James Murphy
MILLICENT 11.11 (77) d SOUTH GAMBIER 9.10 (64)
MINOR premier South Gambier was denied the first ticket into the 2022 Western Border football grand final after Millicent claimed a thrilling 13-point win in Saturday’s second semi final.
Played at McDonald Park, a high-intensity battle unfolded, with the Saints able to maintain a slim lead for most of the clash.
A key to the win was the defensive pressure from the reigning premiers, with leading goal scorer and South playing coach Brayden Kain held to a single goal for the day.
That came in the opening five minutes of the game, before the Millicent defence held him goalless for the remainder of the encounter.
Kade Bradley and Zac McGuinness were the main culprits with their defensive efforts and intercept marking second-to-none.
“They were definitely our two best players,” Millicent coach Clint Gallio said.
“I am not sure exactly how many marks they took, but it would have been upwards of 20 between them I reckon.
“They were super and chopped off a lot of footy.”
A four-goal opening term set up a nine-point lead for Millicent at the first change before an even second quarter followed.
Goal umpires waved both flags three times at either end and at half time it remained an eight-point game.
The Demons surged in the third term as youngster Mitchell Sims made his presence known.
He scored two of his three goals in the “premiership” quarter, as South reeled the margin in to four points heading into an exciting final stanza.
However, the Saints settled in the fourth and scored three goals to the Demons’ one to secure their place in the big dance.
“It was really pleasing that we could hold on – but more pleasing it was a tough game and a tight contest,” Gallio said.
“That is the reason you play finals footy and it was pleasing to hold on.”
Gallio said he was pleased with the overall performance from his Saints, as they gave their all for four quarters of high-intensity football.
“Our defence stood up again really well and we got some quick ball moving forward which gave us some good opportunities to score,” he said.
“Overall, I was pretty happy with the way we executed.”
It was a physical contest with maximum effort shown by both sides throughout.
“I think the ability to hang in there and have that effort and intent for the whole four quarters is what got us over the line in the end,” Gallio said.
“It wasn’t super pretty footy, but sometimes finals are like that.”
While the backline stood up on the day, Jacob Carger was also dangerous as well for the Saints, with a strong presence up forward.
He and Tom Hutchesson both bagged two goals each, while it was Dylan Bromley who again top-scored for the Saints with three majors.
Bromley faced the challenge of South defender Todd Reid on the day, but still managed to help his team on the scoreboard.
“I thought Todd Reid had a good game on him, but Bomber (Bromley) just kept presenting and really worked hard for us,” Gallio said.
“We had a few boys step up and kick some goals which was good.”
Down the other end Kain was kept busy by the likes of Bradley, McGuinness and Kalan Shanks, with Sims and Brodie Foster looked to in the South attack.
Sims top scored for the Demons with his three, with his flare up forward earning him the best-on-ground honours, while Foster bagged two goals at pivotal times.
Taylor Saffin and Chris Fallas were also recognised for their defensive efforts, while captain Brett O’Neil led by example through the middle.
The return of ruckman Finn Grimes bolstered the Saints and his battle with Mason Hein was a tough tussle.
Millicent now has a chance to rest any sore bodies with a week off while waiting for the verdict of the South v North preliminary final.
The Demons will hold the advantage based on previous encounters and will be favoured to earn the rematch with the Saints.
However, with some close encounters throughout the year, North’s finals experience will keep the Tigers in the contest.
