Isn’t it amazing how matches played only 18 months or so back in time have slipped in your memory.
In July 2021 --- the shortened season caused by Covid restrictions --- I was at Dower Park for the Rd. 10 match between the Roos and Eaglehawk.
I don’t recall all that much about it except that the Hawks banged home nine goals in the final term to win by a massive 126 points.
Travis Matheson’s sixth-placed side was still two, clear games behind South Bendigo but the Hawks had a big percentage advantage over fifth-placed South Bendigo: 179.5% to the Bloods’ 151.5%.
So how did the Dower Park match pan out?
Well, in miserable, wet conditions it was no game really as the Roos could muster just 2.7 (19) for an entire afternoon’s work.
Admittedly that was a tad more than double Maryborough’s tally the same week. The Princes Pies managed only 1.1 (7) to the Hurst’s 21.20 (146) and was the lowest senior score posted in the Covid-ruined year.
But back to Dower Park. It was an important fixture for the Two Blues who had lost their four, previous games and Matheson’s side showed great strength and endeavour right through the day.
The Flat’s only two goals came in the opening term and then the Borough’s big-bodied mids took over.
Billy Evans, Noah Wheeler and Gedd Hommelhof constantly rammed the ball forward and key forward Jackson Dye finished the day with six majors.
Between them Wheeler and Hommelhoff added another seven majors to bolster the Borough’s scoreline.
And the massive win aided their percentage, as I’ve pointed out. It had dropped to 160.68% in the previous rounds before the big win lifted it back by almost 19%.
I don’t recall being at Dower Park very often when Nick Lang hasn’t been the best big man on the field.
And there he was again, despite the Roos’ impotency up forward, and Mitch Trewhella and Kyle Symons fought hard to try and at least provide the Roos with some drive out of midfield.
In other games Golden Square fought back into third spot with a 58-point win over Kyneton, Strathfieldsaye registered their eighth, straight win with a 43-point victory over Gisborne while Sandhurst bounced back from their first loss of the season to belt Maryborough at Princes Park.
And a very inaccurate South Bendigo thrashed Castlemaine at the QEO, but wayward kicking meant their percentage didn’t rise as high as they’d wanted.
At Wade Street the half-time scoreboard read Square 11.7 to Kyneton’s 1.3.
Angus Nolte posted the Tigers only first half goal just before the half-time siren.
Then the Tigers outscored the Dogs seven goals to six in the run home but the 64-point deficit at half-time left Kyneton struggling.
Three of the Square’s big guns sat out the last quarter. Hamish Morcom had copped a blow to the face and his nose was bleeding, skipper Jack Geary had a sore back while Jayden Burke’s knee was playing up.
Burke had been well held by Tiger key defender and best afield for Kyneton, Harrison Huntley, leaving Joel Brett and Ricky Monti with three goals each as Square’s main scorers.
Guy Dickson was the Kyneton most important forward with four majors.
The Storm back six clamped down on Gisborne’s highly rated forward structure with Pat McKenna held goalless for the first time post his AFL career with GWS and Melbourne.
He’d nailed 136 goals in his previous 27 games for the Graveyard Dogs dating back to the 2019 season.
And it was Strathfieldsaye defender Jack Neylon who did the lockdown job on McKenna, although his teammates in attack posted just 2.6 in the first quarter to give the Dogs a sniff.
The Dogs were amazingly accurate in attack despite little influence from McKenna. They had three goals straight on the board at halftime with scores 5.1 to 6.12 at the last change, but then were blown away by the Storm.
Strathfieldsaye added 4.3 to a single behind in the last term.
Lachie Sharp finished the day with three goals but Harry Conway should have passed Sharpie. He ended up on 2.7 for his afternoon’s work.
Mids Cal McCarty and Jake Moorhead, last season’s Michelsen Medallist, along with co-coach Shannon Geary were well on top around the fall-of-the-ball while Gisborne’s best was Jack Reaper who blanketed Storm centre half-forward Cooper Jones.
Jack Scanlon was the Dogs’ most consistent forward and he also did well around the ground as the back-up ruckman.
For the second time in 2021 South Bendigo kicked poorly managing just 18 goals from 41 scoring shots.
