On a dramatic final day of the Division 1 home and away season, Macleod and Greensborough played out a draw which brought the Roos’ season to an abrupt end.
With its finals hopes resting on a win, Macleod led with only seconds remaining, but a late surge from the Boro saw them rush a behind to tie proceedings.
The Roos gave everything they had in the tank and if it weren’t for that behind in the dying seconds, they could have been a big threat in the Division 1 finals.
The Round 18 match was close all afternoon, with momentum swings a major factor.
The Boro were up by four goals with less than ten minutes remaining and looked to have the match sewn up. However, the Roos fought back to seemingly resurrect their finals hopes but, once they hit the lead, weren’t able to hold on.
Inaccuracy was another major part of the story. Macleod threw away too many opportunities, kicking 2.9 in the first term. Had it kicked straight, it could have been a different story.
With Macleod missing early opportunities, the Boro got the early jump with the opening two goals of the match through Rhys Boyden and Tim Bongetti. By the time Greensborough had kicked its second goal, the Roos had already kicked six behinds.
A couple of goal exchanges saw out the term with the scoreboard level at the first change. Macleod was dominating the match but its inability to convert its opportunities kept the Boro in the contest, who, to their credit, took their chances to stay in the game.
Alex Rintoul kicked the first goal of the second term for the Boro, but some great ball movement from Macleod saw Justin White mark strongly and convert the goal. Soon after, Chris Long kicked another for Macleod to give the home side a seven-point lead.
The Boro kicked one back but Matt Pow quickly responded after he took a strong mark against two opponents and slammed home the goal. By half time the Roos led by 14 points with all the momentum.
Kyle McDonald and Brett Wilding traded goals at opposing ends to commence the third quarter. Then, after leaking a goal, the Boro kicked the next two goals through Tristan Stead and Rintoul to tie proceedings once again.
With under a minute left in the term, the Boro were able to take a five-point lead after Bongetti converted his kick from point blank after receiving a free kick.
The Roos kicked the all-important opening goal of the final term after Pow took a lunging chest mark against two opponents and kicked the ball right through the middle of the big sticks. Wilding marked only seconds later and booted an absolute ripper from the boundary line to give Macleod a seven-point buffer.
But just as Macleod looked like getting on top, the Boro dominated the next 10 minutes. They booted the next five goals to amass a seemingly unassailable 24-point lead with only six minutes remaining.
Somehow, the Roos were able to get back into the contest. They booted the final four goals of the match to level the scores.
Pow had a chance to give Macleod a six-point lead with less than two minutes to go, but managed only a minor score from a set shot.
Then, with only 50 seconds left on the clock, Macleod skipper Kane Shaw tried to punch the ball clear from his defensive line. The ball bounced the wrong way and went through for a behind which cruelly denied the Roos a finals place.
Ryan Storey was by far Macleod’s best player, providing a good run out of the backline. Jack Johnston and Ricky Mullins were Greensborough best on the day, while Josh Grubb finished with four goals.
Final scores: Macleod 15.18 (108) drew with Greensborough 16.12 (108)
