Sam Van Taarling etches his name into Gisborne Giants folklore with match-winning kick
Gisborne Giants have experienced a lot of first this season but perhaps none bigger than Sam Van Taarling’s after-the-siren match-winner.
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As one of the first 22 players, Sam Van Taarling already had his name etched in Gisborne Giants history.
On Saturday he achieved something even more impressive, he kicked a goal that will go down in club folklore.
With seconds left in the weekend’s clash with Melton Centrals at Macedon Ranges Sports Precinct, it was Van Taarling who won a free-kick and then took his moment, kicking the match-winning goal after the siren to secure a heart-stopping five-point victory.
The 16.15 (111) to 16.10 (106) triumph is the Giants’ second win in their debut Riddell District season.
Best-on-ground Tom Doyle levelled the scores with almost 30 minutes gone in the final quarter and a Centrals behind looked to have snatched a thrilling win.
However, with 11 goals kicked in the fourth term the clock kept ticking and after an exhausting 36 minutes Gisborne made one final push with Van Taarling coming up clutch.
“It was really exciting to watch, it’s not often you see two sides each kick 16 goals and have nearly 50 inside 50s each. It was very entertaining,” Giants coach Andrew Hall said.
“We were able to run out the game a little bit stronger and the opportunity came our way, Sammy floated forward and made a good decision.
“It was fairytale stuff for us.
“It was a pity someone had to lose, it was one of those games that was just a great spectacle.
“We played Sam up the ground, he played as a defensive wing. At 190cm he has an elite running capacity and is a very good kick.
“One of the challenges of local footy is to develop extra strings to players’ bows and what we’ve seen in recent weeks has been really impressive.”
After a competitive outing against league-leader Diggers Rest, the Giants were thumped by 157 points by Riddell and then 79 points by Macedon either side of a two-week bye due to the King’s Birthday weekend break.
To bounce back and kick the club’s highest score as a senior outfit was a proud moment for Hall.
“I said to the players after the Riddell game it was a real wake-up call,” he said.
“They came off their break breathing fire and keen to make amends for their loss to Diggers Rest, so it was the perfect storm.
“We’ve learnt a lot of important lessons and the group was certainly embarrassed by the loss.
“The expectation of the season was always to be competitive, we been competitive in periods but it’s a sustained period that is important.
“From a win-loss ratio, the club was fantastic, they said let’s build a list, be competitive and have a few KPIs to measure that and so fair we’ve been able to tick off those boxes.”
Doyle and captain Brad Mangan both booted three goals, while Hisham Kerbatieh threatened to win the game off his own boot for Melton Centrals with eight majors.
Swinging between centre half-forward and the ruck, Doyle was a dominant presence around the ground.
“I thought our young group, with Mangan and Quigley outstanding, Tom Doyle has massive x-factor and can turn a game and Cam Freake one of our younger inside mids,” Hall said.
“Tom had 16 marks, he had a high-level of contested possessions and he is super courageous – very much team-first and selfless.”
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Freake finished with a game-high 38 disposals, while Matt Quigley finished with 34 with Josh Lee and Brodie Andrews also among the best.
For Centrals, Kerbatieh was a standout along with Jake Armistead, Sam Apineru and Anthony Piva.
Gisborne will now turn its attention to Romsey, hoping not to suffer a drop-off.
Barring an upset over the Redbacks, the club will hunt its third win of the year when it hosts winless Lancefield in Round 13.
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