By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE latest chapter in the long and storied local rivalry between Buln Buln and Neerim-Neerim South will long be one of the most memorable after the Cats clawed their way to a one-goal win in their do or die semi final at Kooweerup’s Denhams Road ground – 11.4 (70) to 9.10 (64).
A big crowd packed the ground on a perfect day for footy, and it was the Cats who got off to a lightning start – stunning the Lyrebirds with six goals to one in the opening term.
But an incident at the start of the second term threatened change the whole complexion of the game as Neerim South star Mick Urie was red-carded for striking. With one of the Cats’ most accomplished players sent off the ground for the remainder of the game (and, as the Gazette understands, straight to the tribunal next week), and restricted to just 17 men on the field for the bulk of the second quarter, the Lyrebirds saw their opportunity and sprung into life – roaring back to trail by just a point at the half, 6.2 (38) to 5.7 (37), off the back of Matt Gray’s work in the ruck, and Tyson Bale and Mitch Nobelius lifting noticeably through the middle of the ground.
It was little surprise that the likes of Gray, player-coach Brent Eastwell, Bryce Monahan and Brad Virgona – the Lyrebirds’ veteran leaders – all started to have a significant impact at the coalface. An ugly knee injury late in the term to Jimmy Taylor, however, balanced the scales in terms of the available players on the bench.
But when it came to players impacting the contest, no one did so more than Chris Urie. In fact, no single player has impacted any game more all season than Urie did against the old rivals. Arguably the league’s best player, Urie – the 2009 league best and fairest winner and former Geelong VFL player – seemed to turn his game up another couple of levels as the Lyrebirds upped the ante.
The pressure from both sides was the lasting legacy of the third term, with turnover after turnover, skill error after skill error. But that’s the pressure of finals footy.
Entering the last with a 13-point lead over the reigning EDFL East division premiers, Jack Halligan’s men knew their work was far from done. A stunning chase down and goal from Urie set the tone of the term but Gray and Bale were lifting through the middle, as was Nobelius who no longer had Chris’ brother Mick to worry about.
An end-to-end goal from the Lyrebirds at the 20-minute mark levelled the scores – and Cats coach Halligan admitted after the game his heart was beating out of his chest in the closing stages.
But there was a thrilling conclusion still to play out. With the man on the mark 35 metres out on a slight angle, Chris Redl (who booted six last week) calmly slotted the match-winner with less than a minute left on the clock. Halligan later said he had complete confidence that the in-form goal-kicker would get the job done, but it made the finish to the low-scoring game no less thrilling. The Cats finished with a sensational 62 tackles for the contest – including 20 in the final term – but lost the inside-50 count 46-29. Chris Urie’s game will long be remembered by those in attendance at Denhams Road, but Dean Stringer, Nathan Bayne, Calum Shiels and Aaron Fawcett were also outstanding. For the Lyrebirds, the contest almost unfairly marked a straight sets finals exit for a top four side, but for the Cats – the ultimate challenge next week…. the undefeated Cobras at Western Park.
For so much more on the game, including post-match thoughts from Cats coach Jack Halligan and a range of action photos, pick up a copy of this week’s Gazette – out first thing Wednesday morning.
Click the videos below to watch Chris Redl calmly slot the match-winner (after a rather deliberate approach to his set shot); and the Cats rip the paint of the walls in the Denhams Road rooms with a massive rendition of their song.
