Round 11 Tyrepower Manjimup League Wrap

Round 11 of the Tyrepower Manjimup League season, saw Kojonup hosting Tigers fresh off their first win of the season, while Southerners were looking to keep pace with the top three. In the Sunday game, Boyup Brook were desperate to keep their finals hopes alive as they hosted Bridgetown, fresh off a double injury blow from Round 9 and the absence of Mitchell Kings. 

There was no Dane Swan this week in Pemberton, but Souths needed to get back on winning track against Imperials to keep their hopes of the double chance alive. The first quarter went to plan, with the home side heading to the first change with a 24 point lead, 4.3.27 to 0.3.3. Nick Sarsero was continuing his excellent form from the Round 10 clash with Deanmill, while Tyson Jacob was prominent early. For all the scoreboard struggles, Imperials were competing hard and Tom Danks was once again one of the Magpies’ prime movers.  

Southerners added another 5 goals in the second quarter to take a 45 point lead to half time. Ben Cabassi and William Omodei were hitting the scoreboard, along with Luca Davis, as Imperials managed a few positive chains of possession, but struggled to get on top in the midfield and had to do most of their attacking from the back half. 

Another six goals in the third quarter left the margin at 57 points at the final change, Riley Gill getting plenty of possession, while Brandy Armstrong was doing all he could to keep the Magpies in the contest. Keenan-Cruz Wilson kicked one late in the quarter to bring smiles to the faces of Imperials’ supporters as they headed to the last change, hopeful that they could put last quarter pressure on their more fancied opponents. 

Instead it was Southerners who dominated the final quarter, with Tom Mutter having a fantastic individual half hour, getting plenty of the ball and hitting the scoreboard to finish with three goals. The 22.15.147 to 6.9.45 scoreline reflected a big win for Southerners, but Imperials competed hard all day and the last quarter pushed the margin to a gap that was tough on the black and whites. Ben Cabassi ended the game with four goals, as did Davis, while Will Omodei added three to join Mutter with three or more for the game. For his part, Wilson never gave up and booted three of the Magpies’ six for the game. 

While the Southerners looked to keep pace with the top two at the southern most point of the competition, Kojonup hosted Tigers in the eastern most location in the league and set out to maintain their status at the top of the table against the Tigers. 

A quick kick toward goal from Harry Taylor found Mitchell Blakers at the top of the goal square to kick the Cougars’ first. A strong intercept mark from Reece Edwards set up Jethro Namnik for a goal in his return to league action for the Tigers, and as team mates descended on him following his successful kick from 40 metres out, it looked like the Tigers were ready to carry their winning form from Round 10 and challenge the Cougars. Instead it was the veteran Taylor himself who kicked the next goal only a minute later to restore the Cougars’ goal advantage, before the returning Kyron Hayden found Geoffrey Pethick, who added the home side’s third in quick order. Alarm bells started ringing minutes later when a promising Tigers attack was broken up, before some Hayden magic on the outer side wing set up Lee Lucev for his first, of what would end up being a haul of six. 

After a Tigers goal paused the damage, Lucev added another two, taking his tally to three for the quarter and helping the Coougars to a 22 point lead at the first change, 6.0.36 to 2.2.14. 

It was Taylor who got the scoring off to a start in the second quarter, as the Cougars added another 8 and went to half time with a 77 point lead. Hayden was everywhere in his return to action after an injury in the Round 9 clash with Boyup Brook, while Lachie O’Shea was maintaining the high standards we’ve seen over a long period of time in Cougars colours. Jamie and Matt Marinoni were once again setting high standards, while Kojonup’s forward line dynamic duo in Taylor and Lucev were hitting the scoreboard with regularity. 

A 102 point lead at the last change had killed off the game as a contest, but Corban Pinelli and Reece Edwards were amongst the Tigers who refused to concede and as they have done all year, battled hard even as the scoreboard worked against them. 

The Cougars added another six goals in the final term to wind up with a 138 point win, and while the margin underlined the gap between where the two sides are at the moment, the glimpses Tigers fans got of their young side ‘s improvement would provide hope for the future, while Kojonup’s focus is every much on the now as they aim to repeat their 2023 premiership success and go one better than 2024.