Team Talk Rd 15 | The Courier | August 6, 2023
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to our Sunday review of the Central Highlands and Ballarat Football Leagues.
00:04 I'm David Breo and I am joined as per usual by Edward Holland.
00:08 G'day David, how are ya?
00:09 Not too bad thanks.
00:10 Round 15 in each of the competitions, leaving two rounds to go before finals in the Central
00:16 Highlands and you've got three in the Ballarat Football Netball League.
00:20 Yeah, well the finals picture's starting to take shape and that's what round 15 was all
00:24 about so keen to dive into it.
00:27 Let's go through the Central Highlands first, we'll just keep viewers in abeyance perhaps
00:31 with some news out of the Ballarat League.
00:36 It was a big round, the top six teams meeting each other and I think it just started the
00:42 results of those games to sort of shape up the premiership race a little bit more.
00:49 Leading into this round I think it was fair to say the premiership race was wide open
00:54 but just a few match-ups at the weekend and a few results to me indicate that perhaps
01:01 it's down to three really serious hopes and that's Springbank, Gordon and Hepburn.
01:11 I put them ahead, just marginally at the moment, ahead of Bungaree.
01:18 The next factor is Dunstown because they'll be coming from an elimination final but I've
01:23 just got a feeling they're building at the right time of year.
01:27 And then we've got Carnham, Linton, Skipton and Newellin.
01:30 Now Carnham, Linton and Skipton can't be completely written off yet but the results of the weekend
01:37 and we'll go through those very shortly indicate that they're just going to be, well right
01:41 now they're a little bit short of the mark, what it takes to win a premiership and I think
01:46 Newellin is the team this year making up the numbers but we'll see what happens.
01:50 But anyway, those big games, first of all, went out to Wallace to watch Springbank and
01:57 Skipton.
01:58 Andy was a 63 point blowout to the Tigers.
02:02 They stole the match early, they dominated, the pressure on Skipton was just too much,
02:08 it found the emu's wanting.
02:11 Springbank, very impressive midfield, Steve Staunton in top form up forward and he was
02:17 such a big player last year and you just got the feeling that he's, after missing the first
02:22 half of the season, he's going to play a big role in the weeks ahead.
02:25 So big result there for Springbank.
02:27 They actually go to the top of the ladder.
02:29 They may not hold that because they've still got a bye to go but what it did, more than
02:34 anything, that win locked in a place in the top four, qualifying final, birth, double
02:40 chance in the first week of the finals which is what, once you've made the finals, that's
02:44 your next target.
02:45 So a really impressive win to Springbank.
02:48 Skipton will have to do some soul searching, just found wanting, although a good sign for
02:52 them was the return of Jethro Kirby.
02:55 Kick four goals in his first senior game in more than 12 months of a new reconstruction
03:00 so he'll only get better for that run.
03:02 But anyway, Springbank, the big winners there.
03:04 The other big games were Gordon against Carnham Linden, the reigning Premier.
03:08 Well they showed while they're still a benchmark team.
03:11 They beat the Saints by 58 points.
03:15 Just a reminder to Carnham Linden, look, they've done a fantastic job.
03:18 What are you laughing at?
03:19 They've done a fantastic job to come from absolutely nowhere this year.
03:23 Big recruiting campaign.
03:24 Hadn't won for a number of years.
03:26 They're playing finals.
03:27 They will play finals.
03:28 They don't think that this is, you know, it's not the end of the road in that sense because
03:33 they've still got a lot to play for but it was just a reminder by the Eagles to the Saints,
03:39 look, you're up with the big boys now and you've still got a little way to go and you've
03:44 only got a few weeks to find the improvement.
03:46 But still Clayton Scoble, the Carnham Linden coach, still quite upbeat.
03:52 Lesson learnt and that's why you want to play these good sides at the pointy end of the
03:56 season.
03:57 And Hepburn, back to their best.
03:59 They've been up and down this year but Coach Mitch Banner feels they're starting to get
04:04 some continuity with players even though they're still missing quite a few including their
04:08 star Andy McKay.
04:10 But yeah, they won, beat Bungaree by 29 points.
