While Mooroopna’s upset of the ages stole headlines in the final round of the Goulburn Valley League at the weekend, spectators at Benalla Showgrounds almost witnessed a shock of their own.
A pulsating Saturday afternoon encounter between Euroa and Benalla provided an unlikely thriller, with the Magpies limping to a nail-biting 17.15 (117) to 15.7 (97) victory.
The Saints welcomed Jarrad Waite and Tom Downie for their final round encounter and the big men went about their work in commanding fashion, almost leading them to a memorable win.
Early in the contest it was the home side that was on top, with a terrific first quarter having the Saints hold an eight-point lead at the first break.
In the second it was more of the same, with Mark McKenzie’s men piling more pressure on the Magpies and providing plenty to cheer about.
Leading by 13 points at half-time, supporters at Benalla could see an upset on the cards, however, the visitors came out of the sheds determined, flipping the deficit into an 11-point lead with one quarter remaining.
Despite the best efforts from a gallant Benalla, Euroa did enough to hold on in the last term, running out a 20-point victor.
Jayden Gleeson and Jack Hellier were Euroa’s best, while Jett Trotter kicked three goals.
For Benalla it was James Martiniello, Jake Pallpratt and Tom Downie that stood up, with a five-goal haul to Jarrad Waite showing once again he is a force to be reckoned with.
The result has Euroa finish the season in third position, while the Saints rounded out their season in 10th.
Euroa was simply too strong in reserves action, running out a 129-point winner, but it was a much closer contest in the under 18s clash, with Benalla giving it their all in the 11.4 (70) to 7.10 (52) loss to the Magpies.
Colby Mathieson, Jakob Decker, Rory Sammon, Tom Riley, and Charlie McCarthy all fought hard for the Saints.
On the netball courts, Benalla were undone 48-31 by an in-form Euroa outfit in A-grade action, but the club was able to celebrate the career of Saints stalwart Meg Morrison, who ticked off her 150th senior game and 202nd club game on Saturday.
Benalla’s under 15s netballers lost out to Euroa 49-21, while the under 17s just went down 40-35.
Milly O’Kane, Milly Evans and Caitlin Timmers starred for the under 15s, while Jazmyn Ashcroft, Gemma Mathieson and Zoe Liddington were among the best for the under 17 side.
B-reserve lost out 39-22, but the B-reserve side rose for the big occasion and celebrated Morrison’s milestone with a thrilling 35-33 win.
Stacey Emms, Natalie Pritchard and Morrison were all voted best on the day.