MPNFL 2021: Mt Eliza edges Sorrento in Division 1 thriller
Melbourne captain Max Gawn was caught up in the drama as hundreds of Mt Eliza fans poured onto the ground after an MPNFL thriller.
Mornington
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The scenes were reminiscent of a grand final win.
When the final siren sounded at Mt Eliza on Saturday, a mighty roar went up and hundreds of Redlegs fans sprinted on to Madsen Reserve to celebrate their side’s gripping four-point win over Sorrento.
A goal in the last 30 seconds by Mt Eliza forward Shawn Watson put the home side back in front at precisely the right time, securing a 12.8 (80) to 11.10 (76) victory.
But the reaction of fans, many of them Mt Eliza under 19 players, was something else. It proved local footy was back — and thriving.
“That’s coming from our kids, I’ve got to calm them down a bit, they’re a bit crazy,” Mt Eliza coach Steve Brattle said on Sunday.
“Local footy is really going okay I think.”
A group of Melbourne Demons players, including captain Max Gawn, watched the drama unfold.
They were there to support their former teammate and Sorrento coach Luke Tapscott.
Gawn happily chatted to the crowd and posed for photos, and nodded in approval when asked if he’d enjoyed the gripping contest.
Mt Eliza trailed by 25 points at half-time before kicking five goals to one in the third quarter — ignited by Will Antonie, who slotted three majors in a row — to grab a two-point lead at the last change.
Sorrento surged ahead early in the last quarter after a crucial goal by Leigh Poholke, his sixth for the afternoon.
But the Redlegs came again, with Harrison Scott and Aiden Smith booting goals, and then Watson’s big mark and match-winning set shot goal from about 30 metres out.
It was Mt Eliza’s first win over Sorrento since the Sharks have been back in the top grade, and Brattle was delighted his side responded in that tense final quarter.
“We’re learning something every week,” Brattle said.
“At three-quarter-time I said, ‘it’s a Mt Eliza trait to fall in a hole here’.
“‘So if you want to do something about earning some respect this next 25 minutes better be it’. They hung on well.
“I said, ‘there are a lot of people standing around this ground listening to the same stuff, the same message. They’ve been hearing it for years’. I said, ‘do me a favour, get it done so we don’t have to go back into the rooms and have the same story told to us about what we could have done’.
“We took a really good step yesterday.
“There’s a bit of belief there, too.”
Bailey Breen, Tom Small, Jeremy Burton and Jordan Rouse had a big say in Mt Eliza’s gritty last quarter finish.
Rouse went into the ruck after Lewis Pierce let the ground after bumping his head on the ground.
The former St Kilda ruckman has had serious concussion issues in the past so no chances were taken.
“We just rested him,” Brattle said.
“He got a bit of bump and he was just feeling a bit groggy so we left him off the ground.”
Strong-marking Watson finished with three goals, including the match winner.
“If we can work out how to get it out the front of him, to one side, he’s hard to beat,” Brattle said of Watson.
Former Gold Coast and Hawthorn midfielder Mitch Hallahan and big Nick Corp gave dominating performances for Sorrento.
Mt Eliza has had two wins and a draw from its four games.
The Redlegs face Edi-Asp next weekend.
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