Leading the contest all day, GORMANDALE held off a resurgent Woodside outfit to register their third win of the season by the narrowest of margins three points.
Trailing by 20 points at the main change, Wildcats coach Chris Pettitt encouraged his side not to drop their heads, instead to cast their minds back to the last quarter of last week's contest and show them what we did.
With their season on the line the Wildcats needed a massive performance from all 22 players in the final 60 minutes of play which saw the visitors come within a whisker of victory.
David Ivey registered the first of the second half which was quickly followed by a miss on goal by Wayne Henry as the Tigers appeared poised to run away with the contest. Woodside's Matt Scholz responded with one of his three for the contest, it was one of three on the run for the Wildcats as they halted Gormandale's run and dictated the match on their terms to reel the margin back to two straight kicks.
Justin Staley had a chance to reel the margin in further, in a solid passage of play Josh Griffin and Scholz combined to find a leading Staley, who quickly ran off the mark to kick the ball out of bounds on the full.
Trailing by seven points at the final change, Tiger Toby Bye missed an early chance to extend the lead before Scholz got one back for the visitors as the intensity of the contest lifted to another level.
Brett Kerr had the Wildcats supporters on their feet when he marked within scoring distance his shot falling short to be marked on the last line of defence. The Tigers backline had little trouble in drawing the ball forward with Ivey booting his fifth major.
Both sides had their chances in a frenetic error riddled final 15 minutes of play with Woodside's Adam Adamo reeling the margin back to two points following a long goal on the run.
With the clock counting down on their challenge and play concentrated in Gormandale's forward 50 it was enough for the Tigers to hold on in the dying stages 12.9 (81) to 11.12 (78).
Ivey run rampant to make his main impact felt on the scoreboard, booting the first goal of the second and third terms to kick start the Tigers at each change of ends. Brent McFarlene was a tireless workhorse around the contests, while teammate Luke Hegarty was outstanding in the midfield and was pitted early against Woodside's key playmakers. Among other shining lights for the Tigers was the combined defensive pressure of the back six who dominated the one on one contests.
Seven majors from Tom Mustoe and six from Brian Graham saw TTU claim the inaugural "Crocka Cup" in Saturdays showdown against Churchill.
Blowing the contest wide open with a stellar seven goal to two opening term, the writing was on the wall early with the Cougars no match for the second placed Bombers.
Spurred on by the coaches words Churchill rallied to go goal for goal with the opposition in a high scoring term, which saw the sides boot five a piece. The premiership term played out the same as the second term as Churchill dug deep to eat into TTU's early match winning margin but could do little to make a major dent in the margin as the Bombers continued to maintain their intensity and ferociousness at the man and ball.
Trailing by 27 points at the final change of ends Churchill faded away in the final term with the Bombers slamming home a further four majors to seal a 45 point victory.
Bomber Luke Middleton claimed the votes in a standout performance; Pat Sharp was the impetus in the engine room while Scott Zuehlke was handy.
Churchill captain Chris Williams, honored his father David's memory with a steely resolve and performance which saw the Cougar captain among his sides best.
COWWARR marked former coach Cory Bannister's 100th senior appearance in style with an emphatic three point victory over the second placed Blues.
Little separated the two sides throughout the contest which was played out in similar fashion to their round two clash. Cowwarr skipped away to an early four goal lead, before the Blues rallied booting six goals to one in the second term to lead by 12 points at the long change. The Saints rallied in the premiership term to lead by 14 points at the final break.
The two sides went blow for blow in the final 30 minutes of the contest, Tim Johnston and Luke Cooper the go to men in front of goal for the Saints while Brad Caldwell lit up the forward line for the Blues.
Trading blows on the scoreboard the Blues kept within arm's reach of the visitors as they come home strong with a wet sail, however the Saints third term lead was enough to ensure the side held on in a nail biting three point victory, 12.12 (84) to 11.15 (81).
Lee Cooper impressed to claim best on ground honours in a standout performance, Jordon Sandy backed up his efforts with another vote worthy performance with Jordon Bourke providing a contest in the packs.
Rosedale's majors came through Caldwell who scored three, Luke Stuckey continued his solid form while Chris King was the general of the midfield none more so in the second term when he dug deep to rally his side and keep them in the contest.
SALE CITY returned to the winners list marking their third win of the season in style with an emphatic 10 goal victory over fellow cellar dweller the Bombers.
Little separated the sides in a tough opening half, however it was all one way traffic after the main change with the Dogs turning it on to run rampant booting eight majors to one to record a confidence boosting victory.
Snatching victory last round the Bombers faded out of the contest as they let the Dogs play the game on their terms in a lack luster second half, which saw the home side boot a mere 1.4 (10).
Nick Grainger and Luke Hedger were the go to men in front of goal booting six and four majors respectively, with coach Joel Brayshaw leading from the front in a best on ground performance.
A high flying Magpie outfit moved into the top five for the first time this season following GLENGARRY's comprehensive 30 point victory over ladder leaders Heyfield.
Making it a clean sweep of wins for the month of June, the Magpies laid the foundation for its 16.10 (106) to 10.16 (76) win over Heyfield with a four goal to two second quarter.
The match was evenly placed at the first change both sides desperation at the ball evident with the Magpies taking a four point lead at the break.
The home side exploded out of the blocks in the second term, their solid quarter putting the Kangaroos 19 points behind at the main break. The home sides momentum wasn't halted by the long change Glengarry adding a further eight goals in a stellar second half. Glengarry forward Mark Engley was again the main figure in front of goals setting the impetus for victory with an individual haul of seven majors.
Chris Wangman was a valuable contributor for the home side, Ben Truin and ball magnet Robbie Cahill worked tirelessly around the ground while the presence of forward goal sneak Ross McDermott also benefited Glengarry.
Boasting nine scoring shots to four in the final term, the Kangaroos key forwards squandered opportunities in front of goal their wayward kicking keeping the visitors out of the contest. For the visitors Jesse Leeds led from the front in a best on ground performance.
By Lauren Carey
