Sport
7 July, 2026
Natte Bealiba goes from 0-5 to top eight
Six rounds into the 2026 MCDFNL senior football season, perennial contenders Natte Bealiba were presumably heading to their first missed finals berth since joining the competition back in 2011 after an 0-5 start.
Now less than two months later, the Swans have officially flown into the top eight with a pulsating 40-point victory over Lexton.
Natte Bealiba have always been like a persistent cockroach. No matter how many times you step on them, they keep coming back for another round.
As the Tigers attempted to solidify a four-point quarter time lead, the Swans burst away with six second-quarter goals to crawl themselves into eighth on the ladder at Lexton’s expense.
With Avoca, Navarre, Carisbrook, Trentham and Newstead in their last five matches, the Swans have plenty of work ahead to solidify their newfound finals place, but Saturday’s victory provides Natte a valuable four-point buffer over Lexton and Maldon.
As both teams attacked the contested football with a ferocity matching the contest’s severity, early scoring was hard to come by in tricky conditions at Lexton Reserve.
When the Swans did wrestle the football inside the forward 50, Lexton’s back six led by Aiden Broughton, Hunter Greene and Thomas McGregor ensured the visitors were limited to nine points in the opening term.
While Jaxson Stewart, Anderson Pithie and Jack Borchard were equally restrictive in Natte’s backline, two quick goals etched the Tigers four points ahead at the opening interval.
After a tense first quarter, the contest suddenly burst into life as the Swans’ superstars began to take over.
As Jai Howell, Ryan Semmel, Kyen Burrill-Grinton, Aidan Medlyn and Stephen Ross began to dominate the clearance battle, Lexton quickly found themselves overwhelmed by the visitors, who blasted through to lead by 21 points at half time.
Thomas Cullinan, Justin Kennedy and Luke Madden attempted to restabilise the Tigers early in the second half, but Natte successfully caged the hosts to a singular behind in the third quarter as they boosted their margin to 33 points by three-quarter time.
The dynamic duo of Howell and Semmel finished with a combined six goals as a three goals to two final term sealed a vibrant victory for Natte Bealiba.
The Swans also saw standout performances from Medlyn, Pithie, Ross, Burrill-Grinton and Emmet Smith, who celebrated his 150th game for the club in grand style.
Cullinan continues to have a spectacular season for the Tigers, named among the best players for the seventh time in 2026 alongside Broughton, Kennedy, Madden, Pat Parr and Greene.
Tynan Haintz led Lexton’s goalkickers with a pair of majors.