FINALS football has kicked off in the Golden Rivers, with Hay claiming a 90-point win against Macorna in the first semi final.
The Lions kicked 12 unanswered first half goals, to win the battle of the big cats 21.16 (142) to 6.16 (52)
The Hay forward line were too strong for Macorna’s defenders, with spearheads Declan Watson and Simon Bunyan both finishing the game with bags of five goals.
Hay will now be waiting for the result of next week’s second semi-final between Ultima and Moulamein, with the loser of that match awaiting them in the preliminary final.
Hay hit the ground running right from the get-go, kicking eight goals to nil in the game’s first term – even though it was often the Macorna midfield getting first use out of the centre.
Hay coach Mick Cattanach said that his side had to work hard to get on top of the inside battle.
“Macorna have got a really good clearance division,” he said.
“We probably shared the clearance numbers, and at times they were slightly on top of us.
“It was a pretty even contest in the centre and from there it was about us getting the possessions and getting going.”
With Macorna doing enough to get the ball forward, it was often Hay’s halfback line providing their side with rebound run.
Hay’s coach said he was very pleased with the connection between his midfielders and backline.
“We’re really big about the defensive run and making sure our mids get back and work hard,” Cattanach said.
“It’s defend first and then attack second for us, so we’re really happy with how the backs went and the midfield getting back to help them.
“It really allows our inside-mids and wings to get onto that overlap, so we’re able to march the ball upfield.”
Two players providing the Lions with drive all game were midfielders Will Clark and Dean Aylett, who both racked up disposals across the ground.
While Hay’s coach said he was pleased by his whole team’s effort, it was the side’s skipper who was his stand out.
“Our guys just really presented all day. We were stoked with the effort we got across the board,” he said.
“Kenneth Jubb was probably best on ground today. He did some work in the ruck and then was also the down the line kick for us.
“He was getting a lot of ball when we really needed him to stand up.”
Macorna’s captain Malcom Neiwand was one of the Tiger’s best, battling hard alongside Toby Whitfield and Shaun Haffenden in the middle.
Wingman Lachlan Thompson was another of the Tiger’s better performers, as was Jordan Simpson who provided the side with extra grunt.
While Macorna will be disappointed not to continue their finals run, they can take pride in breaking their long finals drought – this being their first finals match since 2011.
Hay have also broken their own drought, with their coach explaining the excitement surrounding a return to a preliminary final.
“We’re pumped, I don’t think Hay has has been in a prelim final for eight or nine years, so it’s massive for us,” he said.
“You would have seen a whole bunch of people from the town are here and really feeling people getting around us. It’s so exciting.
“I think in the next two weeks it’s really going to build and we’ll have a massive amount of support coming for the boys.
“We’ll have a break while Ultima play Moulamein, no doubt those guys are going to go pretty hard at one another and so we’re getting to sit back now in some respects.
“I think our best is pretty good and I think we can be really competitive and if we deliver what we did today.
“We believe we can take it right up to both of those sides.”
******
SCORES
HAY: 8.5 (53), 12.10 (82), 19.12 (126), 21.16 (142)
MACORNA: 0.4 (4), 0.10 (10), 4.12 (36), 6.16 (52)
