It took to the 18th and last minor round on Saturday for reigning premiers Kalangadoo to earn the right to defend their premiership in the Mid South East Football League major round.
The Magpies finished level-pegging with “September Specialists” Mount Burr on 10 wins and six losses.
The Mozzies needed Nangwarry to defeat Kalangadoo but that looked unlikely from the mid-point of the second term at Pie Park.
The black and whites had a decisive 3.2% advantage over the green and golds and it was Clint Gallio and his Mozzies who were reaching for the mothballs on August 24.
Kalangadoo now take on third-placed Port MacDonnell in the cut-throat first semi-final at Nangwarry on Saturday.
Disappointingly, there were big winning margins in all four games to end the home and away season and they ranged from 54 to 160 points.
The average winning margin was 104 points.
Trophy Winner
Hatherleigh’s Paddy Chay ensured he would win his first senior goalkicking trophy with an 11 goal haul against Tantanoola at Tigerland.
This took his season’s tally to 61 and five ahead of Port MacDonnell’s Christian Howlett.
Chay filled the key attacking role for the MSEFL in the ill-fated match against the new Limestone Coast Football League in Mount Gambier in June.
He also tried his hand with South Adelaide in the SANFL Reserves late in the season.
Howlett is a former Dartmoor player and is in his second season with the Demons as he joined up with ex-teammate and new seasiders’ coach Josh Woodall.
He has struck a rich vein of form as the finals have neared.
The top three goalkickers list is rounded out by multiple past winner Jack Gregory with 53.
The Mozzies’ vice-captain did all he could to get his side into the finals by booting nine goals at Glencoe in round 18.
Glencoe’s Alex Hentschke briefly led the table when he had 50 goals at the end of round 16.
However, Hentschke missed the final two matches due to injury.
Chay will join the other senior football and netball trophy winners at the Millicent War Memorial Civic and Arts Centre for next month’s Mail Medal function.
Port MacDonnell v Kongorong
Port MacDonnell continued the familiar pattern of the past 15 years of taking the Bruce Lightbody Memorial Shield to Kongorong and then returning to the seaside with it.
The trophy is one of the oldest rivalry trophies in the MSEFL and honours the memory of the past Kongorong Football Club president and interleague official.
Another powerful motivation for the Demons was to win for the sake of ex-skipper Zack Williams who was playing his 250th A Grade game.
The milestone match meets the criteria for player life membership of the MSEFL.
Williams played in the 2012 and 2021 premierships and has represented the MSEFL as a specialist back pocket.
With these factors in play, the visitors were keen to secure the premiership points and the match was safely in their keeping by half-time as they lead by 58 points.
Mount Burr v Glencoe
Given that a possible finals berth partly relied on defeating Glencoe, it was a sluggish opening by Mount Burr.
It took only 10 seconds for Glencoe to kick the first goal. They then kicked another 90 seconds later and a third at the three-minute mark.
It was a hot start with three goals in three minutes, but after that burst Mount Burr decided to flick the switch.
The Mozzies did not concede another goal in the opening term while they added 4.3 themselves.
The visitors were never threatened after quarter-time as they let through a mere four goals in the last three quarters in the excellent conditions.
Mount Burr’s 5pm joy was short-lived as news came through quickly their chances of playing finals had been extinguished by Kalangadoo’s home ground win over Nangwarry.
Hatherleigh v Tantanoola
Hatherleigh players knew that winning the game over Tantanoola at Tigerland would not have any impact on their standing as they had already secured the minor premiership.
With only pride at stake, the Eagles were keen to do well and impress the selectors who will pick the team to take on Robe in the second semi-final at Hatherleigh on September 8.
The complete domination by the visitors was evident in looking at the raw statistics.
There were 53 scoring shots to three while the Tigers did not score in the second and third terms.
Another positive for the victors was the recovery of ruckman Darcy Bateman after almost three months on the sidelines with injury.
Kalangadoo v Nangwarry
It was almost level-pegging at quarter time when Kalangadoo hosted Nangwarry as both teams had three scoring shots.
The Magpies were given a reality check at the first break and then controlled the match until three-quarter time.
The honours were shared in the last term with the Saints looking to send off departing coach Shane Raymond with a “red, hot go”.
