By Callum 'Articles' Ludwig
Ending the home-and-away season, it was carpooling aplenty as Lilydale made the trip to Beaconsfield as the Falcons took on the Eagles.
The U19.5s began the day, taking on Beaconsfield in a preview of next week’s elimination final.
Unfortunately, inaccuracy haunted the Dales as they went down by only 13 points 8.5, 53 to 5.10, 40.
The Falcons first half was reasonable but not to the standard they’d have hoped, down 7.3, 45 to 2.5, 17 at halftime, but a tight third quarter saw them restrict their opponents to a single point, but only managing to register five behinds themselves.
A last-quarter revival and some newfound precision in front of the big sticks saw the Dales hit the scoreboard with three quick goals to threaten to snatch the win at the death but Beaconsfield hit back with a quick goal of their own to steady the ship and hold on for the win.
Lilydale’s goalkickers were Lachlan ‘Genesis’ Baxter with 2 and Cooper ‘Backpacks’ Beckwith, Ryan ‘Ninja’ Haley and Bailey ‘Tall Skinny Guy’ Grant all managing one goal.
Genesis’ two goals managed to see him finish equal-third in the league’s leading goalkickers charts come the season’s conclusion, a great effort considering he has a ratio of about 5 shifts working at the gym for appearances on the training track.
Lilydale’s best on the day was headlined by the man who finally reset his clocks and arrived on time in Rory Petch followed by Luke ‘Turkey’ Bates, Blake ‘Nugget’ Milsom, Kyan ‘Poodles’ Ellis, Fletcher ‘Double Cobra’ March and Ninja.
While disappointed not to come away with a win, the performance has shown next week’s final is set to be a thrilling contest and that both sides will be keen to come out firing on a Sunday in Boronia. The U19.5’s finished the season in fifth.
The Reserves were up next and were celebrating the career of club stalwart and resident old fart Sean ‘Ranga’ Hajdu who finally decided to hang up the boots. His association to the club is not over yet though, as he will remain on the Reserves bench he has often frequented for a spell this season, this time as the Reserves Coach for Lilydale in 2023.
The 2’s were unable to send off Ranga with a win, as Beaconsfield came out on top 11.8, 74 to
4.9, 33.
With a storm threatening to roll in at any point in the afternoon, the winds picked up and saw a number of kicks getting blown in all directions, particularly in the second half.
It was an all-McFarlane affair for the Dales in the first half, with brothers Ryan ‘R-Mac’ and James ‘Jimmy’ both slotting home a snag each. Kai ‘Tits’ Van Leemput was the next to register a major with a lovely snap in the pocket just as the coaches were intending to pull him off, and which notably put a spring in his step as he decided to charge into the centre square at the resulting bounce. Lilydale’s last goal of the game came from yours truly, Callum ‘Articles’ Ludwig (I refuse to let ‘Silky’ stick Pesh) with a set shot that just baout held its line after regrettably having burnt Ethan ‘Pony’ Filliponi what ultimately could’ve been a shot at his first goal of the season.
Lilydale’s best on the day was led by the second-half-of-season star Mitchell ‘Peanut’ Blake, followed by, much to coach Jesse ‘Pesh’ Rottinger’s slight frustration, big friendly giant Cameron ‘Fridge’ Oude-Meilink who dominated the ruck all day, Trent ‘Chunks’ Davison, Will ‘Fishy’ Pleming, Matthew ‘Dip’ Di Pietrantonio and Josh White.
The Reserves closed out the season in ninth spot.
The Seniors rolled out next for their final hitout of the season and couldn’t improve their final ladder position as Beaconsfield ran out 11.9, 75 to 3.5, 23 winners.
On the large ground, Beaconsfield used the space far more effectively than the Dales, getting off to a flying start in the first with 5.2 and managing another couple of goals each quarter while denying Lilydale chances and keeping them goalless by three-quarter time. Luckily, the match report will be able to extend by another sentence as the Dales managed to kick three in the last with the result of the game already decided.
Lilydale consolation goalkickers on the day were Jarrod ‘Jazz’ Thompson, Beau ‘Beauner’ Mitchener and backman-come-forward dynamo Jake ‘Snake’ Clements who got a crack at the other end of the field in the final quarter and converted truly much to the fanfare of his teammates.
In a sight not unfamiliar to any, Jayden ‘Jibba’ Depace claimed best on ground honours, followed by Jesse ‘Burgers’ Ebert, Riley “Santa’ Clausen, Mitchell ‘De Fran’ De Franceschi, Isaac ‘Bazinga’ Biasuzzo and Jazz.
The Seniors end a much-improved year in ninth place and the entire list is looking forward to an exciting 2023 season.
The U19.5s will shoulder the club’s attention next week as they take on Beaconsfield again at Boronia’s Tormore Reserve on Sunday 21 August, with the first bounce at 10.20am.
