Turtles sneak home to defeat Power, again


Published on Sunday, July 3, 2022

Author : Nathan Clarke

In a dramatic finish at Laurimar Reserve, Old Eltham Collegians held on in the final moments to defeat Laurimar by one point and as a result, tighten things up at the top of the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 ladder.

When both these sides met in Round 3, the Turtles prevailed by just three points in an intense final quarter and with the anticipation of Saturday’s encounter already high, the end result did not disappoint.

With tensions high in the last 30 seconds, Laurimar’s Jacob Lawson had a golden opportunity to give his side the win as he ran with the ball inside 50, but he couldn’t get boot to ball, as he was crunched by a Matthew Keys tackle.

As soon as Lawson hit the ground, the final siren rang out, giving the Turtles the 13.7 (85) to 12.12 (84) triumph.

Laurimar still hold top spot despite the defeat, however they now sit just one game ahead of both South Morang and Old Eltham Collegians and with a trip to Mill Park Lakes in a fortnight’s time to take on the Lions, every win will be crucial in the lead up to finals.

The Turtles have now distanced themselves from the fourth placed Kilmore, with a two-game gap giving them plenty of breathing room to secure a historic finals berth. If they can defeat South Morang next week, the Turtles will be in pole position to lock in a double chance spot.

Keys was instrumental for the visitors, kicking three goals while also playing crucial roles around the ground to ensure his side took home the four points.

Nick Snowden also kicked three majors while Paul Vidinopoulos and Mathew Crooks were outstanding.

For the home side, Jacson Cecil continued his brilliant goalkicking form by slotting home six majors while William Jacovou produced a fantastic effort.

The Turtles got off to a cracking start as they piled on the first three goals within 10 minutes, courtesy of Jeremy Murphy, Benjamin Cox and Corey Ray.

Within this 10-minute patch, Laurimar struggled to get the ball outside their defensive 50, as the visitors managed to set up a wall, just outside the 50-metre arc.

It took until the 18th minute for Laurimar to kick their first major of the afternoon goal, with the in-form Cecil leading the way up forward.

Just as the momentum was slipping away from Old Eltham Collegians, Keys scored an unlikely dribbling goal right on the siren to give his side a 12-point advantage at quarter time.

The Power had all the ascendency in the second term, producing multiple inside 50 entries in the opening 10 minutes of the quarter. But the home side couldn’t produce any goals in that period.

As a result, the Turtles were able to pounce on an opportunity to extend the margin as the returning Nicholas Milne produced his first goal of the day.

But as they continued to go forward, Laurimar’s luck began to change, as Kaiden Arthur kicked two goals within two minutes, cutting the deficit to just two points.

Five minutes later, Joel Lawson gave Laurimar their first lead of the match, with a sizzling checkside banana from the left pocket. It allowed the home side to go into the main break with a handy five point lead.

The third term was the highest scoring quarter for the match with 11 majors score between both sides.

While Nick Snowdon kicked Old Eltham Collegians’ first of the quarter, in quick reply, Laurimar kicked the next two, thanks to goals from Cecil and Kaiden Arthur.

The Turtles then quickly wrestled back momentum as Nick Snowden led the way to turn a two-goal deficit into a seven-point lead midway through the term.

Both sides continued to trade goals throughout the remainder of the term, with great individual efforts from the Turtles’ Benjamin Cox and the Power’s Luke Wilson being the highlights of the last half of the quarter.

With scores locked a 70 apiece heading into the final change, all was set for an entertaining final quarter.

Cecil had his sixth of the afternoon after converting his set shot at the seven-minute mark before Milne regained the lead for the Turtles soon after.

Jacob Lawson got one back for the home side before Keys kicked a crucial goal as time on approached to help give the Turtles the slight advantage.

Keys then proved to be the match winner at the other end, providing the enormous tackle on Jacob Lawson to give the Turtles a famous win.

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