MPFNL Division 2: Crib Point misses finals after last round loss to Tyabb

In the top five all season, Crib Point has stumbled to miss finals — and the Magpies have no one but themselves to blame, according to coach Duane Annable.

Crib Point coach Duane Annable urges his team on Saturday.

It was a cruel and deflating end to the season for Crib Point but coach Duane Annable wasn’t looking for sympathy.

In the top five all season and seemingly headed for their first finals campaign in 10 years, the Magpies stumbled at precisely the wrong time.

Their 13.6 (84) to 11.12 (78) loss to eighth-placed Tyabb at Crib Point on Saturday bumped them to sixth spot in Division 2 of the Mornington Peninsula league, gifting last round losers Pearcedale a spot in the elimination final against Somerville.

“Tyabb played well,” Annable said.

“We had our chances. We hit the front in the last, all we needed was a draw, really.

“But just in the pressure moments, the decision making, skills, we just didn’t execute.

“So we have to own it and use it to fuel the fire (in 2025).”

Crib Pont’s Ryan Smith goes up in the ruck.

Annable rode every bump, kick and turnover as Cribby struggled to shrug the Yabbies on Saturday.

He must have been exhausted by game’s end. But it was his players that he felt most disappointed for.

“It was shattering for the group,” he said.

“We’re still a very young group, 80 percent of our ones side is 23 and under.

“I’m just gutted for the boys, just in terms of being able to say they’ve played in a final.

“The club hasn’t played in one for 10 years, so that’s the thing that hurts me the most, especially a bloke like Tim Cook who has been there his whole life, battled his arse off. I feel for those blokes.”

The cold reality is Crib Point lost four of its last five matches to tumble down the ladder.

“We were probably just hanging on a little bit,” Annable said.

He said Crib Point knew it had to beat Tyabb, otherwise its finals hopes would be dust.

Tim Cook.

Crib Point and Tyabb do battle.

“We knew it was in or out, it was simple as that,” he said.

“It was handling that expectation, owning it and delivering and we didn’t pass the test unfortunately.”

Annable said despite missing finals, Crib Point’s season was a success, believing the Magpies took another step in the right direction.

“We’ve had great crowds, financially, off the field the club’s in a good space,” he said.

“This was always a bit of a building year.

“If you’d have said to me we’d be playing off in the last game to make finals I would have taken it. I thought finals was probably a touch out of reach for us.”

Crib Point finished with 11 wins, including victories over top five sides Devon Meadows, Somerville and Pearcedale.

But it couldn’t beat its arch nemesis Tyabb, which won both the sides’ meetings this season.

“Tyabb are a bloody bogey side for us unfortunately,’’ Annable said.

“Always have been, to their credit they played well, we defensively tried to stop a couple of their guys but they played really well and rose to the challenge.”

The Yabbies counted Damian Plane, James Hammond, Darcy Sawyer, Corey Buchan and Ryan Marks-Logan among their best players.