Huonville Lions ready for SFL finals showdown with Lindisfarne
Huonville will enter the SFL finals race full of confidence after a strong win over Lindisfarne, setting up a tantalising rematch next weekend. SEE THE FULL RESULTS AND STATS >>
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IT was a finals-like atmosphere and a finals-like performance by the Huonville Lions to beat Lindisfarne in the last round of the SFL season and secure a home final – a rematch against the Two Blues at Huonville Oval next Saturday.
A powerful first half set up the win and while Lindisfarne chased hard, they could not bridge the gap, the home side winning 14.10 (94) to 11.7 (73).
The Lions posted 13.7 to 5.7 to three-quarter time and even though Lindisfarne out-scored them in the last quarter, the damage was already done.
Huonville coach Billy Lamprill said the win was reward for effort.
“It was an important game for us. We’ve been building for the past month, and getting some players back on the park and getting consistency through the group,” Lamprill said.
“It was really pleasing the way we started and continued on and got the job done.
“The boys have worked really hard over the past six or seven weeks to get to this stage, and they deserved second spot, the double-chance and home final.”
Huonville’s form across the park makes it a threat in the finals.
“We didn’t have any passengers. We all played our role,” Lamprill said.
“Our forward line worked really well, our backline was really good and the midfield was on top of it as well, so a really pleasing effort across the board.
“It was a team-first attitude, which has been the approach for the past six weeks or two months.”
The crowd was loud and right behind both sides, but Lamprill predicts even more excitement at the second semi-final.
“It will be big, and we should have three side here too – colts, reserves and senior,” Lamprill said.
“It should be a really big day again.”
The Lions were led by the magnificence of Jack Philp, who cause the Two Blues trouble from one end of the ground to the other and kicked a bag of four goals, equalled by teammate and last year’s William Leitch Medal winner Ethan Brock.
Lion Alex Vincent drew the short straw to play on Lindisfarne forward Michael Blackburn, but kept him to only a single major while providing run and carry from defence.
Two Blues coach Michael Cassidy got off the chain to kick a bag of five and kept his side in the hunt, but the rest of his teammates could manage only singles.
Cygnet finished two games clear on top of the ladder to earn a rest in the first week of finals, after disposing of New Norfolk 22.12 (144) to 9.9 (63).
Hobart beat Brighton by 47 points, and Dodges Ferry beat Sorell by 66 and will host the Eagles in the first-semi.
SFL ROUND 18 RESULTS:
SORELL v DODGES FERRY
Dodges Ferry 4.10, 7.14, 11.17, 16.18 (114)
Sorell 1.2, 2.5, 5.7, 6.12 (48)
GOALS – Dodges Ferry: C. Hooker 6, T. Cannan 2, J. Dolliver 2, F. Hooker 2, R. Hooker 2, A. Kenny 1, R. McManus 1; Sorell: J. Cure 3, B. Mabb 1, C. Murfet 1, B. Pace 1.
BEST – Dodges Ferry: R. McManus, J. Manix, J. Bullock, R. Hooker, J. Dunn, A. Kenny; Sorell: A. Butterworth, N. Baker, J. Cure, B. Walker, J. Klok, J. Poke.
HOBART v BRIGHTON
Hobart 5.2, 6.4, 12.5, 16.7 (103)
Brighton 3.2, 4.2, 6.4, 8.8 (56)
GOALS – Hobart: B. Johnstone 5, D. Huxley 2, K. Phillips 2, L. Adams 2, B. Lockley 1, T. Spriggs 1, B. Daniels 1, A. Continenza 1, J. Moore 1; Brighton: R. Bailey 3, C. Salter 2, L. Arbuckle 1, N. Barker 1, A. Collis 1.
BEST – Hobart: A. Arnold, B. Johnstone, J. Pulford, B. Daniels, A. Continenza, J. Moore; Brighton: R. Bailey, J. Millhouse, J. Read, Z. Webb, S. Lewis-Johnson, B. Shaw.
NEW NORFOLK v CYGNET
Cygnet 8.3, 12.5, 17.7, 22.12 (144)
New Norfolk 3.1, 4.3, 5.7, 9.9 (63)
GOALS – Cygnet: J. Dance 5, J. Direen 4, J. Lane 4, J. Lister 2, B. Gordon 2, R. Jennings 1, J. Tammens 1, B. Livingston 1, S. Dean 1, L. Watt 1; New Norfolk: T. Ford 3, J. Clifford 2, B. Lovell 2, B. Chaplin 1, J. Bearman 1.
BEST – Cygnet: L. Ashlin, J. Zeitzen, B. Gordon, L. Watt, W. Polley, T. Cowen; New Norfolk: J. Sokolski, J. Wigg, T. Ford, J. Daley, R. Heron, B. Chaplin.
HUONVILLE v LINDISFARNE
Huonville Lions 4.1, 8.6, 13.7, 14.10 (94)
Lindisfarne 1.1, 3.3, 5.7, 11.7 (73)
GOALS – Huonville: E. Brock 4, J. Philp 4, M. Walker 2, T. Barnett 1, J. McIndoe 1, L. Ward 1, R. Ward 1; Lindisfarne: M. Cassidy 5, T. Westbury 1, M. Blackburn 1, D. Reimers 1, T. Roberts 1, S. Adams 1, S. Smith 1.
BEST – Huonville: J. Philp, R. Douglas, A. Vincent, E. Brock, B. Roberts, T. Barnett; Lindisfarne: T. Jaynes, S. Smith, L. Polanowski, A. Webster, M. Cassidy, M. Hutchinson.
