Morwell and Traralgon to play in Gippsland league finals week one
One of country footy’s biggest rivalries returns for a finals showdown between Traralgon and Morwell.
Morwell is the wildcard of the Gippsland league finals series starting this weekend after scraping into fifth spot with another win against a top-five team in Sale by eight points in the last round.
The club, which had a mass exodus of players in the off-season, needed to beat third-placed Sale and hoped Traralgon rolled Maffra which it did.
The Morwell-Traralgon rivalry is one of the biggest in country football dating back more than a century and the two old foes meet in the elimination final on Sunday.
They have met 33 times in finals with Traralgon holding sway 17-15 with one draw.
But Morwell’s record against top-five teams this year is impressive.
It has beaten Sale, Traralgon and Wonthaggi and pushed undefeated Leongatha to five points.
“I think we fully deserve to get there and hopefully we’re good enough to stay there for a number of weeks,” Morwell coach Denis Knight said.
“I’m new to the area to some degree, but whether you’re from Morwell or Traralgon they both feel the rivalry clearly.”
Morwell was given little chance of playing finals this year.
“When I first came here everyone wanted to play,” Knight said.
“They saw where we were going and came from everywhere.
“Last year everything fell out of the joint and we wouldn’t be the only footy club for that to happen.”
He is handing over the coaching reins to Boyd Bailey, who kicked the match-sealing goal after the siren against Sale.
Sale takes on Wonthaggi in the qualifying final with Wonthaggi winning both meetings this year by eight and one point.
Sale had a host of stars missing against Morwell including Trood Award and Rodda Medal favourite Shannen Lange, but he will be back for finals.
“Our form over the past couple of months has been really good,” Sale coach Jack Johnstone said.
“We had a really good win against Traralgon in the wet a couple of weeks ago.
“The boys are up and about and this is a minor hiccup.
“We’re in the real stuff now.”
He said Leongatha deserved to be flag favourites heading into finals.
“They’re going to take some beating and hopefully we’re the ones who can do it,” he said.
Leongatha finished five games clear on top.
MATCH DAY WRAP
Morwell has snuck into the Gippsland league finals series at the expense of perennial powerhouse Maffra with an eight point victory over Sale in the last round on Saturday.
Hit by a player exodus during Covid, Morwell was expected to battle this season, but has forced its way into finals and plays arch rival Traralgon in the elimination final next Sunday.
Morwell coach Denis Knight is handing over the coaching reins to Boyd Bailey at the end of the season and his successor sealed the win against Sale with a goal after the siren after it had closed to two points in time on.
“I think we fully deserve to get there and hopefully we’re good enough to stay there for a number of weeks,” Knight said.
“I’m new to the area to some degree, but whether you’re from Morwell or Traralgon they both feel the rivalry clearly.
“Rivalry plays a part, but we will just do our job.”
Morwell kicked with the breeze in the final term and outscored Sale three goals to one despite the efforts of coach Jack Johnstone, Jack and Will Leslie and Jack McLaren.
Sale went into the match without five regulars, most notably, Trood Award and Rodda Medal favourite Shannen Lange, Ryan Pendlebury and Kane Martin.
Most are expected to return for Saturday’s qualifying final against Wonthaggi.
Will be a great occasion at Morwell FNC today when the club renames the grandstand the Stan Morgan Pavilion. He's the greatest volunteer in Morwell's history, having raised more than $1.2 million through the club bingo. He oversaw it for 40 years. Remarkable. pic.twitter.com/luNWrcD3vO
— Paul Amy (@PaulAmy375) August 20, 2022
But, the honours belonged to Morwell on the same day the club recognised long serving administrator, the late Stan Morgan, by naming the changerooms and grandstand facility in his honour.
Bailey finished the day with a game high 32 possessions for Morwell in addition to the match sealing goal and Tyler Brown had 26 disposals off halfback.
Brandon McDonald booted four goals in a low scoring game and Tristen Waack played a great game in a variety of roles.
Waack and Zach Carlson kicked important goals into the breeze for Morwell in the third term.
Maffra’s chances of beating Traralgon evaporated in the first term when Traralgon produced a nine goal to one first term.
Star forward Brett Eddy kicked three of his five goals for the match in the opening quarter blitz helped by a strong wind.
But Maffra’s cause wasn’t helped by a string of costly turnovers.
It has played in every finals series since 1999 which has included eight flags.
OVENS AND MURRAY
ALBURY has endured a day of carnage on the eve of finals in an eight-point loss against old foes Yarrawonga on Saturday.
The biggest casualty was co-coach and former Richmond and Gold Coast midfielder Anthony Miles, who suffered a suspected broken ankle, which required an ambulance to be called to the Yarrawonga ground.
There was more bad news with Michael Duncan suffering a hamstring injury.
The latest Albury casualties come hot on the heels of recent long term injuries to Daniel Cross, Fletcher Carroll and Jake Gaynor.
The match was in the balance when Miles went down, but Yarrawonga piled on three late goals to grab the points.
Lucas Conlan had held star Yarrawonga forward Leigh Williams to one goal before he kicked two late.
Jacob Conlan kicked five goals for Albury after a string of recent appearances for Greater Western Sydney’s VFL team.
Albury is still guaranteed of finishing third with one match remaining and Yarrawonga plays ladder leader Wangaratta in a final round blockbuster.
OMEO AND DISTRICT
Swifts Creek has booked a berth in the grand final against Lindenow South with a thrilling five-point win against Swan Reach in extra time in the preliminary final.
At the final siren, Swifts Creek and Swan Reach were locked together on 54 points before Swifts Creek finally emerged victorious 10.6 (66) to 8.13 (61).
Swifts Creek had trailed by 17 points at three quarter time before mounting a final term fightback.
Che Davies, who had kicked only four goals for the entire season, was one of heroes for Swifts Creek when he booted four goals for the match.
Robbie Crellin and Cameron Johnson were also among the best for the victors.
Lucky Whelan kicked five goals for Swan Reach and coach Joel Waters also played leading roles.
The grand final between Lindenow South and Swifts Creek will be played at Omeo next Saturday.
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