THERE will be no happy ending for the Hatherleigh Football Club A Graders as the 2018 season ended for them at Port MacDonnell on Saturday when it succumbed to Kalangadoo by a massive 102 points.
Played under blue skies and before a large crowd which paid over $11,000 at the gate, the Magpies advanced via the one-sided contest to the Mid South East Football League (MSEFL) preliminary final at Nangwarry on September 8.
They will meet the loser of this Saturday’s second semi final at their home ground at Kalangadoo between second-placed Robe and minor premiers and reigning premiers Mount Burr.
Going on the form and grit displayed by the black-and-white team on Saturday, it is very much in the mix for premiership honours for the first time since 2014.
It has reached the finals for five consecutive years and has not had its hands on the Wilf Sprengel Premiership Shield, but its chances of success have improved remarkably.
On bare facts alone, Kalangadoo looked awesome and this must be a cause for worry for Mount Burr coach Tom Renzi and Robe mentor Jack Kelly who were both at the Bay.
Coming into the match, Kalangadoo had twice trained at nearby Nangwarry which is one of the best weather surfaces in the MSEFL.
Although Kalangadoo only missed a second semi final berth by one win and was a warm pre-match favourite according to this writer, there were plenty of boxes which had yet to be ticked by the black-and-whites.
How would the team cope after losing to Robe by five points in the last minor round game?
Would ruckman Jonny Mules be fit to take his place in the team after being sidelined for much of the past 12 months?
Could the Magpies cope with a heavy oval for the third consecutive week?
The revved up Magpies showed early in the contest on Saturday they were keen to win and the ground was soft but well grassed and not muddy.
The Eagles kicked towards the clubrooms and this was the goalscoring end as it had much firmer ground.
Ex-Hatherleigh skipper Jase Bateman had his team on the scoreboard first with a brilliant snapped goal from deep in the pocket at the three minute mark.
This was one of the goals-of-the-game, but only four more were recorded by the Eagles for the rest of the contest.
Lachy Jones quickly replied for the Magpies after taking a mark right on the goal-line.
Ex-coach Ben Mules put the black-and-whites in front after converting from a set shot from a range of 40m.
This was to be the first of his six goals and he took an early break from play late in the third term after receiving a corked thigh which required an ice pack.
Hatherleigh looked flat and second-to-the-ball whereas their opponents were moving the ball well.
Their delivery to team mates was exceptional.
Further goals to Mules and Braeden Ousey went unanswered and their side took a 17 point lead into quarter time.
After quarter time, Hatherleigh showed more resolve for much of the second term but could not find a winning forward.
Kalangadoo skipper Brad Auld was yellow-carded and sent from the field for 15 minutes for rough play.
The greater intensity of the Eagles eased as the match entered time-on and the Magpies scored a couple of late goals.
Coming into the second half with a deficit of 27 points, Hatherleigh had the chance to get back into the match.
Typical of the enormity of the task they faced to redress the imbalance was the pace and skill of Andrew Stone at the 10 minute mark of the third term.
The Kalangadoo forward grabbed the ball in the centre of the ground, took a couple of bounces and goaled from a range of 60m.
The black-and-whites led by 49 points at the final change and scored at will in the final 32 minutes.
At one stage, the three Mules brothers were on the bench as the result was beyond doubt.
After a month on the sidelines with a groin injury, Matt Faulkner kicked Hatherleigh’s only goal of the final term while Kalangadoo slammed on 9.5.
Renzi said the oval surface was “unplayable” but it was to Kalangadoo’s liking as they had 16 goals from 17 scoring shots at one stage.
Kalangadoo had many contributors, while the three stand-out players for Hatherleigh were defender Mitch Pulmer, skipper Gerard McGrath and Bateman.
Teenage Hatherleigh defender Jack Gray was injured and an ambulance was called to take him from the venue.
Gray suffered a broken collar bone.
Coming into the game, Hatherleigh had already lost past premiership player Tim Merrett to a groin injury suffered at training.
Port MacDonnell coach Ben McGregor said Kalangadoo was in good form and well placed to take on Robe and Mount Burr in the remainder of the finals.
“The Magpies dominated at the clearances and won just about every position on the ground,” McGregor said.
“Credit goes to our groundsman Jason Smith for all his efforts on the oval in the past week.”
Winning coach Chris Mules said his side played well and had options across the ground.
It is now mothballs time for Hatherleigh while Kalangadoo players have kept well and truly alive their hopes of a grand final victory.
