DOMINANT MIDFIELD LEAVES TIGERS OUT IN THE COLD AND OUT OF THE RUNNING
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By BRENT GODDE
HENTY is celebrating after a drought-breaking premiership — the club’s first flag since 1996.
The joy was obvious after a comprehensive 45-point win over a lack-lustre Rand-Walbundrie in Saturday’s Hume league grand final.
The Swampies overcame a nervous opening — they kicked six consecutive behinds — to dominate the contest and score an emphatic 16.16 (112) to 10.7 (67) win.
Rand-Walbundrie rolled the dice at the start of the game and loaded up its attack with tall-marking targets — Josh Warren-Marmo, Dean Roulstone and Tim Gray all started forward in a bid to stretch the Swampies defence.
While it may have been a sound move tactically, the Tigers talls were starved of opportunities as the Swampies dominated the clearances.
Swampie midfielders Heath Ohlin, Simon Hillier and Sam Murray dined out on the silver service provided by Jamarl O’Sullivan.
They created plenty of chances for forwards Ryan Hon, Shannon Terlich and Jason Brown who were all menacing.
Hon in particular looked dangerous on his way to a five-goal haul after being called into the line-up for only his second match since round 14 when he sustained a knee injury.
The Swampies held a 17-point buffer at the first change with 10 scoring shots to three and that was a fair indication of their dominance.
Warren-Marmo gave the Tigers some hope with an early goal in the second term, courtesy of a relayed 50-metre penalty after a late hit in the centre by O’Sullivan.
That slashed the Swampies’ lead to 11 points but that is as close as they got for the rest of the game.
The Tigers big guns in Mark Kimball, Ben Maiden, Roulstone and Gray were more pop guns than cannons as they struggled to assert their influence.
Roulstone played predominantly forward but Josh Spencer was a tower in defence, keeping the high-profile Tiger goalless after he had kicked five goals against the Swampies a fortnight earlier.
Maiden was also well held by Swampie tagger Derek Singe.
Aaron and Justin Gordon were the only Tigers to show some fight as the Swampies opened 19-point buffer at the main break.
Again, the Tigers got the first goal after the break when Sam Terlich slotted his only goal of the match to slash the margin to 13 points.
But the Swampies hit back hard, with goals to Brown, Ohlin and when Hon booted his third, their lead was 32 points.
If the fat lady wasn’t singing then, she was certainly back stage warming up her voice and getting ready to waddle on stage.
Late goals in the term to Hon and Damien Maloney and the fat lady was in full voice with the Swampies lead out to
43 points.
The only interest surrounding the final quarter was how big the final margin would be.
The Swampies kicked two early goals to stretch their lead to a game-high 57 points but the Tigers kicked four of the last six with the final margin 45 points.
It was the biggest grand final margin since Jindera crushed Osborne by 51 points in the 2008 grand final.
Scroll down for reports from the Rand-Walbundrie coach, an emotional Ryan Hon and Des Kennedy Memorial winner Heath Ohlin.
JINDERA strengthened its credentials as the Hume league’s top netball team on Saturday with a convincing 16-goal win against Murray Magpies at Walbundrie.
It was the Bulldogs seventh straight grand final appearance and they played like they were the team to beat by leading for the entire game.
The back-to-back premiers were strong from the first whistle and led by seven at quarter time.
The Magpies fought back and narrowed the margin at half-time, but that was the end of the match as a contest with a determined Jindera dominating the second half.
Its defence shone in the third quarter, holding the Magpies to just five goals.
That allowed the team to hold a comfortable 13-goal lead at the start of the final quarter.
All the hard work paid off for Bulldogs’ goal keeper Sharna Holland who was named most valuable player.
Jindera’s coach Bree Kirk said both teams had fought out the match.
“I’m definitely happy with the win,” she said.
“Even though it was 16 goals, it didn’t feel like that, it was tough the whole game.
“We let the Magpies back in the game in the second quarter.
“I guess it gave our girls a bit of a rev and we got back to the way we were playing in the first quarter.
“The girls jelled really well and fought hard to get the end result.
“I’m very proud of the way they played the whole season and they topped it off yesterday and they really deserved it.”
The win was the end of an era for the coach and shooters Felicity Hoodless and Alison Wightman who have all said the win was their last with the club.
SHATTERED Rand-Walbundrie coach Daniel Athanitis remained proud of the Tigers’ achievements this season and said the heartache of Saturday’s grand final loss would motivate their quest for the flag next year.
The Tigers were widely tipped as the league’s big improvers after landing prized Eastlake recruits Dean Roulstone, Ben Maiden, Mark Kimball, Tim Gray, Shaun Allan and Justin Mesman.
The Tigers didn’t disappoint and made their first decider since merging in 2006 in Athanitis’ second year at the helm.
After finishing eighth with a 7-10-1 record, Athanitis has transformed the Tigers into a flag contender and has signed on as coach again for next season.
“I’m proud of the boys,” Athanitis said.
“We have come a long way this season.
“Henty were just red-hot today and we got smashed in the midfield.
“I’m definitely proud of the boys, and although the scoreboard might not indicate it, they didn’t give in.”
Henty won the midfield battle, with ruckman Jamarl O’Sullivan dominating the hit outs and providing the Swampies’ star-studded midfield of Heath Ohlin, Simon Hillier and Sam Murray first use of the ball.
