The season is over for Myrtleford’s senior footballers after falling in Sunday’s preliminary final to Wangaratta Magpies.
While the second half showcased their immense talent and skill, a lacklustre opening half, particularly around stoppage, spelled disaster in the 12.11 (83) to 15.8 (98) loss.
After a first term shootout which saw nine goals kicked for a margin of just four points, Wangaratta exerted their influence on the ball, taking territory while the Saints couldn’t make the most of their looks forward of centre.
The 24-point margin at half time blew out to 35 by three quarter time, and while they came within two goals late, they weren’t able to come out on top.
“It was a disappointing day,” coach Craig Millar said.
“Clearly we had a plan in place to try and negate aspects of their game but we just couldn’t execute it, particularly in the first quarter when we couldn’t win any territory.
“We were getting absolutely hammered at centre square bounces, and we were trying to score from the back half of our ground as opposed to the front half and keeping the ball up there which has been a feature of our game for most of the year.
“I’m really proud of the way we were able to push back in the second half, but the reality was, like the Rovers game, the damage was done in the first half – we gave up too much of a run-up, and it was too hard to peg back.”
Injuries in the latter half of the year had severely impacted Myrtleford’s defensive structure, but their fight was undeniable.
“It didn’t help that over the last month we lost three important defenders,” Millar lamented.
“It gave opportunity for others to step up and I thought they were outstanding, [Nick] Ferguson and Rhys Grant in particular.
“Losing Brady Sharp, he trained on Saturday at our captain’s run, but he was just too sore to be able to play, and Zac Pethybridge with his fractured foot and Lachie Hourigan doing his ACL against Lavington.
“We just had some cruel injuries late, but unfortunately that’s footy – every team had good players that are restricted in some capacity.
“We just lacked some continuity there where that back seven had been really stable pretty much all year, but we didn’t have our way with some luck at the end.”
The seniors weren’t the only Saints side to feel the harsh sting of the preliminary final – of the five teams who fronted up on Sunday, just one progressed through to the big dance.
Myrtleford’s 15 and under netball side vanquished Wodonga Bulldogs 57-34 in a dominant display which sees them book a spot in the grand final against Wodonga Raiders.
Elsewhere, it was a tough day for the tricolours – the reserves were hammered 1.6 (12) to Lavington’s 15.12 (102), the 17 and under netballers lost 35-48 against Wangaratta Rovers, and C grade fell 36-41 in an extra-time thriller to Rovers.