La Trobe continue winning ways as Masala win a thriller

Billy Bolch

La Trobe faced Swinburne in the second semi-final with the winner moving straight into the Grand Final. La Trobe got off to an extremely strong start kicking 5 goals whilst only allowing a single goal from the Razorbacks. The second quarter saw Swinburne slow the Trobers down however they weren’t able to capitalise on the momentum. 

Down by 38 points at half time the Razorbacks needed a major boost in the third quarter if they were to earn the week off. However, it wasn’t meant to be in the third as despite having their best quarter, La Trobe were able to score five goals to extend the lead out to 53 points. La Trobe was then able to gain all of the momentum as they added another four goals to their tally whilst keeping the Razorbacks goalless for the final quarter. 

In the end, it was La Trobe that took the win dominantly by 80 points in what is a scary result for the other remaining contenders. 

La Trobes’ best players included Will Lowry, Connor Mccredden and Ben Vicary. The best for the Razorbacks include Brent Hodson, Jed Toner and Aidan Vesty. Riley Alexander and Tate Spiteri were a dominant duo for the Trobers combining for 9 goals. Teammates Riley Keath and Ben Vicary kicked 2 goals each. The Razorbacks had 5 single goal scorers including Oliver Mitchell, David Larner, Lachlan Randello, Aidan Vesty and Trent Kniese. 

La Trobe will now have the week off progressing straight through to the Grand Final whilst Swinburne will take on Masala, a side they defeated less than a month ago. 

In the knockout final, St Johns locked horns with Masala. The winner moving on to face Swinburne and the loser being eliminated from the season’s competition. Both teams got off to a slow start however it was the JOCs that were able to gain a 2-goal lead over the Tigers at the first break. The JOCs were able to kick another two goals during the second term and only allowed a single Masala goal to take a 16-point lead into halftime. 

Masala was able to win the third quarter with four goals, however, St John’s were still able to kick three goals of their own and hold a 9-point lead with one more quarter to play. The match was anyone’s for the taking. Kicking the first goal of the quarter, the Masala faithful were up and about however the JOCs quickly fought back kicking a goal of their own. Masala however swung the momentum kicking the final three goals and running away with the game securing a spot in the Preliminary Final. 

The best players for St John’s were Jarrod Ely, Michael Horton and Jayke Tuplin. The best players for Masala were Jake Dunkley, Tom Williamson and Luke Decarne. Michael Horton led up forward for the JOCs with 3 majors whilst other goal scorers included Nicholas Terrill (1), Andrew Daly (1) and Jason Naffa (1). Zac Pahos kicked 3 goals for the Tigers. Teammates Cam Young (2), Riley Shaw (1) and Matthew Decarne (1) also were important contributors to Masala. 

St Johns will now look to the 2023 season where they will again have an excellent chance to win the flag. Masala will move onto the preliminary final to take on Swinburne on Sunday.