04:14 Bungaree's gone from being unbeaten on top to dropping their last two games against Gordon
04:20 and Hepburn.
04:21 Not far off the mark.
04:22 Again, Ryan Waite, he knew these were going to be challenging games and that, you know,
04:27 it wasn't going to be easy.
04:28 They're like Carnham Linden.
04:29 They've come from a fair way back this year to play finals.
04:32 They're sicker.
04:33 They've sat on top of the ladder for most of the year.
04:36 So they haven't done much wrong and they all have learnt and I think there's a lot that
04:41 they need to do to turn those around.
04:43 So interesting in the weeks to come.
04:45 Other results quickly, the closest one of the round was Dalesford and Warbra.
04:49 A three-point win to the Bulldogs.
04:52 Warbra hit the front in the dying minutes but Dalesford was able to pick the last goal
04:57 of the game and get the points there.
04:59 I've already mentioned Newland being in the finals.
05:03 So Newland, they had a comfortable win over Belan, 54 points there.
05:08 Bunning Yonge, they defeated Creswick by 20 points, not a lot in that.
05:13 And Clunes had their first win since way back in round five?
05:18 No, six.
05:20 Round six and they beat Beaufort by 23 points.
05:26 I think it was 23 points.
05:28 So they're happy to get back on the winning note.
05:31 So quickly, the top eight is settled and it sits at the moment Springbank, Gordon, Bungaree,
05:37 Hepburn, Carnham-Lynton, Skipton, Dunstown and Newland, which means Bungaree, Carnham-Lynton
05:43 and Newland, they've come into the top eight this year to play finals.
05:47 And the teams missing from last year are Learmonth, which were a disappointing, I think we even
05:52 mentioned them, did we?
05:53 A disappointing 58-point loser to Dunstown.
05:57 They had to win that to stay in the hunt and they were just not in the hunt, not in the
06:02 race.
06:03 A very good win by Dunstown.
06:08 So that's why Dunstown, I think, is a bit of an X-factor going into the finals.
06:13 So yeah, Learmonth missing out on the finals after last year, Bunning Yonge does and so
06:18 does Warbur.
06:19 So there you go.
06:20 So yeah, a lot still to come as far as the movement within the top eight goes.
06:27 But as far as the finals are concerned, we now know that it's season over for the likes
06:33 of Learmonth, who are still hoping that they may make it.
06:36 And for the other teams, two rounds to go, a couple of buyers in there, one being Springbank,
06:43 and we'll see how it all pans out.
06:44 But the challenge is there for some of the clubs still at the pointy end of the competition,
06:49 but I think with a bit of work to do to catch the big boys.
06:53 Okay, that was probably too long.
06:55 So there we go.
06:56 I think the top eight set.
06:58 Is there any chance of a Gordon and Skipton matchup in finals at all?
07:02 A Gordon and...
07:04 Skipton.
07:05 Would have to be in the second week of...
07:07 Would have to be the second week.
07:09 Gordon would have to lose.
07:10 Yeah.
07:11 And, which is not out of the question, why do you like that?
07:14 Oh, just their bogey team.
07:15 Oh, I see what you mean.
07:17 Will they avoid them?
07:18 Probably.
07:19 There you go.
07:20 Well, I think you said top eight set.
07:22 I think the top six is set in the BFNL as well.
07:26 Unless Rodin drops a game, they shouldn't to end the season.
07:30 But just going through the games from round 15.
07:33 So I was at Daly Park until midway through the third quarter and I ran down to Macpherson
07:40 Park because the Devils were just in control all day long against North Ballarat.
07:45 It was an impressive...
07:46 So there was no faith in the Roosters at that point?
07:49 No.
07:50 And I did have a little fight back as I was on the road.
07:52 I thought, "Oh no, this will teach me."
07:54 But yeah, no, Daly, 34-point win over the Roosters, yeah, in control.
07:58 And Dan Jordan admitted it was a controlling performance by his team.
08:02 And they're back to their early season best.
08:05 And why did you jump ship?
08:07 Not just because of that result.
