What is rarely identified after a draw like the one at Bill Lawry Oval, however, is just how gripping the contest was. If there was a void left by the anti-climactic result, then it was well filled by the ferocity and fight of the Cougars and Panthers on Saturday.
Like the ball plugging suddenly into the thick mud of the centre square, it was an abrupt end to an absorbing contest.
Eltham is making a season out of nail-biters, this one just another in a growing list of close encounters.
Conversely, Northcote Park was deprived late by the fickle bounce of the ball. Jake Mills, snapping opportunistically from deep in the pocket with the scores level, looked to have put his team ahead, only for the Sherrin to rebound unluckily off the heavy surface and into the behind post.
Cougars coach Jason Heatley lamented a string of missed opportunities after the game. “Is it two points lost or two points won,” he said. “[Regardless], we will take the two because it’s better than none but we had six more shots on goal which hurt us … That might tell a little picture as well.”
Panthers coach Brett Weatherald said: “To come here against a quality side like Northcote Park, it really is an empty feeling. A bit like kissing your sister isn’t it? But we take the two points and move on in a hurry … You look at the nature of the competition – it’s so even.”
Earlier, Northcote Park had shot out to a 20-point lead within the first ten minutes thanks to some fantastic clearance work in midfield. Starving their opposition of inside 50s, it was left to the mercurial Jackson Weatherald to register his side’s first major after defeating two men in the forward pocket.
Joseph Woonton and Will De Bruin both missed relatively straightforward opportunities in the first quarter and despite having much of the play, the margin was just seven points at the first change.
Eltham’s four unanswered goals in the second promptly handed it an 11-point lead. But in a show of defiance that was indicative of the day for both sides, the Cougars fought back to carry a slender three-point lead into the main break.
Thus far the contest had been an unexpected, free-flowing shootout. This was despite the wintery conditions and quagmire in midfield that complemented the constant drizzle.
Heatley bemoaned his side’s lacklustre finish to the term. “The real turning point [of the match] for me was the last two goals they kicked just before half time. The quarter went for 34 minutes and we were left to pick up the pieces,” he said.
Against what was becoming an icy breeze, the Panthers held the Cougars to just one major in the third quarter, yet were able to register three goals themselves in the process.
Eltham skipper Paul Currie asserted his authority on the contest, the Panthers’ skipper goaling twice in quick succession, the second of which was after the siren.
Seemingly, the Panthers were more comfortable with one-on-one football, relishing yet another contest defined by bone-crunching tackles and ferocious endeavour.
Woonton’s fourth midway through the final term levelled the scores as the match became an old fashioned tussle. By now both Northcote Park and Eltham were tiring, with Cougars playmaker Shaun Lorenzeni noticeably not fully fit.
Moments after Mills’ snap produced a boundary throw-in, the Panthers frantically moved the ball forward, creating an opportunity for Leigh Cattogio. Kicking from 45m, with a heavy football and on an acute angle this was no easy task – and so it proved, the 23 year old spraying wide and effectively condemning the result to an enthralling yet anti-climactic draw.
In conditions that if defined in racing terms would have been categorised as ‘heavy,’ both Eltham and Northcote Park exhibited remarkably clean and precise skills. However as the match wore on, predictably the contest became a scrappy affair.
While no longer aesthetically pleasing in fluency, it remained just as engrossing through the intensity – a draw a fair but somewhat frustrating result for both sets of loyal supporters who braved the frosty conditions.
Next week Eltham hosts the winless Macleod, while Northcote Park will look to remain in the hunt when it travels to Lower Plenty, who are also struggling at the foot of the table.
Final score: Northcote Park 12. 13 (85) drew with Eltham 13.7 (85)
