Top 50 moments of the GDFL H&A season (PART 2)

Top 50 moments of the GDFL H&A season (PART 2)

Continued from yesterday’s Part 1 Edition

The league commenced its 50 day countdown over the weekend to the opening round of the 2018 GDFL season.

The opening round will feature a twilight match between Geelong West and Winchelsea before Anakie host Thomson the following afternoon.

To mark the milestone we’ve looked back on our top 50 moments of the 2017 home and away season in senior football and A-Grade netball (this excludes finals and medal nights).

 

 

  1. Fifth Time Lucky For Centurions

A five goal effort from Daniel Boyd enabled Werribee to secure its first win for the season thanks to a strong start against Thomson in Round 5.

Nathan Johnson and reigning club best and fairest Dion Lawson would win contest after contest while the Centrals backline capitalised on the absence of Thomson legend Jackson Macleod.

Lawson, who has since moved on from the GDFL to Apollo Bay, would ultimately receive the three Whitley medal votes ahead of Phillip Jones.

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Teenager Bradley Carlton also starred throughout the first half in a year which would see him take out his first of (potentially) many best and fairest awards.

Despite a horrid 1.1 (7) to 6.1 (37) opening term the Tigers would go onto close the final margin despite the absence of a mass of players.

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Inspirational playing coach Reece Holwell managed to collect a Whitley medal vote.

He would be joined by teammate Samuel Jacka when representing the interleague side the following week.

Thomson 12 .10 (82) def by. Werribee 15.10 (100)

 

 

  1. Canadian Makes His Mark

East Geelong’s lowest score for the season was swept under the rug such was the significance of the events on the other side of the fence.

For the second straight year the Vietnam War Veterans association commemorated the battle of Long Tan with ceremonies pre-match with a best on ground medal was awarded in each game.

It was also Ladies Day. Players also donned orange shoelaces for the Step Back foundation.20733132_10208896964014316_167112058_n

And if all this wasn’t enough Canadian Steve Setka made his senior debut for East Geelong collecting eight disposals (six handballs)!

“When Bails (East Geelong coach Shane Bailey) called out my name for senior side this week I was in the middle of my dinner and honestly wasn’t paying full attention,” Setka admitted.

“I really didn’t expect my name to be called out; I pulled my head up with a big smile as I heard ‘Canada’ and a few roars from the club room.”

“Heaps of players, coaches and friends came over to congratulate me at the end of selection.”

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada Setka made the moved to Whistler, British Columbia after his university studies where he became acquainted with many Australians snow enthusiasts.

He could then no longer hold back the desire to move to Australia by 2017 and called Geelong home before moving back last year.

“I contacted a few local clubs in my area and the first club to reach out to me was Shane Bailey (East Geelong coach) who graciously invited me down to training,” Setka reflected.

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“Although my skills were dodgy I absolutely loved it and kept coming back over and over for pre-season training on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays.”

East Geelong 3.7 (25) def by. Bannockburn 13.16 (94)

 

 

  1. Fairchild The Round 1 Hero

Steve Setka was not the only 2017 GDFL star to come from overseas.

After a year abroad Anakie young gun Nic Fairchild returned to the scene in Round 1 to secure the Roos a spot in the top five with his five goal tally.

“The afternoon had to be arguably one of the most memorable and enjoyable wins I ever played in,” said GDFL junior reporter Mark Pope.Nic Fairchild

“It was so good to play with all the blokes I played junior footy with and to line up with my man Nic “Five Goal” Fairchild after a year across the pond.”

“We just couldn’t believe he kicked all those goals.”

The match also marked the return of (now) three time best and fairest Luke Wilson who polled three Whitley medal votes ahead of Jordan Kavanagh (2) and Werribee’s Phillip Jones (1).

Pre-match a ceremony took place in honour of the club’s late president Noel Tucker with the stalwart’s family members raising the club’s flag in his honour.

A win would have been just as fitting for the visitors that afternoon following the off-season passing of senior player Jarryd Ramsay to cancer.

Anakie 13.11 (89) def Werribee 10.17 (77)

 

 

  1. Roos Down Blues

It’s not often a side is held goalless for an hour and then somehow manages to win a senior game of football.

Anakie captain Jamie Phillis found avenue to goal moments after the final break to end the Roos’ drought and secure a tight seven point win.

Justin Lewis and Jeremy Sluggett slowly added to the score-sheet before ruckman Luke Wilson was able to halt the visitors’ final assault with a strong mark at half back.

The siren would then sound 40 seconds later to secure a victory in Wilson’s 100th senior game.

