Sport
22 August, 2025
Eagles and Hawks Set For Finals
Last Saturday, both the Ararat Eagles and Tatyoon Hawks had ten-goal wins over Hawkesdale Macarthur and Moyston Willaura, respectively, to finish second and fifth place on the Mininera ladder at the end of the season.
WRITTEN BY ADRIAN PIETERS
This now sees the Eagles play Penshurst at Great Western on Saturday in the qualifying final, and the Hawks head down to Penshurst on Sunday to play Glenthompson Dunkeld in the elimination final.
The final round clash between Moyston Willaura and Tatyoon was played at Willaura in cold conditions with intermittent rain squalls blowing across the ground.
Watching the game, the ten-goal difference was not a true reflection of the way the Pumas played and the effort they put up for the first three quarters.
Before the game, Pumas coach Rhys Cronin asked them for two hours of hard work and to put their heads over the ball. The major difference between the teams was that the Hawks finished off their good work up forward better than the Pumas.
Their coach, Andrew Challis, was elusive up forward and kicked six goals in one of his best games for the year, and Josh Lee was a focal point and kicked four goals.
Hawks Caleb Townsend kicked the first goal of the game to the pool end before Liam Kaine replied after taking a strong mark. Two more goals to the Hawks followed, then Izaiyah Turner kicked a great goal for the Pumas from deep in the forward pocket. Josh Lee then kicked a goal after the siren to have the Hawks two goals up at the first break.
After an even second quarter, the Hawks were three goals up at half-time before the Pumas played their best footy of the day. Young Harry Evans kicked a nice snap goal, then Riley Van Dyke added another with a long bomb.
The Pumas should have hit the front after a good passage of play, but they missed a goal from ten metres out.
The Hawks then steadied and kicked five goals, two from Josh Lee and included two from doubtful free kicks that had the Puma faithful express their disapproval.
Right on the siren, Harry Evans was pole axed by an unnecessary late Hawks bump in front of the clubrooms, resulting in a melee which once again had the Puma crowd on their feet.
The last quarter saw the Pumas run out of steam and tire, with the Hawks kicking another five goals to double their winning margin.
For the Hawks, talented tall Lachie McGrath, who stands out with his long-sleeve jumper, was best-on-ground, taking many marks as well as kicking three goals.
Joshua Brown and evergreen onballer Sean McDougall also played well. Riley Van Dyke and Izaiyah Turner, who each kicked two goals, were in the Pumas' best with Brad Uwland and Brady Chandler.
With Rhys Cronin again coaching, if the Pumas can hold onto their players and recruit a big goal-kicking forward, their prospects are looking good for 2026.
In other games, the SMW Rovers winning run came to an end against premiership favourites Lismore Derrinallum when the Demons won by eighty-seven points with Lachie Constable kicking his 100th goal for the season.
Glenthompson Dunkeld v Tatyoon Elimination Final
On Sunday morning at the ADJFA grand final, Hawks president Andy Tucker was rubbing his hands together when he saw the results of Saturday's clash between the Rams and Great Western, as the out-of-form Great Western came within two points of an upset win.
The Hawks have five senior players to return to the side, and their only loss since round eight has been to the Ararat Eagles in a tight finish. Key Players, Lachie McGrath and Andrew Challis, are starting to adjust to Mininera football, and Josh Bibby can play all over the ground and is having an excellent year.
On form, the Hawks should win and see another week of finals action.
Ararat Eagles v Penshurst Qualifying Final
Both the Eagles and Bombers have had big wins against each other so far this year on their home grounds. This time, they will clash on the neutral Great Western oval.
The small ground should suit the Eagles better with some close-contested play. The Bombers are wary of the Eagles' physical attack on the ball with the strong Taurau brothers and hard at it, Adrian Reid and Aaron Watts.
Eagles forward Jack Wilson was in great form last week, kicking nine goals and with them having the best onballers in the competition, should give him plenty of chances tomorrow.
Both sides are full of talented players and match up evenly around the ground. Star Bomber Josh Rentsch has missed the last three games, but if he plays can be a match winner capable of kicking a bag of goals and will have to be closely watched by the Eagles.
In what should be a high-standard close game, the result could go either way and will be the game covered by the Advocate.