Sport
22 August, 2023
Giants bounce back for finals
The Southern Mallee Giants rebounded strongly from their shock round 17 loss against wooden spooners Warrack Eagles, to record an emphatic 115 point victory against the Horsham Demons in Hopetoun on Saturday. With the return of a number of prominent...
The Southern Mallee Giants rebounded strongly from their shock round 17 loss against wooden spooners Warrack Eagles, to record an emphatic 115 point victory against the Horsham Demons in Hopetoun on Saturday.
With the return of a number of prominent players including coach Kieran Delahunty, Rupert Sangster, Tyler Lehmann, Jackson Fisher and Liam Nelson, the Giants were primed to put the previous week’s loss behind them, but were challenged early by the Demons in their final game of the season.
With a slight breeze the only deterrent weather-wise, it was an otherwise perfect August day for both the players, and also the crowd in Hopetoun, which included a number of returning Hopetoun Devils celebrating various premiership reunions.
The Demons hit the scoreboard first, rebounding quickly from the back 50 to score the first major before the two minute mark.
The welcome return of ruckman Delahunty into the home side’s line up was offering the Giants first use of the footy at centre clearances, while alternative ruckman Jake Garvey picked up duties around the ground and delivered the same silver service to crumbers at his feet.
Any quick forward 50 entries by the Giants were rebounded by the Demons in efficient fashion in the first term, the wind advantage propelling them forward and assisting as they registered a second major, with the Giants yet to trouble the scoreboard attendant beside a missed set shot by Lou White.
The Demons half back line continued to work overtime for the quarter, but were ultimately successful in thwarting the Giants persistency until the twenty minute mark when Jake Garvey converted a set shot for the combine’s first major of the day. A second goal came via the boot of Luke Mahony after the siren had sounded to push the Giants into the lead.
The Giants put the foot down in the second term, outscoring the Demons six goals to one and stamping their authority on the match.
The Demons continued to battle hard in the third term, but the half time defecit of 39 points was extended to 60 as the Giants kept the visitors restricted to a couple of minors before the last change.
In his 200th club game, Giants favourite Tyler Lehmann became the focal point for the Giants as the game progressed and the lead grew, his teammates looking to ensure he had a few goals and plenty of memories for this particular game.
The first came via a swinging set shot in the second term, bringing teammates from all over the field to celebrate, a trend they continued as he kicked the balance of his majors for the day to reach a final tally of four.
Mickitja Rotumah-Onus continues to get better and better as the season progresses, and was elite in his clearance work on Satuday to be acknowledge ‘next best’ after milestone man Lehmann.
Lou White played one of his best games of the season, while Angus McSweyn has been super reliable in the back half of the season especially. Lehmann kicked four for the day, as did speedy youngster Ben McGee, Luke Mahony chipped in with three, with Rupert Sangster rounding out the list of multiple goal kickers with three also.
Tyler Blake was best aground for the Demons in their final outing for season 2023, while Ben Lakin, Jordan Motton and Brodie Mines did what they could defensively to slow the Giants roll.
The Giants faithful will head to Murtoa on Saturday to watch the seniors take on Horsham Saints in the qualifying final. The Giants accounted for the Saints earlier in the season, but were demolished at Coughlin Park later in the year, snuffing out Mitch Martin’s prowess in front of goal will be vital to the Giants success after he booted 10 in the last encounter.
Final score, Giants - 21.20 (146) def. Demons - 4.7 (31).
Best, Giants - Tyler Lehmann, Mickitja Rotumah-Onus, Lou White, Angus McSweyn, Matt Bellinger, Billy Lloyd; Demons - Tyler Blake, Ben Lakin, Jordan Motton, Brodie Mines, Sid Hernon, Jeremy Kemp.
It was a long season for the Giants reserves, only managing to appear on the winners list a couple times for the year, albeit one of those against third place sitter Minyip Murtoa back when there was a full list of players available.
The Giants had a challenge in front of them before Saturday ever rolled around, with a severe lack of available players meaning coaches Taylor Donnan and Zac Robins were hard at work on the phone, begging anybody and everybody that would answer their calls to pull on the Giants jumper for one last time in 2023.
Someone that did answer the goal, of no surprise to anybody that knows him, was Hopetoun veteran Ross Brown, who doesn’t let an opportunity to help out pass him by, and coincidently was sitting on 399 games following his last outing as a Devil nine odd years ago.
With the opportunity to flick over to 400 games played, as well as playing the milestone alongside son Declan, ‘Browny’ was raring to go, and the Giants faithful were all getting behind in the lead up.
With the Demons well and truly ensconced in finals contention, the Giants were simply looking to be competitive and make the visitors work for their score, and that they did. While the Demons continued to impact the scoreboard for the entirety of the match the Giants were also able to peg away at their own scoreline, a great improvement on the results of their clash earlier in the season.
Perhaps looking to steal the spotlight from Dad for just a moment, Declan Brown took possession of the footy well behind the centre line and took off toward goal, taking bounce after bounce, shaking off an opponent in the fifty, and slotting through the contender for goal of the year, much to the crowd’s delight. While the reserves were not quite registering the wins in 2023, the support of the Giants on the sideline was unwavering, evident by the hoots and hollers as Browns goal was celebrated.
The best players for the day were made up of the young brigade, with Cody Frankel, Hudson McCredden and Tristan Glare all playing great games once again, while Taylor Donnan and Luke Torpey rounded out the top six, with Donnan also kicking three majors.
Final score, Demons - 23.13 (151) def. Giants - 6.1 (37).
Best, Demons - Deek Roberts, joshua Mibus, Sam Hobbs, Daniel Souter, Harry Miller, Tim Wade; Giants - Declan Brown, Cody Frankel, Hudson McCredden, Tristan Glare, Taylor Donnan, Luke Torpey.
Best of the rest, the Giants just missed out on the Under 14s finals series in 2023, but were an absolute delight to watch for the entirety of the year, many Giants supporters commenting on the progression of the boys under coach Luen Credlin.
The Beulah-Hopetoun boys see-sawed for the entirety of the year, alternating between winning and losing week on week for all bar two occasions.
While they finished the season with a loss against the Demons, they did manage to push out the implementation of the mercy rule from early in the second quarter on their first encounter, to late in the third on Saturday.
The Giants welcomed the inclusion of Koby Hallam, playing some great footy after a break, while Jackson Moore, Oliver Credlin and Spencer Williams all continued their runs of good form.
Matching up against teams from bigger population centres is no mean feat for the smaller statured Giants, but they continue to play beyond their size and ages to challenge their opponents through the match.
Dylan Cook and Maxwell Roberts kicked the goals for the Giants, while Chaz Smith and Jude Mibus both kicked multiple for the visitors.
Final score, Demons - 11.8 (72) def. Giants - 2.0 (12).
Best, Demons - Oakley Farr, Lincoln Tucker, William Hobbs, Jude Mibus, Henry Walsgott, Jett Wilson; Giants - Kobe Hallam, Jackson Moore, Oliver Credlin, Spencer Williams, Leith Horman, Dylan Cook.