Sport
7 September, 2023
Prelim berth up for grabs as Sandhurst awaits Magpies
A preliminary final berth is up for grabs when Maryborough’s under 18s look to take the fight right up to Sandhurst on Sunday morning at Queen Elizabeth Oval. Channelling the emotions of last week’s elimination final win will be the big...
A preliminary final berth is up for grabs when Maryborough’s under 18s look to take the fight right up to Sandhurst on Sunday morning at Queen Elizabeth Oval.
Channelling the emotions of last week’s elimination final win will be the big challenge for the Magpies, who recorded their first football finals win since the reserves’ 2010 premiership success with their win against Strathfieldsaye last week.
It was a statement of intent that the Magpies can indeed challenge big Bendigo teams such as the Storm, and beat them as well, with the Magpies enjoying large patches of dominance.
Now, Maryborough can make an even bigger statement this weekend by looking to beat well-regarded powerhouse Sandhurst, who will be up for the fight in all three grades.
Before that, the Magpies will be looking to make sure they fix up any issues that arose from Sunday’s win, although there admittedly aren’t too many.
Goalkicking will be the main point of call, having kicked six consecutive behinds in the second term which could have seen them take a major foothold on the game.
Instead, that left the Magpies just six points up at half time, having had six more scoring shots.
The Magpies will also need to have four quarters of football in their repertoire this weekend, knowing that Sandhurst will not back down.
Nevertheless, there were plenty of performers that showed that they were up for the pressure of finals football last week.
Lachlan Bursill was sensational playing off half back, with his ball use a feature that allowed the Magpie midfielders to enjoy first use of the ball on the counter whenever Strathfieldsaye were able to get the ball inside 50.
Kaian Constable was an X Factor up forward, and was not afraid to take the game on, which was rewarded with three crucial goals.
Lucas Hurse, Damon Nitschke and Tom Myers were very busy around the coalface, with the trio able to give Maryborough first use in the stoppage situation, particularly Myers, who lifted when Strathfieldsaye levelled the scores early in the last quarter.
There were other performers who were not named in the best last week, yet played a crucial role.
Jake Gavriliadis was a key cog down back, as was James Woods, while Luke Dunne also provided plenty of drive in the midfield.
Now for Maryborough, it is all about putting it together to defeat Sandhurst.
In round six, the Magpies enjoyed a 21-point cushion at half time, before the Dragons mounted a comeback to win by 14 points, as they kicked six goals to one in the second half.
The return meeting in round 15 was a very similar game, with Maryborough well in the contest in the first half, trailing by 10 points, before the Dragons did all the running in the second half, kicking five goals to three behinds to eventually record a 45-point victory.