Sale and Maffra each enjoyed wins during Round 7 of the Gippsland League.
The Magpies and Eagles made it back-to-back victories, returning from the bye on a positive note.
The biggest talking point out of the round was Moe handing Leongatha its first loss in more than two years.
Much as this writer would love to dedicate an entire page to that game, we best focus attention on the fortunes of the two local teams.
They are getting some players back Sale.
The Magpies moved into the top-five at the weekend, after holding off a fast-finishing Morwell 8.10 (58) to 8.6 (54).
The match was predicted to be close, and was befitting of a game that saw two teams enter on not only the same number of premiership points, but exactly the same percentage.
Only a draw would have meant Sale and Morwell remained separated on the ladder by only the alphabet, and amazingly, it was only four points off staying that way.
The Magpies however will take the win, which they had in their keeping for most of the clash at Sale Oval.
Despite the margin never extending beyond 13 points at any of the breaks, the home side always found themselves with enough breathing space.
Some late goals from the visitors gave Sale a scare, but in the end, they were able to get a timely win on the board, and take their record to 3-4.
Will Leslie was best on for the winners, and received good support from Jack McLaren, Jayden Allison, Nathan Whitford, Jarrod Freeman and Daine McGuiness, who would have to be just about the most improved player in the comp.
Zac Anderson played well for Morwell, as did Brandon Bailey, Riley Loprese, Brandon Mcauliffe, Max Linton and playing-coach Boyd Bailey.
With Morwell now 2-5 and facing an uphill battle to remain in the finals race, first-year coach Bailey could be feeling the heat.
In fairness, his situation has not been helped in recent weeks due to players booking in holidays and weddings during the season.
Having taken over from an old-school authoritarian coach in Denis Knight, it is unlikely that sort of thing would have happened in the previous regime.
From here, Morwell will more than likely need to win eight of their remaining 11 home-and-away games to even be a chance of playing finals.
That is not an easy task when you consider the Tigers still have to play Wonthaggi over there before the fixture reverts back to the start.
Sale meanwhile is half-a-game clear in fifth, and will look to consolidate a spot in the top half of the ladder now that it has some key players back.
Pat Tainsh and Brad Dessent are both back in the seniors, while Bohdi Walker, Brad McKay and Jordan Dessent are on the comeback trail, and all played reserves at the weekend.
While Sale has some ground to make up to get into the top-three, it is looking like it will be a very even top-five.
Leongatha, Moe and Traralgon are all equal on points at the top, while Wonthaggi is only a game behind in fourth.
As four into three won’t go, and with Sale continuing to get quality players back, there could honestly be five very good teams in the finals this year.
Could this be the year someone does the unheard of and wins a granny from fifth?
MAFFRA recorded a meritorious win over Drouin.
While it might sound stupid to label victory over a team that hasn’t won a game as being one full of merit, the Hawks have shown plenty in season 2023 to suggest they are a good side.
There was enough there last Saturday as well, when Drouin was only 20 points down at halftime.
The Eagles however, put the foot down in the third term at home, kicking six goals to two to take an unassailable lead heading into the last.
Both teams only managed one goal in the last quarter, but that was fine as far as Maffra was concerned, as they kicked the ton to win 15.17 (107) to 8.12 (60).
Eagles captain Daniel Bedggood led the way with six goals in a dominant display. Others to play well were Brayden Monk, Kieran Jones, Nathan Pollard, Kade Renooy and John Butcher, who helped himself to four goals.
Hugo Birks continues to take the Gippsland League by storm, and not just for his name. Birks kicked four goals at the weekend, taking his season tally to 20.
Shae Harvey, Clayton Kingi, Joe Collins, Jarrod Marshall and Noah Glen were other shinning lights for the Hawks.
As they say, a week is a long time in football, and Maffra has gone from equal last to only two points out of the top-five in the space of three weeks.
The Eagles have played a host of youngsters so far this season, and they welcomed their eighth senior debutant in Bailey Carubia on Saturday.
Another Maffra youngster operating in another state will be hoping for a debut of a different sort tomorrow night.
Jonti Schuback, son of former Adelaide player and Sale City coach, Jacob, has nominated for the AFL midseason rookie draft.
Schuback is currently playing with South Adelaide in the SANFL.
Drouin could have a future AFL player of their own in Ryan Maric.
Maric has been interviewed by 11 AFL clubs and is expected to go in the top 10.
IF it bleeds, you can kill it.
Moe did what no Gippsland League side had done in 769 days – defeat Leongatha.
And they did it on the Parrot’s home turf as well.
The Lions prevailed 12.5 (77) to 6.14 (50) to highlight Round 7 of the Gippsland League.
In what was a true team effort, the Lions found contributions right across the board to end the Parrots’ 34-game winning streak.
There wasn’t any magical formula. Everyone just simply played their role.
A strong south-easterly breeze across the ground toward the entrance played some havoc with kicking skills early in the piece, and presented a sizeable advantage to whoever kicked with it.
Leongatha had that luxury in the first quarter, and there was ominous signs when the Parrots had a shot on goal in the first 30 seconds.
The home side was plagued by poor conversion however, and at quarter time the score was 2.1 (13) to 0.7 (7) in Moe’s favour.
The visitors then had their turn at kicking with the breeze, and made the most of their opportunities, adding four goals.
Former Western Bulldogs player Billy Gowers was on debut for Moe, and slotted a nice goal from 20 out deep in the pocket.
Up the other end, the Parrots continued to register scores, but only minor ones, and at halftime, they had 1.12 (18) to 6.3 (39) on the board.
As promising as Moe’s position was, with 13 scoring shots to nine, the threat of Leongatha taking the game away kicking with the wind in the third quarter hung over their head.
In fairness, a lot of the Parrots’ behinds were due to the work of the Lion’s defenders, who forced Leongatha into positions where they had to take shots wide.
The Parrots did make some running in the third, adding four goals, but Moe was equal to the task, kicking three themselves.
At the last change, Moe was ahead by 16 points. With a handy but by no means safe lead, coach Declan Keilty told his team to keep playing to win the game, not save it.
The final term started with perhaps the first sign the home team was seriously fearful of losing their first game in more than two years.
With the ball spilling from congestion in the middle of the ground, a Leongatha player looked indecisive about whether or not to attack the loose ball or wait for it to arrive to him.
The situation became a lot harder for the home side after Grady Cocksedge walked out of a stoppage in the forward pocket and snapped through a goal at the four minute mark, extending the lead beyond 20 points.
The Parrots threw caution to the wind, and started going for everything. Their day perhaps summed up when Jack Ginnane, usually a deadeye in front of goal, had a set shot from a 45 degree angle and kicked it out on the full.
Moe however could not be denied. Play of the day was saved for the six minute mark, when the Lions went coast-to-coast through Harri Sim, Cocksedge and Jacob Wood, who kicked the ball long inside 50 to Harry Pepper.
Pepper engaged in a one-on-one, and worked his opponent under the ball, getting out the back and running into an open goal.
Cocksedge was voted best-on-ground, followed by Keilty, Blaser, Brock Smith, Gowers (five goals) and Daniher.
Best for Leongatha was Cade Maskell, Cam Olden, Ben Willis in his 150th game, Guy Dickson, Hume and Kim Drew.
OTHER games went as expected.
Traralgon won its sixth game in a row, defeating Bairnsdale 11.16 (82) to 6.7 (43), while Wonthaggi murdered Warragul by 138 points.
