MILLICENT will shift its focus to the 2018 Western Border Football League finals after a 51-point victory over South Gambier in the last minor round of the season at Blue Lake Sports Park on the weekend.
While the conditions were less than ideal for football, the Saints took it in their stride and held the lead at every break.
Millicent coach Clint Gallio admitted it was a difficult day in slippery and muddy conditions, but he was pleased with the way his side played over the four quarters.
However, stressed that come finals, the Saints will need to find the goals, unlike on the weekend.
Millicent had 32 scoring shots, to the Demons’ six, but kicked a disappointing 24 points and just eight goals.
When it comes up against minor round premiers Casterton Sandford in the second semi-final, the Saints will need to find the middle of the big sticks more often than not in order to win and advance straight into the grand final.
While the difference was just six points at quarter-time on Saturday, Millicent had more of the football.
South kicked one major for the opening term, while the Saints had booted 1.6.
Gallio said the contest was tight, but the conditions were difficult to adjust to.
“The conditions were not real flash and the oval was pretty muddy and slippery,” he said.
“It was one of those games where whoever could compete and stick with it the longest was really going to come out winners.
“I think South to their credit, it was their last game and they were keen to have a crack.”
The Demons contested the football well in the opening quarter and shut Millicent’s runners down, which resulted in the small deficit at the first break.
“You could not get a firm grip on your boots, but some of the goals were definitely get-able, but others were due to the conditions,” Gallio said.
“We definitely did not make the most of our opportunities, that’s for sure.”
The trend continued into the second and third term, as Millicent had more of the football but it failed to show on the scoreboard.
The Saints kicked 2.5 in the second quarter, before booting 2.6 in the third to still hold a lead of 26 points at the final break.
Millicent’s mid field – led by the hard work of Gallio and Tom Hutchesson – won the contested football, but South’s defensive pressure also caused several behind scores.
Nick Jenkin was a stand out in the Demons’ defence, but his efforts were not enough to stop Millicent’s constant onslaught.
Gallio said the Saints had more of the football, but failed to capitalise on their opportunities.
“It was mostly our fault,” he said.
“We are still capable of kicking goals.
“I talked to the fellas at three-quarter-time and said if we won this final quarter then we were definitely going to win the game, so we just really concentrated on the basics of footy in conditions like that, get to the footy first and make the most of it, which we did not really do, which showed on the scoreboard.
“But, still in those conditions, to get that many scoring shots is probably a good effort.”
The Saints added three goals in the last term, but still piled on seven minor scores to win by a comfortable 51 points.
Gallio put together another four-quarter effort to continue his stellar season, but the playing coach admitted there were several contributors to the victory.
“Tommy Hutch has been super all season and he was again on the weekend,” Gallio said.
“I think he will feature highly in the medal count, which he deserves if he does.
“We had a lot of contributors, Sam Wallis was dangerous in our forward line, Steve Duldig was good again down back.
“He is one of the older players in our team but just does his job every week.”
Millicent will now enjoy a weekend off to prepare for its second semi-final outing against Casterton Sandford.
Gallio said it will be business as usual when it comes to training over the next two weeks.
“We will not change too much, we will keep it pretty simple, we have played them (Casterton Sandford) enough times now, so we know enough about them, hopefully, that we can plan for,” he said.
“We will practise a few little things at training, but keep it pretty similar I think.
“This time of the year, it is finals on the line, but if you change too much then blokes get lost and confused, so we will keep it pretty simple and similar to what we have been doing.”
Gallio said the entire group was eager for a week off, but was also keen to kick off their finals campaign.
“It will be good to have the week break to freshen up, but I think all the boys are super excited to hit that first final,” he said.
“Any one of the four teams in the top four on their given day could win the premiership.
“We are under the understanding that finishing in the top two gives you that second chance, but the hard work really starts now, we will do everything we can to give us the best chance to go as far as we can, but it is going to be a very tight contest.”
