter Tiger skipper Darren Chambers was switched onto Lobb and was reasonably effective. But the Tigers could not cope with Manning’s pace while Tim Brooks’ link-up passes were key factors in the Flat’s win.

Final scores: Castlemaine 26.8 (164) def. Sandhurst 9.10 (64), Kangaroo Flat 20.15 (135) def. Kyneton 7.22 (64), Gisborne 20.17 (137) def. Maryborough 11.9 (75), Eaglehawk 20.12 (132) def. South Bendigo 17.12 (14). Golden Square: bye.
Top Five: Golden Square 16 pts., Eaglehawk 16, Gisborne 12, South Bendigo 12, Castlemaine 8.
A grade netball scores: Sandhurst 65 def. C’maine 25, Kangaroo Flat 76 def. Kyneton 12, Gisborne 39 def. M’borough 37 and Eaglehawk 63 def. South Bendigo 35. Golden Square: bye.
Top Five: Gisborne 16, G. Square 16, Kangaroo Flat 12, Eaglehawk 12, Sandhurst 12.

Richard’s tip for Round 4:Strath Storm, Sandhurst, Kyneton, Kang. Flat and G. Square.

Tipping tally for 2016: 11

By Richard Jones