BLOCKBUSTER CLASH TO DECIDE TOP SPOT
THE SFL top five is set with one round of the regular season remaining and Lindisfarne has set up a blockbuster clash with Huonville that will decide set spot.
The Two Blues overcame a sluggish start against a plucky Sorell on Saturday to run away 19.15 (129) to 6.5 (41) victors, a result that helped them leapfrog Huonville – who had the bye – into second.
A mouth-watering showdown between the two clubs now awaits next weekend, where the victor will grab the advantage of a home qualifying final.
At the other end of the top five, New Norfolk sewed up fifth courtesy of a narrow victory against Brighton, ending Hobart’s hopes after what has been nothing short of a disappointing and turbulent few months for the Tigers on and off the field.
In front of home fans at Anzac Park, Lindisfarne was unable to shake the Eagles until after the main break, but an eight-goal blitz in the last quarter padded out the margin.
Coach Michael Cassidy, who sat out the contest, said it was hard for his players to focus knowing what was awaiting in round 18 but praised his side for finishing full of running.
“It was a pretty solid contest, Sorell came out and played some good footy for two and a half, three quarters and really put it to us,” Cassidy said.
“Luckily our boys flicked the switch after half time and ran away with it a little bit.
“It would have been nice to get off to a good start but to Sorell’s credit they played some good footy.
“You try and get up as much as you can, but the boys did seem a bit flat, the football we played today was pretty flat for two and a half quarters.”
There will be no need for added motivation next week against the reigning premiers.
“We look forward to a nice little contest down at Huonville next Saturday to hopefully take second spot.”
Dodges Ferry is an outside chance of sneaking into third should Lindisfarne defeat Huonville, but the Sharks would need to make up significant percentage to relegate the Lions to fourth.
Dodges closed the gap with a 20.14 (134) to 6.3 (39) demolition job of Hobart, with Cam Hooker booting 10 goals to jump into equal first in the competition alongside Michael Blackburn.
But Hooker’s haul was still not the biggest of round 17, with Jordan Lane kicking 11 in Cygnet’s mauling of Claremont, with the Port piling on 46.27 (303) to zip.
STANDEN’S HAUL FALLS JUST SHORT OF RECORD TALLY
GOALKICKING ace Trent Standen booted 30 majors to sensationally bring up his century for the season, but fell agonisingly short of breaking the state record for most goals kicked by an individual in a match.
Standen, who plays for OHA in the Old Scholars Football Association, went into the match against Richmond at Geilston Bay Oval with 71 goals next to his name so far in 2021.
Standen, who formerly played with Clarence in the Tasmanian State League, had kicked 21 goals by half time and 27 at three-quarter-time.
He brought up his 100th for the season in the final quarter with players and supporters rushing to celebrate with him, before finishing with 30.12.
But Standen’s huge haul was not quite enough to outdo the 31 goals kicked in 2006 by East Ulverstone’s Jamie Auton against West Ulverstone, believed to be the highest number kicked in a senior match in Tasmania.
“When I woke up this morning, it surely didn’t come into my mind that I was going to kick 30 goals, that’s for sure,” Standen said.
“It’s a little bit unbelievable to be honest. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Standen, whose previous biggest haul of goals in a single game was 12, said he was unaware he was so close to the record until after the match.
“It didn’t really cross my mind and then after the game, the boys started to do a bit of research, and they said that I was two goals shy,” he said.
AFL Tasmania historian David Ingram said Standen’s haul, including 42 shots at goal on the day, was incredible.
“Thirty goals in a game is remarkable,’’ he said.
OHA’s 46.26 (302) to 2.4 (16) victory meant Richmond remained winless in season 2021.
The result is one of many massive scorelines seen this season, including Sheffield kicking a score of 443 against Rosebery-Toorak in May.
It was the highest known score kicked by a Tasmanian team in a senior match since 1993, the fourth-highest ever and the largest score in the history of the North West Football Association.
SHARKS AIM TO BITE TIGERS ON THEIR WAY TO SFL FINALS
DODGES Ferry aims to stay in the race for an SFL qualifying final with a win over Hobart at Shark Park on Saturday while the Tigers hope to sneak into the top five with two games to go.
Sharks full-forward Cam Hooker kicked 2.4 in their 58-point win over New Norfolk last weekend and the spearhead will try to fix his radar for Hobart.
The win over the Eagles was the response Dodges Ferry was looking for after being tested by Brighton.
“The boys went into the game wanting to play our best footy and we did — we played some really strong, free-flowing footy and it was a really good team effort,” Hooker said.
“I just about started up a butchery — I missed a fair few shots but I managed to get my hands on the ball a fair bit.
“I didn’t put them away as much as I would have liked, so I’m hoping to do a bit better this week.”
Hobart will be a challenge, despite the Sharks losing only once at home this season, to Huonville Lions.
“Hobart’s a young team that has copped a fair hiding with injuries, and they’ve got to win to make finals,” Hooker said.
“They will throw the kitchen sink at us to try to get the win but we have got a lot to prove.
“We’re coming to the pointy end. We’ve secured our spot in the finals but we want to take third spot, so we’re going to have to play some of our best footy to push deep into the finals.”
After beating Hobart by 52 points, Lindisfarne onballer Zac Mastracola had advice for Dodges.
“Get a fast start because they a pretty quick starters,” Mastracola said.
“If you don’t get a good lead going into the quarter-time break they will hang around, like they did with us.”
Lindisfarne coach Michael Cassidy (shoulder) and Sam Adams will miss their match against Sorell at Anzac Park, while Mastracola returns along with Ryan Edmondson for his first game since round two.
In other games, Brighton is at home to New Norfolk, and after losing Brighton by 203 points Claremont travels to Cygnet to face the premiership favourite.
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