MURRABIT will play in its first Golden Rivers Football League grand final since 2011 after the minor premiers defeated Nullawil by 14 points in Saturday’s preliminary final.
In a day marred by unusual occurrences, Leigh McCombe kicked five goals for the Blues in a low-scoring match that finished under lights at Quambatook that booked the club its place in the grand final against Ultima.
Play began close to 50 minutes late with an injury in the reserves, with rain marring the run and carry game both sides possess.
McCombe kicked the Blues’ first goal of the match, before Nullawil’s chances of challenging Murrabit received a blow.
Maroons’ defender, Jarrod Kemp, collected McCombe with a follow-through spoil after the Murrabit forward took a mark.
McCombe fell to the ground, before the non-controlling field umpire came in and showed a red card to Kemp, leaving the Maroons with 17 players on the field for the next 20 minutes and one rotation down for the remainder of the game.
The Blues took advantage of the extra player, with Bryden Morison and Simon Morton having a huge influence through stoppages and linking forward, while McCombe was an ever present threat down forward.
Nullawil was doing its best despite being a player short, but missed opportunities saw Murrabit hold a 16-point lead at quarter time.
Despite the slippery conditions and rain, the goals were easier to come by in the third quarter.
Daniel Watts kicked the Maroons’ first goal of the match, but Tom Hetherington and Nathan Brown extend the Blues’ lead.
Jack Barry replied to keep the Maroons in touch, but the last 10 minutes of the third proved to be extremely costly for Nullawil, with late goals to the McCombe brothers, on the back of some excellent ruck work around the ground from Andrew Spitty, giving Murrabit a 26-point lead at three-quarter time.
Most thought at this point the game was over, with the showers coming down, but Nullawil kept coming. An early goal to Zac Kelly kept the Maroons in it, then majors to Watts and Nick Williams make things interesting.
However, every time Nullawil looked like getting closer, Spitty would have an influence in the ruck, Morison and Morton used their experience to use the ball well, and they were rock solid across half back with Matt Penny and Hetherington repelling attacks.