The Bloods needed 8.7 to nil in the last term, which they managed, to push the winning margin beyond 100 points.
And they did, winning by 112 points with ‘Doss’ Antonowicz landing six goals while the Maine finished the game with just two players on the bench.
A plus for coach Don Moran was the return of midfielder Jack Chester who’d been away for a couple of years while centre half-back Liam Wilkinson was the Maine’s best.
For South Brock Harvey, Zac Hare and Mitch Goodwin wee the club’s best.
Sandhurst held Maryborough to a single goal, kicked in the final quarter, while the Dragons’ Lachlan Zimmer and Joel Wharton booted four each.
Chris Down dominated in the ruck with running players Jake McLean, Lachlan Ross and Noah Walsh providing plenty of drive.
Tom Gardam was clearly Maryborough’s best with Bailey Edwards and Jayden Hooper real triers.
In netball Golden Square’s Kristen Wilson celebrated her 200th game for the Square with the Dogs beating Kyneton by three goals.
It was an amazingly low-scoring match with defender Wilson and her teammates restricting the Tigers to just 17 goals for the match.
But Wilson and her Bulldog teammates had to rebound after trailing by two goals at half-time. Then the side re-grouped to win for Wilson and her 50-game teammate Zoe Douglass.
Final scores: Golden Square 20 def. Kyneton 17; Sandhurst 62 def. M’borough 36; Gisborne 81 def. Storm 18; Kang. Flat 72 def. Eaglehawk 37.
Final footy scores: Sandhurst 21.20 (146) def. Maryborough 1.1 (7); Eaglehawk 23.13 (145) def. Kang. Flat 2.7 (19); S’saye 10.15 (75) def. Gisborne 5.2 (32); Golden Square 17.12 (114) def. Kyneton 8.8 (56) and South Bendigo 18.23 (131) def. C’maine 3.1 (19).
And there I was again for the re-organised Rd. 17 match on August 14th out at Dower Park.
It turned out to be the final set of games for 2021 and the Roos did a lot better than a few rounds earlier.
Rounds 13 to 16, inclusive, had been abandoned two years ago with two weekends still to be played, Rd. 18 and the re-scheduled Rd. 11, plus finals.
But in the re-named Rd. 17 the Flat actually nailed nine goals from 21 scoring shots although the Bloods banged home 24 majors with Kaiden Antonowicz on target with 8.3.
Nick Keogh was his usual busy self across half-back for the Flat and he even drifted forward and kicked a goal in the third term.
That third term was the Roos’ best as they added 4.6 although the Bloods put on seven, straight goals to lead 18.7 to 7.9 at the last change.
A six-goal-to-two last term gave the Bloods an 89-point winning margin.
Final scores: South Bendigo 24.11 (155) def. Kang. Flat 9.12 (66). Major goalkickers, South: Antonowicz 8, Brock Harvey 4, Jesse Sheehan 3, Joel Swatton and Will Allen 2 each. Flat: Lachlan Wilson and Mitchell Holt 2 each.
Midfielder Sam Maher and Will McCaig were in the Bloods’ best along with re-bounding half-back Brayden Torpey.
Final ladder when season called off (in mid-August): Strath Storm 10 wins, 2 losses 231.7%; G. Square 10-2, 186.35%; Sandhurst 10-2, 171.33%; Gisborne 9-3, 205.71%; South Bendigo 9-3, 158.69%.
Then outside the Five -- Eaglehawk 6-6; Kyneton 3-9; Kang. Flat 2-10; Maryborough 1-11; C’maine 0-12.
Final Ron Best medal goal totals: Lachlan Sharp (S’saye) 68; Kaiden Antonowicz (South Bendigo) 63; Patrick McKenna (Gisborne) 53; Joel Brett (G. Square) 47 and Jayden Burke (G. Square) 45. No medal was awarded in 2021 with the season incomplete and no games played after August 14th.
And before the 2021 year slips away into dim memory it should be noted field umpire John Norton was in charge of his 300th game on August 14.
Norton joined the Bendigo Umpires Association in 2007 and a spokesman said if his junior matches on Saturday mornings and Sundays were added to those 300 senior outings he would be close to a tally of 500 in all.
