There will be no fairytale conclusion for the Port MacDonnell Football Club players as the 2024 season ended for them at Nangwarry on Saturday when they succumbed to reigning premiers Kalangadoo by 61 points in the cut-throat Mid South Eastern Football League first semi-final.
Harshly dubbed the “Great Pretenders” in some quarters, Kalangadoo’s odds of a 14th premiership have plummeted with such an outstanding display of spirit, skill and teamwork.
This scribe was eating humble pie for doubting the resilience of the team which lost its first four games in 2024 and only scraped into the top four on percentage.
Before a crowd which paid $12,264 at the gate, the Magpies advanced via a gritty, but one-sided contest to the MSEFL preliminary final on their home ground at Kalangadoo on September 14.
They will meet the loser of this Saturday’s second semi-final at Hatherleigh between the minor premiers and home team and Robe.
Both the Eagles and the Roosters were well-represented in the crowd and they witnessed a stunning performance by a team hell-bent on securing a third consecutive premiership.
It was quite the day to be a supporter of the black and whites as their club won two of the curtain-raisers as well.
After an absence of any major round action for eight seasons, the Kalangadoo junior colts easily accounted for Tantanoola.
Kalangadoo’s B Grade team are the reigning premiers as they proved no match for their arch-rivals from Glencoe.
The only game not to involve Kalangadoo on the knock-out final day was Nangwarry’s narrow victory over Port MacDonnell in the senior colts.
There was little joy for Port MacDonnell as it was the seaside club’s fourth consecutive A Grade major round loss since the last flag in 2021.
Of these four defeats, three have been at the hands of Kalangadoo.
Grey skies, light rain and blustery winds made it tough for players but the superb playing surface was a credit to honorary groundsman Dion Dinnison.
Wattle Range Council outside works personnel also assisted with ground preparation tasks.
Kalangadoo 16.14 d. Port MacDonnell 7.7
The Magpies began the game well as skipper Sam McManus won the toss and his side kicked to the southern (ex-Catholic Church) end of the Nangwarry Oval which was favoured by a three-goal breeze.
They had the first major on the board at the three-minute mark through the good work of Michael Krieger who kicked truly from a set shot.
The Demons replied with a major a short time later after Colby Munro grabbed the ball off hands in the goal square and snapped accurately.
That was to be his team’s only goal in the opening term as their opponents added a further four, with two coming from the boot of Connor Gentile.
He finished the day with seven goals and a best on ground ranking.
It was all bad news for the seasiders as in-form skipper Tim Sullivan fell awkwardly in a marking contest and injured his knee.
Sullivan immediately had his knee wrapped in ice and he took no further part in the match.
With a comfortable 25-point lead to the Magpies at the first change, all at the Nangwarry Oval anticipated a wind-assisted comeback by the Demons.
It was not to be as the Kalangadoo defence remained tight and conceded just one goal in this period.
It came at the 12-minute mark when Jake Turner took a strong mark and then converted from a range of 40 metres.
Around four minutes later and at the opposite end of the oval, Gentile performed a similar feat.
His mark, however, was probably the grab of the day.
Light rain fell for much of the third term as the reigning premiers advanced their lead from 29 points to 51 points at the final change.
With the run and carry of the McManus brothers and great work by Gentile, the black and whites were unstoppable.
The rain and wind eased slightly in the final term but Kalangadoo still outscored Port MacDonnell as much of the heat went out of the contest.
There was the occasional scuffle but the game was mostly played in good spirit.
Field umpires Tim Biggins, Adam Gilbert and Adam Maidment did well over all four terms.
Kalangadoo veteran Ben Mules had a further reason to celebrate as he turned 42 on Friday.
B Grade – Kalangadoo 11.13 d. Glencoe 5.4
The B Grade result was the most one-sided tussle among the four games played in the first semi-final of the Mid South Eastern Football League at Nangwarry on Saturday.
Kalangadoo crushed Glencoe by 45 points to advance to another cut-throat final on their home deck on September 14.
Thus, the reigning MSE wooden spooners were defeated by the reigning premiers.
The black and whites made their intentions known by quarter time after thwarting the Murphies who had the wind assistance.
The Magpies then made full use of the assistance of the breeze and went to a half-time lead of 30 points.
They kicked away thereafter and had almost 25 scoring shots.
Senior Colts – Nangwarry 8.6 d. Port MacDonnell 6.6
The dream of the Nangwarry senior colts playing in the grand final at Kongorong on September 21 is well and truly alive after they defeated Port MacDonnell by 12 points.
The Demons mounted stiff resistance throughout the contest and the result was in doubt until well into the last quarter.
The seasiders had the wind advantage in the final term but their two goals in this period were matched by the Saints.
Nangwarry spearhead Elwood Geary proved a reliable avenue to goal and finished with seven goals.
Club officials said it was the first Nangwarry finals victory in any grade in decades and eight of the winning team had A Grade experience in 2024.
Junior Colts – Kalangadoo 8.14 d. Tantanoola 3.5
Successful teamwork was evident in the opening game of the first semi-final.
In an intense and low-scoring contest, the Kalangadoo junior colts resisted a determined Tantanoola outfit by 39 points.
After an even opening term, the Magpies kept the Tigers scoreless and added 3.3.
Kalangadoo went on to dominate the second half.
The result means all four teams from the Kalangadoo Football Club are still alive for premiership honours.
Suspension issued
The Mid South Eastern Football League has suspended Kongorong water carrier Dan Hann for five games.
League secretary Naomi Mitchell said the suspension followed a serious misconduct charge during the third quarter of the A Grade match against Port MacDonnell on August 24.
“Hann made inappropriate contact with an opposing player,” she said.