Wilson

“That wasn’t our best win for this season but rather our most gutsy effort,” Anakie coach Chris Moore said post-match.

“We simply didn’t play the four quarters of footy that was required today and our kicking certainly cost us in front of goal.”

“We were lucky both sides had difficulty and I said to the boys in the post match, we can’t take gutsy efforts like today if we’re going to contend for September.”

Wilson was named best on ground, Phillis again proved to be the most reliable in the middle and (then) co-coach Jamie Grace found two goals earlier in the day.

By this stage of the season Moore believed the gap between his top tier talents and his emerging senior players was closing by the week.

And it proved to be the case on paper.

“It’s not just those same names that get the job done each week, I think now you’d have to put Mitch White in that category,” Moore added.

“We’re talking about a guy who kept Jak Kennedy Hunt (Inverleigh) to four goals which we now know is a top effort.”

Anakie 8.20 (68) def Winchelsea 8.13 (61)

 

 

  1. Panther Party Under Lights

Here’s a trivia question.

Which side conceded the opening three goals before recording a 167-point win?

The premiership bound Panthers would respond with 11 straight majors over the next half hour before a large Saturday evening crowd immersed around Winchelsea’s Eastern Reserve.

The powerhouse registered a final score line of 33.24 (222) which was just five points shy of the club’s highest score line at the Eastern Reserve when they posted 34.23 (227) in Round 18, 2015.

Jayden Ettridge slotted nine goals while Nick Costello and Justin Tarr found five each.

Jake Barlow also grabbed a Whitley medal vote for his efforts in each aerial contest, it was by this stage he was no longer the young member of the group according to coach Brad Martin.

“In the middle we have a new core group that has stepped up in Tane Rabbas, Jack Yates, Mitch Gavin and Luke Mann and all these guys aren’t even premiership players,” Martin said post-match.

“We have a core of 30 to 32 guys that can play at top level whereas in previous seasons we were at that 20 to 22 mark.”

He added, “Justin Tarr has returned fitter and kicked five and I can definitely confirm ‘Cossie’ kicked five… because he counted them and told me after,” Martin laughed.

It was a night to forget for the home side.

An ambulance was called for returning Blue Jared Dunkley who suffered a heavy concussion after laying a tackle in front of the clubrooms before the first break.

Aspiring junior talent Caleb Brown then suffered a shoulder injury soon before Jackson Smith and Bailey Kahle hobbled off the ground with ankle injuries.

Winchelsea 9.1 (55) def by. Bell Post Hill 33.24 (222)

 

 

  1. A Close Call For A Tiger Legend

Bell Post Hill’s 30 point win over modern rival Bannockburn was all but forgotten about 24 hours later once word had got out that the Tiger legend Brad Watts had been hospitalised.

The match was won by the Panthers veterans such as Adrian Fantella with 27 disposals and who combined for 20 marks with Shane Lymer.

Even Nick Costello and Luke Turner perfected the art of a small forward in the first half only to be upstaged by Caleb Bacely with a three goal haul in the final term.

Yet it was the 206 game veteran Watts who would spend six nights at Geelong’s University Hospital after copping an accidental knock to the kidney with seconds remaining in the game.

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The 30-year-old underwent surgery on the Sunday night for a bleed re-ruptured, one which they were able to stop without removing the kidney.

“The kidney is still badly damaged and they can’t really estimate to what state it may heal,” Watts told KRock football the following weekend.

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Bell Post Hill giant Renn Lovitt would go on to capture the three Whitley medal votes in this game ahead of Tane Rabbas while Tiger Jack Brauman collected his final vote at Victoria Park.

“Tane Rabbas set up the first ten minutes of our last quarter and found two late goals himself and Mitch Gavin even impressed in the middle,” Bell Post Hill coach Brad Martin said post-match.

Bannockburn 7.13 (55) def Bell Post Hill 12.13 (85)

 

 

  1. Werribee Continue Winning Ways

We had waited seven weeks for the A-Grade grand final rematch.

And it delivered with Werribee holding off Bannockburn by the narrowest of margins.

While Eleanor Tubbs proved once again why she is one of our league’s most accurate scorers, let’s instead reflect on the afternoon through the photography of April Masters Smith.

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Bannockburn 32 def by. Werribee 33

 

 

  1. The Smith & Berg Show

Winchelsea added an Encompass Cup to the trophy cabinet when the Blues stormed home to record a 34-point victory over Belmont in Round 7.

Tyson Berg stood tall from contest to contest to kick two (of his four) crucial goals in the final term to help snap his side’s three game losing streak.

