PENOLA continues its charge for finals with a 15-point victory over Lucindale in Round 17 of the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Football League season.
The Eagles are arguably one of the surprise packets of the competition in 2018, having lost several “recruits” throughout the off-season.
However, the culture around the club, which has started from coach Matthew Tilby, has seen Penola take it up to every side in the competition, with the exception of a 12-point loss to ladder-leaders Kaniva Leeor United.
The Eagles’ second position was on the line on Saturday, but the group of 21 was able to pull together and claim the points.
It was an important match for Penola, with a loss pushing it back to fifth place and as a result, into the elimination final in a fortnight’s time.
If the Eagles can get the job done on sixth-placed Naracoorte in Round 18 this coming week, they will have secured second place and a second-chance position in the 2018 finals.
Penola was hungry for a head-start in its finals campaign, but Lucindale also had fire.
The Roos had the momentum from the opening bounce and added the first three goals to the scoreboard.
Tilby said the Eagles’ pressure around the contest was lacking, which resulted in Lucindale’s dominance.
“I started to doubt the way we were going about things,” he said.
“We just were not putting enough pressure on them.
“But, to the boys’ credit, we managed to reload and went into quarter time just down.
“I thought the boys’ fought back really well.”
The difference at the first break was just one goal and both the Roos and Penola entered the second term determined to gain the upper-hand.
However, proving the closeness of the competition, neither side gained an advantage in what was an arm-wrestle of a quarter.
Tilby was pleased with the fight coming from the 21 players donning the Eagles’ playing strip, but said it was not enough to take the lead.
“The guys through the mid field were applying a heap of pressure and it was great to watch,” he said.
“It was a very even quarter.”
Tilby said both Sam Mardling and Lucindale’s coach Ryan McInerney were causing grief for the Eagles.
The Roos were able to rebound out of Penola’s forward line well, which was a factor of the game Tilby was eager to put a stop to.
“We were not able to hold the ball in our forward line for as long as I would have liked,” he said.
“But, we managed to go into half-time just seven points down.”
Tilby said he had faith in his side coming into the second half of the match, with several close games throughout 2018, proving Penola can come out on top when the pressure mounts.
“I knew that our fitness is in really good knick, so I was confident we would keep working,” he said.
And they did.
The third term arguably won the Eagles the match, as they piled on 4.2, while holding the Roos’ scoreless.
Tilby said the pressure that lacked at times throughout the opening half, was made up for in the third quarter, which resulted in several opportunities at goal.
“The tackling pressure was great,” he said.
“Jordy Galpin, Scott Merrett, Dylan Walker were exceptional, the pressure they put on around the contest was sensational and Simon Berkefeld also really came into the game.
“We really got on top of them in that third quarter and then in the final term, we worked really hard again.”
A 19-point lead at three-quarter-time was a confidence booster for the Eagles, who just had to maintain.
The back six – led by Alex Moore and Brad Maney – held up well when the pressure began to mount, while Penola’s forward line also had plenty of possession.
However, Lucindale managed to slightly outscore the Eagles in the final term to shrink the deficit to 15 points at the siren.
With the game sealed, Tilby said it was a team effort and an impressive third term, which handed Penola the victory.
He said he was pleased with the likes of Jacob Pfitzner who had an important shut-down role on Tom Logan, while junior players Harry Porter and Jesse Martin also held up in the backline.
“Both Harry and Jesse played a full game of Under 17s, but they were up for the challenge,” he said.
Brodie Foster was again Penola’s go-to player in the forward line, booting three goals in what was a low-scoring game of football.
“Brodie foster was fantastic for us on Saturday, he not only presented really well, but I thought his second and third efforts were sensational, absolute credit to him, to the way he went about it,” Tilby said.
“He is really important to us going forward.”
Tilby said Penola’s pressure and will to win is what held it in good stead on the weekend and are two factors the Eagles will focus on as they approach finals.
“Our key focus is to win against Naracoorte this weekend to hold onto that second spot,” he said.
“I have down played everything all year and we have just taken one challenge at a time, but at the start of this week I was honest and open I said I have reconsidered where we are at and we just need to do everything right.
“We can be successful as we want to be, we just need to keep doing the work for each other out on the field, we have a really good comradery amongst the group, along with the Reserves guys as well.
“Having guys from around this local area is really benefitting us.”
