A FIVE-goal burst in the third quarter has helped premiership favourites Kerang finish the home-and-away season with 11 consecutive wins, defeating Swan Hill by 21 points on Saturday.
Although a dominant third quarter helped the reigning premiers secure the four points, it was far from an impressive display from the ladder leaders, who were outscored in the second and fourth quarters by a Swans outfit that finished with just two wins for the season.
Kerang were missing several key players as they managed some of their stars, including Josh Nitschke, Marty Kelly and Bradlee Pay, after securing top spot and a direct path to the semi-final seven days earlier. Hugh Bremner and Leigham McAlpin made their senior debuts.
Swan Hill were also far from full strength, with Toby Thoolen missing through injury, giving Kerang and Nick Lang a significant advantage in the 12.11 (83) to 9.8 (62) win.
“It was neck and neck all game and they definitely challenged us,” Kerang coach Troy Coates said.
“(Swan Hill) have some good young kids, if they can hang onto them, keep most of their squad and add a few players here and there, they’ll be on the right track next year.
“We had some key guys out and brought in two first-gamers (Bremner and McAlpin) and they got plenty of game time.
“We managed a few guys as well, like Sam Heavyside who played in the back pocket all day for example.
“We managed a few guys and ran others through the midfield who haven’t spent as much time in there this year, which was good for them to get a look at it and get a taste of it.”
Liam Jardine was one of those who played more midfield minutes, with the future onballer given the task of tagging Jose Miliado for the afternoon and being one of Kerang’s better players.
Also among the Blues’ best were Josh Hann, Tyson Clingan and Sean Hunter, along with Lang and Josh Hunter, who kept key forward Ned McKeown goalless while also dominating in the air himself.
It was far from a perfect performance, however, with an old-fashioned rev up required at the main break leading to the Blues to kick five unanswered goals to start the second half.
“We tend to not play well against the lower sides, and we can go through the motions a bit from time to time,” Coates said.
“It took a bit of a rev up at half-time to get us going, I just told them we need to take some pride in our performance regardless of ladder positions or who’s on top spot.
“Being our last home game for the year, we wanted to finish on a good note in front of our home crowd.
“Our midfield was very young and even though ‘Langy’ (Lang) was winning clear taps, our midfielders were all over the shop in there.
“We just changed things structurally in the third quarter and got back on top in the centre clearances and stoppages.”
Experienced wingman Adam Manning was a clear standout finding plenty of the ball for Swan Hill, along with Brandon Houlihan, Nyawi Moore, and key defenders Tom Corridan and Anthony Lewin.
Also in the best players was Swan Hill coach Michael Herlihy, who while disappointed his team let an opportunity to finish their season on a high slip after half-time, was also upbeat after the loss.
“It was a good game, (Kerang) obviously had a few out, but we brought some really good pressure and then we moved the ball pretty well,” Herlihy said.
“We hit our targets more often and played with some freedom I felt.
“It was a good team effort, it was just our third quarter that had us on the back foot a bit and cost us.”
Although the Swans’ season now draws to a close, Kerang continue on as the team to beat across the next month, expected to be close to full strength when they take to the Woorinen Recreation Reserve for the second semi-final.
“We’ll be close to full strength in a fortnight’s time,” Coates said.
“‘Skinny’ (Adam Baird) won’t play that first final, he got the scan results back on his hamstring and it’s only a grade one or two injury, but we won’t risk him in the first final and he’ll most likely play the second game whenever that may be.
“Apart from him, we’ll be at full strength though providing we get through the next couple of weeks at training.”
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Kerang | 3.2 | 6.5 | 11.8 | 12.11 | 83 |
| Swan Hill | 2.0 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 9.8 | 62 |
VOTES
3 – Josh Hann (Kerang)
2 – Adam Manning (Swan Hill)
1 – Sean Hunter (Kerang)
