Sport
23 August, 2024
Big game for Pies to determine elimination final clash
There are still a handful of permutations for the Magpies this week, but one thing is for certain, the finals have arrived early for the club when they take on Strathfieldsaye at Tannery Lane.
Maryborough cannot overtake Strathfieldsaye, nor can they grab the double chance, but they can land a psychological blow to the Storm in a potential finals meeting the next week.
If that were to happen, Kangaroo Flat would need to defeat Gisborne and Sandhurst would need to beat Castlemaine to drop the Storm down to fourth.
The Magpies, for their part, are only a mathematical miracle to claim the double chance, and need too much to happen, but they can claim fourth position if Sandhurst lose to Castlemaine.
Regardless, last week was a return to form for the Magpies after dropping a game to Golden Square the week before.
It was a battle for the first three quarters, with the Magpies increasing their lead by two goals in every quarter, before blowing the Hawks away in the last term with a 16 -goal to eight effort to eventually win 51-37.
The performance was the Magpies’ most potent since the opening game, when they scored 56 goals to defeat Castlemaine, and it was the combination of Meg Kelly and Jordan MacIlwain which helped provide great drive, with Kelly scoring 26 goals and MacIlwain 25.
However, the midcourt combination of Katie Bilton, Tori Chandler and Millie Cassidy worked well to help stifle the Eaglehawk ball movement late, and that can also be attributed to the defensive work of Maggie Tranter and Chloe Egan as well.
Elsewhere, the Magpies will be hoping for a winning end to the home-and-away season.
For B grade and B reserve, this will be their last chance to break their losing run, and weren’t quite able to get the job done last week against Eaglehawk.
B grade were outclassed by 28 goals, while B reserve were beaten by 43 goals.
The 17 and under game will be an intriguing encounter to open up the day, with the Magpies looking to gain more confidence ahead of a likely qualifying final showdown with Golden Square next week.
The Magpies could yet have a big say in the finals fortunes of the Storm, who will need to win to make sure they are playing finals, otherwise, a loss, coupled with a Gisborne victory over Kangaroo Flat and a Castlemaine upset over Sandhurst, will see them miss the finals completely.
Regardless, the 17 and under team were able to get back on track last week, scoring an 18-goal victory to return to the winners’ list after a loss to the Bulldogs the week before.