Jackson Smith made for a worthy team of the year nominee with a whopping 45 disposals on this day to bring him to 11 Whitley medal votes from seven games.

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“I don’t think it was the best game to watch but it was still a good way to start the month we are entering,” Winchelsea coach Brendan Forssman said post-match.

The Ben Vardy inspired Lions scored six of the final seven goals of the third term to claim a 10-point lead at the final change but it would not be enough.

“It’s a full credit to our boys after Belmont climbed back to claim a two goal lead,” Forssman said.

“Obviously they (Belmont) played really well in that third quarter and came back at us but once we adjusted to their play we ran the game out really well.”

Winchelsea by this stage was one of four sides sitting two points out of the top five with a 3-4 record.

But the spotlight remained on the Blues throughout the week.

Former Lion John Hambrook received a yellow card for abusive language towards an umpire, a disappointing infringement given the match recognised umpires with all abilities.

“I get disappointed when any of my players get sent off and as a coach,” Forssman said.

“I’ve always had a rule that if you get sent off the punishment is to wash my work van on the Tuesday night.”

Belmont 13.14 (92) def by. Winchelsea 19.12 (126)

 

 

  1. Winchelsea Celebrate Sunday Win

There was an aura of magic on Sunday the 4th of June.

The entire region ventured down to Winchelsea who played host to the AFL Victoria Worksafe game of the month between the Blues and Geelong West.

And Winchelsea’s A-Grade side looked set to record its maiden win for the season when leading the Giants 33 to 26 at half time.

Winch

However with scores locked at 43 a piece at the final break, nothing was set in stone as Blues’ star Meg Royal recalled.

“It was a credit to the Giants for being able to pull back to within a few goal s,” Royal said.

“By that stage the fatigue had well and truly set in.”

Thankfully for the Blues fans the final whistle would sound to signal a historic 56 to 55 win.

Ebony Berg and eventual club best and fairest Eliza Cole led the way in the final quarter before Royal was announced as best on court and recipient of the Worksafe medal.

“Honestly the medal could have gone to anyone on that court that day, it was a real collective team effort,” Royal said.

“I was confident that if our defenders were able to create a turn over then we could capitalise on it.”

“Our flow coming out of defence just clicked and once it got into our goal ring it was not coming out until that goal was scored so kudos to the accuracy and rebounding ability of the goallers.”

Both sides would finish the A-Grade season with a 2-1-15 winning record nevertheless it was this day which was cherished most by Royal who finished with 13 Webb medal votes in 2017.

Winch girls

“It was seriously a huge team effort where we were able to dig deep and back each other when it was coming down to the wire,” Royal added.

“And it didn’t matter what combinations were run, everyone had confidence in each other whereby we were all responsible for one opposition player defensively.”

Winchelsea 56 def Geelong West 55

 

 

  1. Celebrity Comparison For Holwell

Outlandish statements are often made within the confines of the GDFL broadcast van each week, a tradition nearing its 30th year in our region.

Some are for the purpose of humour and others for the state of local football however nobody dared to debate the theory put forward at 4:30pm on our July 1, 2017.

Is Reece Holwell the Joel Selwood of the GDFL?

Or even the equivalent for the region at local level?

The question was aired in Round 12 just moments after the Thomson playing coach returned to the ground after a sickening clash of heads with his teammate James Menzies.

The Whitley medal contender had collected his standard 27 disposals by this stage and led the goal-kicking with a tally of four majors on the eve of the final break.

However upon returning to the forward line the ball winner would clash heads with Menzies and return to the bench with blood pouring down his forehead.

“If I wasn’t mates with him I’d say ‘probably yes, he is’ but he never pumps me up so I’m not going to pump him up in return,” his co-coach Brent Taylor laughed.

“What he does is weird, that courage displayed is just him. He’s not a prolific vote-getter but everyone around here notices his work rate at the club.”

“That’s just him, he might get anywhere from 25-35 touches each week and 98% of them are always contested,” Thomson coach Brent Taylor said.

While the nickname ‘co-coach courageous’ may not roll of the tongue Holwell finished with 32 disposals (22 kicks) and a headband of medical tape.

And his continuous tally of free kicks reflected his ruthless Selwood like endeavor for the ball before and after his collision.

hol

Bannockburn 16.13 (109) def Thomson 9.8 (62)

 

 

Thank you for reading Part 2/5.

Which match do you predict will top our list?

Email gdflmedia@outlook.com for your suggestions or follow the league on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

By Alex Tigani
GDFL Media (20/02/2018)

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