Nagambie to face Rushworth in KDL semi final after Tigers cause big boilover

Having snapped a 15-year drought to make its first senior football finals appearance in the KDL, Longwood burst out of the blocks and looked set to light the post-season on fire, matching Ngambie early before pulling ahead to lead by five points at quarter-time.

But Nagambie hit back in the second term, booting three goals to the Redlegs’ two to snatch the lead back at the main break by the slimmest of margins, ahead 37-36 as the two sides trudged into the rooms.

The Lakers made sure to give themselves a bit more breathing space at the next break, pulling away in the third term with a three-goal-to-one quarter to stretch the margin to 15 points with a quarter to play, however, with the season on the line, Longwood wasn’t finished with yet.

Despite Nagambie kicking the opening goal of the final term, the Redlegs found a way to boot the next three, drawing within two points and holding all of the momentum halfway through the last quarter.

It wasn’t to be, however, as the Lakers matched and then raised them, firing home the next four in quick succession and, while the Redlegs found another goal late, it mattered little, with Nagambie clinching the 28-point win and with it a semi-final berth.

Tom Barnes and Tyson Chapman each kicked four goals in the win, with Mark Nolan named the Lakers’ best in the do-or-die clash.

Nagambie will face a surprise opponent in this weekend’s semi-final, however, with Rushworth claiming the huge scalp of Shepparton East in Saturday’s first elimination final.

Rushworth took full advantage of the fresh start finals football provides, delivering a shock 15.10 (100) to 11.11 (77) win over the 2024 grand finalist in an upset that has well and truly shaken up the finals picture.

Having snuck into finals as the sixth-placed side with a 9-7 record, the Tigers threw the form book out the window, making full use of the Ironbark Stadium crowd to overrun their higher-ranked opponent, with the third-placed Eagles (13-3) now condemned to watching on from the sidelines.

Having last featured in the post-season in 2012, the finals triumph is the latest milestone for the recently beleaguered Tigers, whose very existence was under threat two years ago.

“Yeah, it really is (a thrill) mate, it’s still sort of sinking in,” coach Mark Wheatley said.

“You know, I've said this before, (it’s) vindication, almost, for the people of our community and our club, and obviously everyone knows our story about when we went into recess and then potentially closing the doors forever.

“It’s just really pleasing for everyone involved and just shows a little bit of hard work and and getting the right people in the right positions, it can go a long way.”

The do-or-die contest started out in typical finals fashion with the dial turned up to 11 and neither side was willing to give an inch, but it was East that edged ahead at the quarter-time siren, finding a late major to head into the huddle ahead 21-14 after a back-and-forth term.

With the game relatively evenly poised at the first break, few would have predicted the onslaught that followed in the second.

Rushworth, with a ‘home’ crowd behind it, blew the contest wide open with a blistering seven-goal-to-two quarter, turning a seven-point deficit at quarter-time into a 23-point advantage by half-time.

It was all done off the back of defence, according to Wheatley, with his troops urged to curb the free-flowing nature of the Eagles’ attack.

“I thought, to be honest, the game looked like a game of basketball in that first quarter,” he said.

“We didn't want the game looking like that, we want contests and repeat stoppages and they want the game on the outside. They've got silky skills and we just weren't defending as though we should.

“So, we just tightened that up, and it was more about numbering off on the defence on transition when they had the ball, and yeah, we got the ball in a contest, and then away we go sort of thing, so it was off the back of our defence (that we turned things around).”

It looked like the Tigers were going to go on with it, too, after the main interval, kicking the opening two goals of the second half, but the Eagles fired back with a pair of their own, managing to match the Tigers for the rest of the quarter to trail by 25 points at the final change.

But the margin proved too great and Rushworth too strong to overcome, with the Tigers running out the final quarter with no real concern to clinch a memorable 23-point victory.

The win only adds to what is already a strong sense of belief that has been built within the group, Wheatley said, and they are riding the highs as they come, but they also know there is plenty of work to be done before they can taste the ultimate success.

“Definitely (there is a sense of optimism), the whole town and community and club is really bubbling away at the moment,” he said.

“We're not keeping a lid on it, we want to enjoy every single moment, but (we) also understand that we've got so much more work to do, and we need to continue to grow and learn and and build that belief.

“It doesn't just happen, we can't just rock and up and turn it on, so there's been a lot of hard work go into it.”

Nicolas Collins was named Rushworth’s best in the win in his fifth senior game of the season, while five goals from Riley Edwards, the most of any player on the ground, also went a long way in helping the Tigers to the win.