By Marcus Uhe
Neither participant in next week’s Outer East elimination final will head into the contest in winning form, with Pakenham upset by Olinda Ferny Creek and Upwey Tecoma playing out a draw against Monbulk.
At Olinda Recreation Reserve, the Bloods ensured Brendan Donovan’s coaching tenure with the club ended on a high, recording a 27-point win over the higher-fancied Pakenham side, 15.13 103 to 10.16 76.
Another typically slow start saw the Lions fall behind by three goals at quarter time, spared a heavier deficit by some poor kicking for goal by the Bloods, who took 12 shots on goal to Pakenham’s four.
The visitors were then held goalless in the second term where the hosts kicked two, Pakenham hitting the sheds at the half 29 points down.
From there, the wobbles set in; 12 shots on goal in the third term netted just 2.10, the comeback hitting a series of speed humps.
By contrast, 5.2 to the hosts saw them grow their lead to 39 at the final change of ends.
Pakenham came with a rush in the fourth quarter, as became a hallmark of the side throughout the season, kicking 5.2 upon the discovery of some much-needed kicking boots.
But three to Olinda Ferny Creek meant it was able to halt the charge.
Inspirational skipper Jake Barclay nailed three goals for Pakenham, Samuel Kors and Matthew Vaiano two as their late-season purple patches continue.
In pleasing signs for Pakenham, all players making the step up from its junior program in Tahj De La Rue, Josh Trembath and Ryan Martini, were all key contributors.
Upwey Tecoma, meanwhile, squandered a 19-point lead at three-quarter-time to a determined Monbulk outfit playing with a very minor chance of sneaking into fifth, tying on 61 points.
The Tigers led for the duration of the afternoon before running out of steam in the final term, confronted head-on with a fast-finishing home side.
Small forward Mackay Bateson kicked two to open the final quarter for Monbulk amongst a handful of misses to cut the lead to five, before Mitchell Veit tied the scores on 60.
Veit had the chance to be the hero just minutes later and put his team ahead at the death, but missed a tricky shot from the pocket.
A rushed behind at the other end tied the scores, before the siren blew with the ball deep in the Monbulk forward 50.
So miserly was the Hawks’ defence in the final term that of the Tigers’ four behinds, only one was kicked by the visitors, with three rushed.
The voluntary concessions proved costly, however, in a game of such small margins.
An Upwey Tecoma loss would have seen them still qualify for fifth place over both Mt Evelyn and Monbulk, based on percentage.
At Gembrook, a 10-goal haul from Jordan Jaworski overshadowed Aaron Mullett’s return to action in Wandin’s 146-point win over Gembrook Cockatoo.
It wasn’t as brutal as the previous encounter between the two, but that’s about where the positives ended for the home side, going down 4.9 33 to 28.11 179.
Gembrook Cockatoo hit the scoreboard in the first quarter – already an improvement on the last contest between the two – and held the Bulldogs in-check with just a 21-point lead at the first break.
The next two quarters, in which the Bulldogs slammed 18 goals to the hosts’ two, were a different story entirely.
For his part, Mullett had the ball in his hands within 20 seconds of his return to play, but missed the opening shot at goal.
He would finish with four, playing as a deep forward for much of the afternoon, as did Clint Johnson.
18 goals between Mullett, Jaworski and Clint Johnson represents what Nick Adam and his Wandin coaching panel would have dreamed of at the beginning of 2023, but Mullett’s hamstring injury has seen him sit on the sidelines since round six.
Josh Tilly, Aaron Firrito and Dean Smith were among the home side’s better players, as was Josh Smith, having returned from the VFL.
