Weekly Times | MODEWARRE faces the battle of all battles to make the Bellarine Football League finals for the first time since 2012.
That challenge begins today, when the Warriors host Torquay, the ladder leader going into Round 16. The Tigers have only dropped one game for the entire season.
In the final two rounds Modewarre must travel to play Ocean Grove, which is currently perched in fourth place, and host top-three side Barwon Heads.
The Warriors’ challengers for a finals position are Anglesea and Queenscliff, which have overtaken Modewarre on percentage taking into account yesterday’s results. Anglesea defeated Drysdale by three points — Drysdale fought back from 42-points down at three-quarter time — while Queenscliff thrashed Newcomb Power.
Modewarre’s season got off to a horror start in Round 1 against Torquay, with four players sustaining serious injuries, including captain and three-time league best-and-fairest Josh Finch who broke his arm.
Modewarre, under second-year coach Haami Williams, won an emotional Round 12 game against Portarlington, the day after Adelaide coach Phil Walsh — Finch’s uncle — was murdered.
Finch was the Warriors’ best-on-ground that day, and club president Mick Fitzgerald said that match was the start of the run; the Warriors won by six goals that day, and won two of their three games since.
“In terms of preparation, we’re in the enviable position where we’re in control of our own destiny now,” Fitzgerald said.
“If we win two out of our next three we’ll be in finals — if we don’t, we won’t.”
“We’ve got into three elimination finals in a row.”
Today’s match starts at 2.10pm.
● LEONGATHA dominated its Round 15 encounter with Gippsland league cellar dweller Warragul yesterday and finished with a 137-point victory.
The Gulls took until 21 minutes into the second quarter to register their first score, while the Parrots’ Jake Best booted 10 goals in the 22.24 (156) to 3.1 (19) result.
After a scrappy third quarter, in which the two sides scored 4.9 between them, Leongatha booted seven goals to finish the match in authoritative fashion, with Nick Argento named its best player.
In the other Gippsland league match in a split round, Maffra defeated Moe by 59 points.
● WODONGA Raiders has bounced back from a huge defeat to reigning premier Albury two weeks ago by downing Ovens and Murray league premiership contender Lavington yesterday.
The Panthers came back from a 13-point quarter time deficit to lead by 23 points at half-time, but the Raiders led by four points at three-quarter time.
The final score was 16.11 (107) to 13.4 (82), with the Raiders’ Ross Tungatalum and Lavington’s Adam Prior booting five goals each.
Yesterday’s other winners of the Round 15 split round were North Albury and Corowa-Rutherglen.
● LINDENOW South has earned a berth in the Omeo and District Football League grand final after defeating Buchan in the second semi-final yesterday.
Buchan, which is eager for redemption this season after being booted out of last year’s grand final for playing an ineligible player in finals, finished minor premier and beat Lindenow South three times in the home-and-away season.
But Buchan must take the scenic route to the decider via a preliminary final against Swifts Creek, after yesterday’s 13.14 (92) to 20.25 (145) loss to Lindenow South.
