It was a tough day for the Bairnsdale Redlegs during their round 12 Gippsland League trip to South Gippsland to do battle the Leongatha Parrots at the Leongatha Recreation Reserve, returning home without a football victory.
The fourths fixture saw the sides ranked fifth (Bairnsdale) and sixth (Leongatha) doing battle with the Redlegs looking for a victory which would establish a 12-point ladder advantage, effectively looking away a finals ticket for 2025.
But it wasn’t to be, with the Parrots successful narrowing the gap to just four points and spicing up the race to the finals series.
Bairnsdale led by seven points at half time, but the Parrots dominated the third term kicking three unanswered goals while also missing several others which were relatively easy, opening up a 17-point lead at the final break, holding on in a willing last term to win by 16 points, much too their delight.
Among the better players for the Redlegs were Zane Holley, the consistent Harley Young, Jack Cullinan, Bailey Lieuwen, the hard-running Luca Desio and Hudson Froud, who kicked two goals.
It was a similar result in the thirds with the ladder leading Parrots proving too strong for Bairnsdale in a high quality encounter.
Leongatha was out of the blocks quickly, establishing a 10-point lead at the first change, the Redlegs battling hard to cut the margin to just five points at half time.
A five-goal to two second half resulted in the impressive young Parrots running out 23-point victors.
Best players for the Redlegs were Brayden Fenner, Douglas Ashby, Wil Malady, Campbell Reed, Jacob Farley and Saxon Buckley.
It was Malady’s first match for the season in a Bairnsdale jumper with Gippsland Power, Caulfield Grammar and Victorian Country commitments restricting his input, he impressed kicking two goals.
The premiership contending Parrots were much too good in the reserves match, the replay of the 2024 grand final saluting by 53 points.
The victory was set up by six unanswered first half goals, the Redlegs
rallying hard in the third term adding a couple of much-needed majors, but were no match in the final term.
Good players for Bairnsdale were Tarkyn Scott, Tom Selleck, Nic Bulmer, Riley Taylor, Samuel O’Kelly and Jess Bourke.
Bulmer impressing in his second match back from a shoulder reconstruction, he will push for senior selection in the coming weeks.
After a freshen up, courtesy of the competition, Bairnsdale next match will be on July 19, when they host Warragul at the Bairnsdale City Oval.