Athanitis said the heartbreaking loss would provide plenty of motivation for the Tigers next season.
“It was a huge effort by the boys just to make the grand final,” he said.
“But we will come back bigger and stronger next season.
“I believe you learn more in defeat than victory and have identified the areas we need to improve to get to that next level.
“We have come from a long way back.
“What Henty achieved today was three years in the making.
“So we will get back on the horse and have another crack next season.”
By BRENT GODDE
AN emotional Ryan Hon dedicated Henty’s win to his good mate James McQuillan.
Hon, who dominated with five goals, is close friends with the Albury footballer who suffered life-changing spinal injuries this season.
“James is always close to my heart when I run out on the footy field,” Hon said.
“He has been a good mate for years and we played cricket together at Echuca cricket club.
“We moved over from Echuca to Albury together to study at uni.
“He is a really great guy and I’m behind him every step of the way.”
Hon, 22, earned a recall for the decider despite only playing a quarter of football since round 14 with a knee injury.
Teenager Andrew Yates, who was the unlucky player to be dropped to make way for Hon, showed great character to run water for the team.
Hon repaid the Swampies faith with an electrifying display in attack, enhancing his reputation as one of the most dangerous forwards in the competition.
He joined the Swampies in 2012 and it was his second flag. He won a grand final with Moama in 2010.
“It’s unbelievable and the result of three years of blood sweat and tears,” he said.
“I’m just happy to be part of it.
“Obviously, someone had to be unlucky and young Yatesie was really deserving of a spot.
“Luckily, the coaches showed faith in me and I was more than happy just to be a part of it and secondly to contribute.
“I knew my role was going to be different and it was my job just to keep presenting and not really expect results but if they came it was a bonus.”
Hon will have surgery on his injured knee next Monday to repair a meniscus tear.
The live-wire didn’t rule out having a crack at Ovens and Murray.
“I hope to have a good summer of rehab and pre-season and be back better next season,” he said.
“I just want to get my body right and sum up my options from there.”
HENTY defender Josh Spencer justified the faith shown in him by Henty’s brainstrust when he held Rand-Walbundrie star Dean Roulstone goalless in Saturday’s grand final.
Roulstone kicked five goals against the Swampies a fortnight ago and loomed as a big threat in the club’s quest to win its first flag since 1996.
“He’s a good player,” Spencer said.
“He kicked three goals of his five goals on me the other week so I was pretty keen to play well.
“I think he only got one point this time.
“I had help from my teammates which was good.”
Spencer, 27, has been one of Henty’s unsung heroes this season with the running backman repelling many attacking forays at the weekend.
He said the Swampies were confident of making amends for a 2012 grand final loss to Osborne.
“There was a really relaxed feeling around the club this time,” Spencer said.
“We all knew we had a job to do.
“Two years ago was a lot different.”
Spencer played in three under-17 premierships for Henty earlier in his career and has gone on to notch up 120 senior matches.
His playing days looked numbered five years ago after he underwent a shoulder reconstruction and had a broken leg.
“I have retired a few times,” he said.
“Injury killed me early in my career so it’s great to be back playing and winning a premiership is an unbelievable feeling.”
SLICK Swampie midfielder Heath Ohlin confirmed his status as one of the league’s premier onballers with a devastating display in the Hume league decider on Saturday.
Ohlin thrived on the big stage to be awarded the Des Kennedy Memorial medal for best player on the ground.
The classy midfielder was in the thick of the action all game, relishing the contested situations with his ferocious attack on the ball.
Ohlin, who played his junior football at Wodonga Raiders, also spent one year at Wodonga and Barnawartha before joining the Swampies in 2011.
The 25-year-old said he was thrilled to win his first premiership medal after the heartache of the Swampies past two finals campaigns.
“This is what all the work is for,” Ohlin said.
“This is why you put in the hard yards over the pre-season starting back in November.”
Ohlin, alongside Jamarl O’Sullivan, Simon Hillier, Derek Singe and Sam Murray dominated the midfield and were instrumental in setting up the 45-point victory.
“Our midfield group really put it on ourselves if we were to go anywhere this season that we had to be the driving force,” he said.
“Hillier is a star, Murray is a 17-year-old kid and Singe has come on in leaps and bounds this season.”
Ohlin said while content at Henty he didn’t rule out a return to the Ovens and Murray.
“At some stage I want to go back into Wodonga and have a crack,” he said.
VETERAN forward Jason Brown has labelled his eighth flag the sweetest of all.
Brown, who kicked three goals in the decider, had previously won five flags with The Rock-Yerong Creek and two with Canberra club Queanbeyan from 11 grand final appearances.
The 37-year-old returned to his junior club last year for the first time since 2002 and was thrilled to end his career on the ultimate high.
“Flags are always sweet but to finally win one at my junior club is extra special,” Brown said.
“The boys were certainly red-hot today and I don’t think we had one passenger.
“It was nice to kick three goals but I’m too old to kick a bag of goals any more.
“Having Ryan Hon back in attack made a huge difference and he just proved how big a freak he is today by kicking five goals after hardly playing for the past 10 weeks.”
Brown said his body was telling him it had had enough and he would now retire.
“That’s it for me,” he said.
“I really started to notice how slow I was getting this year so I will enjoy the celebrations and happily retire.”