FOR those who might have thought the Riddell District Football Netball League finals might have been a straight fight between Diggers Rest and Riddell, think again.
Wallan have thrown its hat into the ring with its biggest statement yet, inflicting minor premier Diggers Rest’s first loss of the season with a thrilling five-point victory.
The Magpies put right a bugbear of theirs in recent weeks, getting the start right with two goals in the opening quarter, while holding the Burra to one goal to take a nine-point lead at the opening change, 15-6.
Wallan continued to charge onwards as it looked to cement its best performance of the year, adding another two goals to one in the second term to increase the lead to 13 points at the main break, 29-16.
Then, the big statement arrived.
Wallan was all over Diggers Rest in the third quarter, leaving the supporters in raptures with three goals to one for the term as the Magpies blew the margin out to 28 points at the final change, 52-24.
The Burra wasn’t done yet, however, as Wallan quickly learned as Diggers Rest delivered four goals in 18 minutes to roar back into the game, and close the margin to five points.
However, the Magpies had the right answers at the right time, and in particular, it was a big captain’s goal to Sean Morris late in the piece that allowed them to hold on for dear life.
A goal right on the siren wasn’t enough for Diggers Rest, with Wallan taking a five-point win, 9.12 (66) to 9.7 (61).
Morris, with his three goals, was huge for the Magpies, with Steven Boyall, Jake Carlisle, Patrick Mahoney, Corey Viani and Harley Short also named in the best.
The result secured a top three finish for the Magpies, who will now look ahead to a home game against Gisborne Giants at Greenhill Reserve to finish the home-and-away campaign.
While it was a terrific day for Wallan, it was much more difficult for Lancefield, who lost by 127 points to Melton South.
The Panthers got the jump on the Tigers, kicking eight goals to one in the opening term to open up a 43-point lead, 52-9.
However, Lancefield was encouraging in the second term and could have closed the gap a little bit more, if not for inaccuracy which yielded five goals from 13 scoring shots.
Melton South did its bit to maintain a 30-point lead at half time, 77-47.
From there, it was all Melton South as its midfielders dominated.
Seven goals to no score in the third quarter meant it was game over, with the Panthers leading 124-47 at the final change.
There was no respite in the final term as Melton South secured its finals spot in style, kicking nine goals to one to win 28.13 (181) to 7.12 (54).
On a tough day for the Tigers, Noah Smallacombe, Harry Behan, Max Taylor, Tyreese Sefer-Govender, Thomas Sayers and Ben Sankey gave their all, as they look ahead to finishing the season against Diggers Rest next week.
There was better news for Lancefield’s netball team, however, with the Tigers all-but securing their spot in the finals thanks to a 61-goal victory over Melton South.
The Tigers were unstoppable as they piled on 82 goals for the afternoon, with Shanae Brundell scoring 71 of them as Lancefield continued its magical ascent from eighth in 2024 to a top five finish.
Wallan will need to match Melton Centrals’ results in the final round to secure its spot in the finals at the last gasp, taking a 24-goal win over Diggers Rest.
The Magpies got the jump in the opening term and maintained a lead around 10 goals for the bulk of the day, before erupting in the final term to blow the margin out, winning 64-40.
Maeve Donegan finished with 42 goals for the Magpies.
In the Goulburn Valley Football League, Seymour is continuing to finish its season in style, recording a 60-point win over Shepparton United.
The Lions got the jump on Saturday at Deakin Reserve with five goals to two in the opening term to lead 35-13 at the first change, and continued to be ruthless in the second term, adding another four goals to one to extend their lead to 42 points by the main break, 63-21.
It looked like being an enormous victory for the Lions when they added six goals to one in the third term to lead 100-30 going into the last change, but Shepparton United had a bit of fight in them to finish off, while Seymour simultaneously cruised through to eventually win 17.14 (116) to 8.8 (56).
Riley Mason made a welcome return from VFL duties to kick five goals, while Jack Murphy was again the dominant man on the ground. Nicholas Quigg, Nathan Beattie and Cooper Holdsworth-Rose also put in notable performances.
