By David Nagel
Due to the extension of the latest Covid-lockdown home-and-away football has officially been cancelled in the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (WGFNC) for the 2021 season.
Six finals hopefuls, Phillip Island, Inverloch-Kongwak, Tooradin-Dalmore, Nar Nar Goon, Cora Lynn and Garfield still have their collective fingers crossed in the hope that some sort of finals series can take place – beginning at the earliest on Saturday, 11 September.
And while that likelihood is diminishing quickly by the day, those six teams still have a glimmering hope of lifting this year’s silverware.
But for the six teams that didn’t make the cut their seasons are finished, boots polished, mouthguards disinfected and jumpers folded nicely in the bottom draw as they take a break and hopefully look forward to an uninterrupted 2022 pre-season.
Dave Nagel takes a close look at the teams that finished outside the top six this year…beginning with seventh-placed Warragul Industrials.
Warragul Industrials – 7th
Players Used: 35
Played Every Game: 8
Shots at Goal Created: 208
Shots at Goal Converted: 114 – 54.81 per cent
Top-3 Goalkickers: Anthony Bruhn 21, Michael Debenham 13, Jackson Mockett 12
Best Performance: Round 11 – 79-69 win over Nar Nar Goon
Worst Performance: Round 8 – 60-86 loss to Bunyip
Summary
When assessing the Dusties this year we need to remember two things. Where they have come from? And how many new players they have on their list this year? Just flick the clock back a bit to the much simpler days of 2019, when the Dusties finished last, with just two wins, in their first season in the WGFNC. What an absolute tribute to the competitive spirit of this club that they took that negative experience on board and set about building a list that could eventually challenge for a title. They’re still a long way off the mark, but the appointment of coach Harmit Singh and the inclusion of a stack of a new faces was always going to take time to gel. We saw the true potential of the Dusties in their most recent performance against Nar Nar Goon – a 10-point away win that wreaked of character and was the sort of victory that really does build belief. It’s a shame we won’t see the Dusties in action again this year…but with some further restocking they’re going to be a team to watch in the coming years.
Best and Fairest Contenders: Shane Brewster, Will Gibson, Corey Micari, Michael Debenham, Jackson Mockett.
Bunyip – 8th
Players Used: 35
Played Every Game: 6
Shots at Goal Created: 210
Shots at Goal Converted: 96 – 45.71 per cent
Top-3 Goalkickers: Jackson Dalton 14, Jason Williams 11, Brent Heus 10
Best Performance: Round 8 – 86-60 win over Warragul Industrials
Worst Performance: Round 5 – 18-173 loss to Phillip Island
Summary
Let’s be honest, we all had high hopes for the Bulldogs this year after some terrific recruiting that included some class acts from Narre Warren including Michael Collins and Dylan and Ryan Quirk. Throw in former Cora Lynn star Jackson Dalton and Springvale ruckman Agape Patolo and the Bulldogs, who only missed finals by .38 percent in 2019 were expected to make a charge. But after two early wins, and a spirited 10-point loss to Nar Nar Goon in round four, the Bulldogs hit a real flat patch. Yes, injuries to Collins, Patolo, Ryan Quirk, and Jye Keath didn’t help, but back-to-back losses of 155 points against Phillip Island, and 62 points against Cora Lynn, gave us a clear understanding of where the Bulldogs’ finals hopes really did sit this year. But, despite not living up to early expectations, all is definitely not lost for the Bulldogs. They defeated Korumburra Bena and the Dusties in the run home, and a 20-point loss to Tooradin-Dalmore proved the Doggies were on the right track. They’ll be the most interesting watch of the off season!
Best and Fairest Contenders: Jeb McLeod, Matthew O’Halloran, Dylan Quirk, Ryan Quirk, Jackson Dalton.
Kilcunda Bass – 9th
Players Used: 32
Played Every Game: 8
Shots at Goal Created: 202
Shots at Goal Converted: 101 – 50 per cent
Top-3 Goalkickers: Taylor Gibson 20, James Phillips 14, Jackson Nolan 10
Best Performance: Round 10 – 80-64 win over Bunyip
Worst Performance: Round 2 – 42-121 loss to Warragul Industrials
Summary
If there’s one team in the bottom six places on the ladder that will walk away from this year with the respect of the WGFNC community…it’s the Panthers. A season that coughed and spluttered early – with 67 and 79-point losses to Phillip Island and Warragul Industrials respectively, was soon back on track with a 15-point win over Dalyston in round three. The Panthers then pushed Cora Lynn to eight points in round seven, before winning two of their last four games. A 23-point win over Bunyip, and highly-competitive 13-point loss to a finals-bound Garfield showed the Panthers were on the right track before we all headed back into lockdown. Talented key forward Taylor Gibson produced one of the individual highlights of the season, booting six goals five against the Cobras in round seven, while tough-nut Darcy Atkins, Jack Soroczynski and skipper Jake Weightman were all hitting their straps and will be as keen as mustard to get back on track for next season. There’s a serious watch on the Panthers in 2022!
