After suffering consecutive losses in rounds 16 and 17, Ocean Grove turns its attention to Anglesea this week in what will be its final game of the season.
The Grubbers were disappointing in their 40-point loss to Newcomb following their upset win against Geelong Amateur in round 15 and were easily taken care of by Drysdale in the penultimate round.
“It’s a bit of a strange feeling entering the last round this week but really looking forward to seeing how the playing group approach it,” coach Dave Farrell said.
“Definitely a big down against Newcomb but they came to play and had us on the backfoot early. Their coaching group and leaders did a super job to get them in such a confident mindset early and we were beaten in most areas on the day.”
On Saturday August 3, Drysdale had 38 scoring shots to nine to run out convincing 14.24(108) to 5.4(34) winners.
Farrell said the way his side started against Drysdale appeared to be a continuation of the Newcomb game.
“There was a sense maybe the season was a couple of weeks too long for our young list but we had a good chat at half time about squeezing everything we could out of this year’s experiences and the playing group responded really well,” he said.
“Drysdale is surging towards finals with a really healthy experienced list, they have won 15 out of 17 of their third quarters by big margins so to halve that and only be outscored by 17 points in the second half showed some real character.
“Their midfield is really stacked, (Matt) Pigott has gotten himself into terrific shape and gives them good opportunities in there, (Ben) Fennell, (Mitch) Maguire, (Tom) Ruggles and (Flinn) Chisolm all going through there have plenty of experience and are strong over the ball. We rolled a few guys through there and am sure they would have taken some great learnings from playing on those guys but also seeing close up the connection and trust they have developed from playing together for a few years now.”
While adding to their three wins this season against second placed Anglesea appears unlikely, Farrell said there was still plenty to play for.
“The coaching group immediately turned their attention to Anglesea post Drysdale and like the players showed on the weekend, no one is looking to ease into the off season,” he said.
“With our junior footballers and netballers all set to feature pretty prominently in finals there’s really good energy around the club and while we’re keen to be a part of their success, it does help drive standards within our playing group and a resolve to make the most of the head start we get on 2025.”
DRYSDALE’s win against Ocean Grove in the reserves has pretty much ensured it will play finals. The only way the Hawks can miss is if Queenscliff defeats Portarlington as expected and Anglesea wins and makes up the 11 percent difference. Drysdale would also need to lose to Modewarre.
Josh Hopgood was best for Drysdale in the 15.8(98) to 8.5(53) win while Nick Aringo kicked four goals. Brandon Poulter was Ocean Grove’s best and Fletcher Long booted four majors.
OCEAN GROVE sits in third spot on the Under 18 Division 1 ladder after a 16.7(103) to 5.2(32) win against Drysdale. Jamison Hallam was named best, James Robbins kicked six goals and Jace Collins also played well.