08:08 Obviously, there was a bit of interest in the other one.
08:11 Yeah.
08:12 In the paper, it's a 27-point win for Melton, but it felt a lot closer than that.
08:16 Both coaches agreed it felt like a two-goal game.
08:18 And even in the final term, Sunbury got to within a kick.
08:23 And it was almost deja vu from their late season heroics last year.
08:28 But yeah, in the end, Melton got a few goals late and walked away with the win.
08:33 Looking at their run home, that pretty much locks up top spot.
08:37 But it was a big performance by the Lions.
08:40 And they can take, despite the result not going their way, Travis Hodgson said his side
08:44 can take a lot out of that as they build towards a return to finals.
08:49 I should just quickly note with that Daly Park game, North Ballarat were without Jack
08:54 Riding and Jamie Quick, so two of their most important players.
08:57 So Dan Jordan did acknowledge that it was a different looking North Ballarat side to
09:01 when they played earlier in the season in round nine, which was a thumping point, a
09:05 thumping win for the Roosters.
09:07 So a big swing and that kind of shows just how close the top four is in the BFNL, which
09:12 is pretty exciting.
09:13 Could that change in the finals, those players?
09:15 Yeah, so Jamie Quick just missed with a concussion, so he'll be back next week.
09:20 And Jack Riding was a late call-up for Werribee today.
09:23 So yeah, they'll be back playing.
09:26 Werribee, it's hard to get a game there with how well they're travelling.
09:29 So yeah, I think North Ballarat will be full strength come finals time and just running
09:34 through the rest of the round.
09:36 So Redan with a 55-point win against Lake Winderay, but Gary Linworth was not very happy
09:41 at all with his side.
09:42 They kicked 10 goals, 23.
09:43 Yes, I did see that.
09:44 Yeah, so an inaccurate game and he said, you know, take the four points and move on.
09:50 But for them, you know, four points is really important because they're in that East Point
09:55 summary, Redan, that little battle for the last two spots.
09:58 So if everything goes to plan, they've got games, they've got Lake Winderay, or they
10:05 just had Lake Winderay, they've got a few of the bottom teams coming up.
10:07 So they should get some wins.
10:08 Actually, actually, Melton South coming up.
10:09 So that's four points there.
10:10 But yeah, there's a last game of the round against Sebastopol, but by that time they
10:18 should already lock up their finals spot.
10:20 So yeah, it means the Lakers are kind of staring down the barrel of back-to-back one-win seasons.
10:26 They've got Bacchus Marsh next week.
10:28 So that's a 50-50 game, but I think Bacchus Marsh at home would head in favourites.
10:32 But yeah, after all of that, just back-to-back one-win seasons is not a good result at Lake
10:38 Elan.
10:39 And just the last game of the round, Bacchus Marsh with their first triple-digit win of
10:43 the season.
10:44 So last time they played, that was over Melton South.
10:46 Last time they played Melton South, it was a 98-point win.
10:50 So they were one of the only teams, apart from Melton South, without a triple-digit win.
10:55 But they got that on Saturday, 106-point win, Jaco on five goals.
10:59 And I should note, we'll just show a bit of love to the Melton South reserves.
11:03 They got their first win of the season over the Cobras with a two-point win.
11:07 I did mention that to you shortly after the game, and you nearly fell off your chair.
11:11 A little bit, a little bit, yeah.
11:12 But yeah, no, it's exciting times in the BFNL, even though the top six might be set, it's
11:17 just a matter of where those top four sides will fall.
11:20 Yeah, I think it's the same in the Central Highlands, as I said.
11:23 Top eight locked in now.
11:25 A lot of teams already looking to 2024, recruiting, et cetera, et cetera.
11:31 So yeah, a lot still to play out as we head towards finals.
11:36 Three rounds left, BFL, and two rounds left in the Central Highlands Football League.
11:42 Okay, I hope you've enjoyed our wrap-up of everything that occurred across all, certainly
11:48 the highlights across Round 15 in both the Ballarat and Central Highlands Football Leagues.
11:53 And we'll be back with you during the week with some more news, particularly team news
11:59 in both those competitions.