Best and Fairest Contenders: Darcy Atkins, Taylor Gibson, Jack Soroczynski, Dan Batson, Matija Sigeti.
Korumburra Bena – 10th
Players Used: 36
Played Every Game: 7
Shots at Goal Created: 158
Shots at Goal Converted: 66 – 41.77 per cent
Top-3 Goalkickers: Daniel Willis 17, Rhys Dixon 14, Ben Fitzpatrick 6
Best Performance: Round 6 – 68-65 win over Kilcunda Bass
Worst Performance: Round 8 – 14-77 loss to Garfield
Summary
Despite winning just two games for the season coach Paul Alger won’t be hitting the panic button just yet after the Giants were blown away just once this year – by Phillip Island in round 10, and were also poor against Garfield in round eight. Apart from that they never really got themselves into too many winning positions, but played enough good footy – with a star crop of youngsters coming through – to suggest there could be a bright future. The highlight of the season was undoubtedly their thrilling victory over Kilcunda Bass in round six, while a nine-point loss to Bunyip and 23-point loss to Cora Lynn were their next best performances. Like every club the Giants had injuries this year, but this list can’t afford to lose players like Cory and Darcy Hargrave for extended periods of time. Leading goalkicker Daniel Willis only played six of 11 games this year so will be high on the priority list when contract-signing season comes around. The Giants were ok at best this year, but could start climbing with an element of luck, and some accurate goalkicking!
Best and Fairest Contenders: Matt Lello, Ben Fitzpatrick, Zach Walker, Josh Hargreaves, Josh Hill
Kooweerup -11th
Players Used: 33
Played Every Game: 6
Shots at Goal Created: 151
Shots at Goal Converted: 68 – 45.03 per cent
Top-3 Goalkickers: Nathan Voss 29, Tom Deighton 7, Matthew Voss 6
Best Performance: Round 10 – 42-55 loss to Inverloch-Kongwak
Worst Performance: Round 4 – 21-191 loss to Phillip Island
Summary
If you only scratch the surface then the Demons look to be the biggest disappointment of 2021 after being a finalist in our most recent season in 2019. But, as we all know, the mass exodus of players left the Demons feeling the most vulnerable in their recent history with most pundits predicting them to go through the season without a win. Yes, they only trumped that by one, defeating Dalyston in a nail-biter in round seven, but there are many positives for the Demons to take into their next pre-season. Most teams that finish second last on the ladder don’t compete with the top teams at all, but the Demons produced some really competitive football against Cora Lynn, Garfield, Nar Nar Goon and Inverloch-Kongwak to suggest a rapid rise up the ladder might not be too far away. Teams coached by Rhys Nisbet always play with spirit, and the Demons certainly showed that this year. Look to see some more mature bodies – from both inside and outside the club – take to the field in round one next year.
Best and Fairest Contenders: Mitch Cammarano, Tim Miller, Nathan Voss, Travis Bindley, Ethan McDonald
Dalyston – 12th
Players Used: 37
Played Every Game: 4
Shots at Goal Created: 118
Shots at Goal Converted: 58 – 49.15 per cent
Top-3 Goalkickers: Wayne Luke 10, Clay Tait 6, Hayden Wallis 6
Best Performance: Round 2 – 62-20 win over Korumburra Bena
Worst Performance: Round 11 – 15-197 loss to Phillip Island
Summary
Things started off ok for the Magpies with a 29-point loss to Bunyip in round one, a 42-point victory over Korumburra Bena in round two, followed by a 15-point loss to Kilcunda Bass in round three. But from there the wheel nuts started to come loose, and eventually fell off, with a massive injury list not helping Peter Dunlop in his quest to keep the Magpies competitive this year. Despite the injuries, the Magpies need bolstering across all lines if they’re any chance of returning to the glory days of finishing third in the first season of the WGFNC in 2017. In seven of their last eight games the Magpies conceded 999 points and scored just 191…for a percentage of 19.12. Like many teams floating around the bottom reaches of ladders around Victoria at the moment the Magpies would have really struggled for motivation during the latter parts of the season. You could almost hear the cheering when the last round of home-and-away competition was called off last week.
Best and Fairest Contenders: Brad Monson, Clay Tait, Adam Honeysett, Brendan Walsh, Matt Howell.
2021 Ladder
Phillip Island
Inverloch-Kongwak
Tooradin-Dalmore
Nar Nar Goon
Cora Lynn
Garfield
Warragul Industrials
Bunyip
Kilcunda Bass
Korumburra-Bena
Kooweerup
Dalyston
