MININERA and District Football League achieved interleague glory on Saturday, defeating a gallant South West by 18 points at Hamilton’s Melville Oval.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
South West jumped out of the blocks early, restricting Mininera to a solitary point to lead by 21 points at quarter-time.
Enter Lachlan Glare – Hawkesdale-Macarthur’s excitement machine produced a five-goal burst in the second term as Mininera, kicking with the wind, clawed their way into the match.
Moyston-Willaura ruckman Josh Bywater dominated at the centre bounce with Mininera building an 18-point half-time buffer.
First-time Mininera coach Justin Eales, from Penshurst, was watching from the sidelines as he recovers from a broken hand. He said he didn’t know what to expect from South West.
“We had no idea, it was bit of an unknown,” Eales said.
“There was a 4-5 goal wind early on and they had an impressive first quarter. They were first in and used the ball really well.
“We had to knuckle down and go harder.”
South West surged again in the third term, and there were nervous moments for Mininera in the final stages. Scores were locked at 68 apiece with just four minutes remaining and South West had the momentum.
However, this was able to be extinguished.
“We had a few classy players step up and put on six goals pretty quick in the last quarter,” Eales said.
Will McGregor was one of these players. McGregor slotted through three goals from 40 metres out as Mininera claimed interleague victory, 11.14 (80) to 9.8 (62).
An onballer, Glare was the obvious standout with his five-goal haul while Bywater shone in the ruck.
Tatyoon’s Arthur Armstrong stood tall across centre half-back, while teammate and Mininera vice-captain Sean McDougall produced a solid effort.
This was McDougall’s third year of interleague football, and Eales said it was the best game he had seen the Hawk play.
“It was good for Sean to stand up. He’s a passionate interleague player,” Eales said.
Saturday’s match was Eales’ inaugural stint as an interleague coach, and the leader of Penshurst said it wasn’t easy.
“It’s full on,” he said.
“You’ve got to hand it to people who have done it in the past. It’s not just showing up on the Saturday – you’ve got to bit to look at in terms of game-style, preparation, training and getting your squad sorted.
“But it’s rewarding when you get a win.”
Eales said it hurt to watch from the sidelines – the coach was meant to play but sustained a broken hand a fortnight ago. He hasn’t ruled out a return to interleague coaching either, although it depends where he plays football in 2017.
Trent Harman received the AFL medal as Mininera’s best on ground player.