MOUNT Burr will enter yet another major round in winning form having travelled to Nangwarry and collected the premiership points thanks to a massive 232 point victory.
The match was soured by a melee involving many players.
The imbalance in the sides was most obvious in the second term when the visitors added 14.2 while not conceding a score.
It was a slight improvement for the Saints as their losing margin had been 299 points when they last met on June 3 at “Mick” and Jean Walker Oval.
The Mozzies showed the kind of form that will serve them well in their quest for a return to this venue on September 16 for the MSEFL grand final.
The green-and-golds have had a mostly injury-free run as they have collected five flags since 2009.
This pattern is set to continue this season for the reigning premiers.
The Mozzies promoted ex-Saint Dylan Broad for his first A Grade game of the season.
Coach Tom Renzi and his fellow selectors will have their first-choice team available on Saturday when they meet Port MacDonnell in the cut-throat first semi final at Tantanoola on Saturday.
One of the sidelights of the contest was the form of spearhead Jack Gregory.
With 56 goals, he had come into the final minor round match sharing the goal kicking lead with Hatherleigh veteran Matt Faulkner.
Gregory finished the game with a career-high tally 17 majors and this was 11 more than Faulkner who was playing only 11km away at Kalanagadoo.
All league trophies will be presented on Sunday afternoon at the annual Mail Medal function at the Millicent War Memorial Civic and Arts Centre.
It was the fourth consecutive season that Nangwarry had not won a game and the losing streak now stands at 64.
However, the 2017 season is far from over for the Saints as they will spend the coming weeks preparing to host the season decider next month.
Final score: Mount Burr 38.16 (244) defeated Nangwarry 2.0 (12)
KALANGADOO has secured the coveted minor premiership with a hard-fought 12 point win over Hatherleigh at Kalangadoo.
The Magpies had led the competition ahead of the top-of-the-table clash on a heavy oval but needed a win to deny the Eagles the minor premiership and the bragging rights.
The visitors began well and had the first two goals on the board inside the opening five minutes.
The home side successfully counter-attacked and had tied up the scores at 4.2 apiece by quarter time.
Kalangadoo took the upper hand in the match in the second term when it added 6.3 while conceding four goals.
This 15 point buffer at half-time was almost doubled at one stage in the third term before Hatherleigh fought back.
The Eagles never got within two straight kicks of the Magpies for the remainder of the match but were never out of the contest until the dying minutes.
The result and magnitude of the win will turbo-charge the assault of the black-and-whites on the premiership as they attempt to win their first flag since 2014.
It was a remarkable feat for the two teams to amass a total of 32 goals as the oval had been underwater only two days prior.
The home side had to resort to training at the Kalangadoo Mill for its usual Thursday night session.
At their first meeting in round nine on June 3, Hatherleigh had easily accounted for an undermanned Kalangadoo team by 42 points.
Veteran Eagle forward Matt Faulkner finished the match with six fine goals but he had to hand over the MSEFL goal kicking trophy to Mount Burr’s Jack Gregory.
The top two sides meet again at Robe on September 2 in the double chance second semi final.
Depending on the outcome of the three minor finals, it is possible that a third clash of the sides within the space of four weeks could occur in the grand final at Nangwarry on September 16.
Hatherleigh’s injured vice president Josh Wight is set to return to the starting 18 for the second semi final but Kalangadoo’s first-choice ruckman Jonny Mules is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury.
Otherwise, members of the Mules clan were celebrating the 250th senior game for Chrissy Mules.
Depending on the results of the two coming finals, the preliminary final might be played at Kalangadoo on September 9.
Final score: Kalangadoo 16.12 (108) defeated Hatherleigh 15.8 (98)
TANTANOOLA has finished 2017 in seventh place after its players travelled up the Mile Hill to Glencoe and suffered a 103 point hiding.
Coming into the game, the Murphies could not be shifted from eighth spot while the Tigers were looking to overtake Robe who had the bye.
A close encounter had been anticipated as only two points had separated the teams when they last met at Tigerland on June 3 and Glencoe regained the Neil Von Duve Memorial Trophy.
Any thoughts of that were dispelled by quarter time as the home side went to a 32 point lead.
The home side showed that effort was not a fluke to add a further 8.2 to just 2.4 to seal the result of the game by the long break.
The Murphies increased their lead in the following two quarters leaving many in the crowd to ponder why such fine form had been so elusive this season.
For the victors, Tory Weaver played his best game of the season.
He finished with a bag of 5 goals and this was matched by teammate Brad Mitchell.
Injuries and player availability issues have dogged the Tigers throughout 2017 and its season has been a roller coaster ride of peaks and troughs.
It has been a steep learning curve for rookie coaches Zacc Cocks (Glencoe) and Josh Peters (Tantanoola).
The on-field leadership of Cocks has been first-class and he was listed in the best players in 15 of his 16 matches as well as representing the MSEFL and the Murray South East teams.
The Murphies can now concentrate on a major changerooms upgrade program over summer thanks to the recent receipt of a major State Government grant along with funds from Wattle Range Council.
The Tigers have a more immediate task at hand as they are hosting the first semi final on Saturday.
Final score: Glencoe 27.15 (177) defeated Tantanoola 10.14 (74)
THE Ian Smith Trophy is staying at Port MacDonnell following its narrow 11 point win at the Bay over Kongorong.
The result compared to the 70 point thrashing of the Hawks by the Demons on June 3.
The seasiders took an early lead of 14 points into the first change as their opponents only managed one goal in the first term.
The Hawks were again missing their regular target in Josh Wright and their inability to convert forward chances into goals proved costly.
Kongorong finished the game with nine individual goal scorers as the game was a battle of defences.
The Demons have had the upper hand over their near neighbours and arch rivals for several seasons and Saturday’s contest had an extra prize.
The visitors were keen to end a long absence from the finals while the home team had the incentive of keeping its premiership hopes alive.
Port MacDonnell will now face reigning premiers Mount Burr in the cut-throat first semi final at Tantanoola on Saturday.
A sidelight to the contest was the form of two past Mail Medallists ahead of the 2017 Mail Medal count on Sunday afternoon at the Millicent War Memorial Civic and Arts Centre.
Port MacDonnell’s Will Macdonald and Kongorong coach Bronson Saffin are among the pre-count favourites and both were named at the head of their respective team lists of best players.
First year coach Saffin can reflect on a season where injuries to key players and other availability issues de-railed his team’s chances of reaching the major round.
On the other hand, fellow rookie coach Ben MacGregor has kept his Demons in the finals yet again.
It has not been smooth sailing the Demons as they had to take advantage of a lengthy Kongorong mid-season form slump to reach fourth place.
Final score: Port MacDonnell 11.12 (78) defeated Kongorong 9.13 (67)
