CENTRAL Highlands Football League’s charge up the AFL Victoria Community Championship table has been halted in heartbreaking fashion.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Highlanders, shooting for a fifth interleague victory in as many years, had victory snatched from them by a Geelong and District side that never gave up the fight.
Central Highlands led the match for most of the afternoon at Bungaree, but coughed up two late goals to eventually fall to a four-point defeat.
The Highlanders’ eight-point advantage deep in the final quarter vanished in the blink of an eye when Tavae Sauni converted an end-to-end play and Jason Tom steered through the clincher after being caught high in a tackle directly in front of goal.
With just nine seconds left, a stunned Central Highlands outfit won the centre clearance and mounted an attack, but couldn’t find the target before the final siren sounded.
The 14.10 (94) to 12.18 (90) scoreline shows the Highlanders’ dominance, but also their inability to seal the result in attack.
Central Highlands controlled the first two terms, but could only manage a 23-point lead at the main break.
The Geelong and District side turned up its intensity in the third quarter and quickly whittled away the margin after punishing defensive errors by the Central Highlands, which lost defender Segifili Asa Leausa to a yellow card about five minutes before three quarter time.
From there, a tight battle ensued and the match was in the balance right until the final siren.
Brenton Powell did the grunt work in the midfield and was awarded the Central Highlands’ best on ground medal.
Christian Elliott kicked three goals in a lively display up forward alongside Jack Duke, who booted two majors. David Benson was great in the ruck and around the ground, while skipper Jarrod Morgan and Tye Murphy were rated among the Highlanders’ best.
Brent Macleod won the medal for Geelong and District, while Tom, who kicked the winner in a quality display in attack, and Luke Parker, who was pivotal across half back, also shone.