Sport
28 August, 2023
Devastating opening stand sets Navarre up for Swans date
Navarre did all the damage in the first quarter in their 73-point win over Newstead at Camp Reserve with a devastating burst which served notice to the top four teams in the competition that the Hoppers aren’t to be trifled with. With the Hoppers...
Navarre did all the damage in the first quarter in their 73-point win over Newstead at Camp Reserve with a devastating burst which served notice to the top four teams in the competition that the Hoppers aren’t to be trifled with.
With the Hoppers recording a 102-point victory over Newstead the week before, they were heavy favourites coming into the game, and duly delivered with an outstanding seven-goal burst which effectively ended the contest by quarter time, which resulted in a 44-point lead.
However, Newstead were able to regroup and put in a better effort in the second term that was more reminiscent of their first quarter last week, holding the Hoppers to just two goals in the second. Unfortunately, the Kangaroos just weren’t able to get a foothold back into the game, scoring three behinds for the term to leave it a 54-point deficit at the main break.
The Kangaroos had their best quarter in the third term as they were able to kick two goals, as well as restrict Navarre, who had a bout of inaccuracy, kicking six behinds from seven scoring shots. While it resulted in Newstead winning the third term, the game was still well and truly in the Hoppers’ keeping, leading by 53 points at the final change.
Navarre were able to rediscover their goalkicking form in the last term, kicking five goals to two to eventually record a solid win, progressing to a meeting with old Lexton League rivals Natte Bealiba on Saturday.
Josh Fowkes put in a commanding performance, as did Cody Driscoll, who finished with seven goals — meaning he now has 22 from his last two elimination final appearance. Louis Hannett, Billy Hawkes, co-coach Billy Parry and Wil Clough were also named in the best.
For Newstead, a promising season which saw seven wins in the first nine games has ended with an eighth consecutive loss, and their season over, although it is a much-improved campaign for the club under the stewardship of Joel Smith and Derrick Filo. Jedd Pedretti, Rhys Smith, Angus Mayes, Daniel Keane, Heath Lawrence and Anthony Robins gave their all to the cause for the Kangaroos.
Navarre co-coach Jack Jess said he was thrilled with the Hoppers’ opening stand.
“It’s great to have a win first-up in finals. We knew it wasn’t going to be the same Newstead outfit as last week, and our mindset was to come out and stamp our authority, which we did. We were able to sew it up after half time and set ourselves to work on things from there,” he said.
However, Jess also added that there were things to work on ahead of their clash with Natte, despite having won their last three games against the club.
“We pride ourselves on four-quarter efforts, and we didn’t quite get it. When we come up against quality outfits, they can hurt you. Newstead were able to have some really good patches,” he said.
“The focus now is on hard footy throughout. Natte are a good team and they gave us a great hitout earlier in the year. We need that to take it up to them to get a win.
“Recent records don’t mean anything come finals, there’s a different kind of game at this time of year. We haven’t played Natte in a final for a few years now, but we know it’s going to be a hard contest. They’re a great team.”
Jess says the versatility of his lineup has the potential to create a great contest. “We have some great versatility, with the Fowkes boys, Billy Parry, and other guys who can play some different roles, and we’ll look to exploit that against Natte,” he said.
Jess says Navarre deserves to be in the conversation as a premiership threat, despite noting that Harcourt and Carisbrook are still favourites in his eyes.
“We showed in the first quarter that if we can bring it up like that, we can do it to anyone. I’m confident of that, and the belief in the group is really showing,” he said.
