MOUNT Burr surrendered its place at the top of the ladder with a 31-point win loss to Kalangadoo at home in Round 3 of Mid South East football.
The reigning premiers were undermanned and missing six players from the lineup which won the 2017 grand final as well as injured ex-premiership skipper Chris Puiatti.
Kalangadoo 17.10 (112) d Mount Burr 11.15 (81)
However, the Mozzies were left to chase jumpers for much of the day as the Magpies played a superior brand of football and led at every change.
As would be expected from the clubs who were at the top of the table after two rounds and have won the past four premierships, the quality of the football was intense.
With the fabled “Can Hill” packed with supporters, all got their money’s worth as players from both sides repeatedly put their bodies on the line.
The visitors set up their win with seven goals without a miss in the first quarter and the Burr Boys found themselves in an unusual position of being 16 points down at the first break.
The deficit was cut to 15 points at half time and then home team coach Tom Renzi posted the first goal of the third term.
However, dogged defence by the Magpies denied the Mozzies any easy scoring opportunities while it was far easier going at the other end of the oval.
Kalangadoo’s forwards seemed to find space on one of the most compact ovals in the competition.
The black-and-whites led by 14 points at the last change and then “sealed the deal” with some vital majors to being the fourth quarter.
Best-on-ground Ben Mules was awarded the Anzac Medal which honours the memory of late local soldier Herb Ashby DCM, OAM.
There was also a brief ceremony to acknowledge the Harry Bott Memorial Shield would be staying at Kalangadoo.
This has been contested every season for over 15 years and honours the memory of the late Kalangadoo Football Club president and Mount Burr storekeeper.
In Round 4, Kalangadoo hosts Tantanoola, while Mount Burr is almost assured of victory at Nangwarry.
Glencoe 16.9 (105) d Tantanoola 9.14 (68)
THE Neil Von Duve Memorial Shield is not returning to Tigerland as predicted by the pre-match experts, as Tantanoola suffered a 37-point defeat by Glencoe on its home ground.
Games between the Murphies and the Tigers are always keenly contested when they honour the memory of a late player of both clubs and a MSEFL umpire.
On the day the umpires awarded the prestigious Neil Von Duve Memorial Medal for best-on-ground to Glencoe’s Dylan Childs.
The visitors had the good fortune to win the toss and chose to kick to the eastern end which was favoured by a three-goal breeze.
By the mid-way mark of the first term, Glencoe had posted 4.2 while Tantanoola had only registered four behinds.
Cooper Hamilton finally booted a major for the Tigers and then skipper Jordan Williams quickly followed up with another.
The Glencoe advantage was back to 12 points at the first change.
Tantanoola played its best footy of the game in the second term when it added 3.3 without conceding a goal.
It was anyone’s game at the last change when the Tantanoola lead was back to just three points.
The Murphies then took full control to score 8.1 to a mere 1.3 and achieve a comfortable win.
The loss for the home team was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was without the services of key recruit Sam Haniford.
On the other hand, the visitors were without some injured players who are expected to be on the sidelines for a number of months.
It is unlikely that we will not be seeing much of Tory Weaver and Bradley Mitchell in 2018 due to serious leg injuries, while Leigh Von Duve is another on the long-term injured list.
Tantanoola heads to Kalangadoo to meet the ladder leaders in round four and Glencoe will host Kongorong.
Robe 19.16 (130) d Port MacDonnell 17.3 (105)
THE battle of the seaside clubs resulted in the honours going to the well-resourced Robe lineup.
Although the margin was 25 points, it was not until the final stanza the Roosters were able to claim a sizeable lead and stamp their authority on the contest.
On their home ground, which is noted as being tough on forwards, Port MacDonnell players booted a remarkable 17.3, while their opponents had the more usual conversion rate of 19.16.
The remarkable accuracy of the Demons enabled them to take a 20-point lead at the first change, before stretching it out to the equivalent of five goals by the long break.
Robe halved this deficit by three-quarter time and then stormed home with 7.4 to 1.0 in a final onslaught.
The result of the game suggests Port MacDonnell will still be competitive in 2018 and the widely-held assumption Robe will take its place in the top four cannot be relied upon.
The Roosters went on a recruiting drive in Adelaide over summer and it has paid dividends with that victory.
The Demons used only one of their player transfer points, while the Roosters used its maximum allocation of 16.
According to league officials on the weekend, no further points will be allocated.
Port MacDonnell has a scheduled bye on Saturday, while Robe will host Hatherleigh.
Hatherleigh 49.18 (312) d Nangwarry 2.1 (13)
HATHERLEIGH boosted its percentage by almost 18pc after its heavy win 299-point win over Nangwarry at home.
Its percentage shot up from 59.47 t0 77.38 given the imbalance of the scores.
Although the Saints fielded a stronger line-up, the disparity in skill and fitness levels was evident by quarter time.
The difference between the teams was already 83 points and this increased at each change until the game ended with the Eagles winning by the equivalent of almost 50 goals.
This also saw Hatherleigh jump from fifth to third on the ladder.
It was a great occasion for Hatherleigh veteran Tim Merrett who was playing his 200th game.
However, the news is not all good in the Eagles’ nest as coach Jase Faulkner again did not play and is understood to have a serious knee injury.
Recruit Travis Ware was not available for selection, while Jack Skeer and Lewis Walker are also on the long-term injured list.
The immediate outlook for Nangwarry is bleak in round four even though it will be playing at home.
The opponent will be reigning premier Mount Burr, while Hatherleigh meets its neighbouring club at Robe.
Although not performing well on the scoreboard, some Nangwarry players like Andrew Russell and Ben Deamer would be worthy of consideration for representative honours.
They would be very useful in the MSEFL lineup which is playing the SE Zone Carnival at Robe on June 9 and even in the Murray South East zone team which is competing in the South Australian Country Championships in the Riverland on July7.
Robe coach Jack Kelly has been reappointed to the helm of the MSEFL with a training squad set to be chosen in the coming weeks.
