Sport
4 September, 2025
Holt kicks six as Swans keep premiership defence alive
Natte Bealiba are now halfway through their finals gauntlet to remain kings of the MCDFNL, surviving a late roar from Harcourt to advance to the preliminary final by eight points.
WRITTEN BY JONATHAN PECK
It was a much closer affair than their 57-point triumph over the Lions last season, yet it still eliminates their rivals after two brutal single-digit losses that could have gone either way.
One of the many positives for Natte was the return of player-coach Trent Mortlock.
Another huge addition for the Swans alongside Mortlock was ball-winner Jai Howell, who has been unavailable since their round 13 win over Carisbrook.
The Lions made one change ahead of this fixture, with club legend Benjamin Leech coming in for Luke Burns.
After the bitter disappointment of their loss to Trentham the week prior, Harcourt was craving a fast start. They seemed to get it when Leech collected Jack Threlfall’s opening clearance, dummied the defender, and slotted the first goal in the opening 20 seconds.
The Lions remained on top in the early stages, yet the Swans held firm and were able to take the lead at the 10-minute mark after Howell made his return known with a quick snap for Natte’s first goal.
That helped the Swans take the early assertion, kicking three quickfire goals through Will Holt, Jordan Fraser and Emmet Smith to put themselves 19 points up by quarter time.
Slightly assisted by the wind being in their favour after the change of ends, the Lions began to claw their paws into the contest.
A moment of Braydon Vaz magic was a brilliant start to the second quarter for Harcourt, as his silky juke and finish from just outside 50 opened the scoring.
Thanks to the defensive prowess of Jordan Gartside, Mark Noonan and Joshua Hogg starting multiple counter-attacks and Cameron Anderson dominating in the contest, the Lions proceeded to boot the first four goals of the term, hitting the front at the 13-minute mark.
The Swans responded with a major from Howell, but their quarter-time lead had been shrunk to just two points at half time.
With the game still in the balance, both teams were looking for someone to step up and help turn the match in their favour.
Enter Will Holt.
The Swans’ key forward was commanding the marking battles inside 50, taking four contested marks, which were all converted into crucial goals.
With Jayden Templeton, Stephen Ross and Jordi Cossar turning the tide in the contest, the Lions didn’t have a chance to respond, held scoreless in the third quarter.
Cossar and Mortlock added to Holt’s third-quarter haul to give the Swans a welcomed 42-point cushion at three-quarter time.
However, if there is anything Natte has learned in their rivalry with Harcourt, it’s you can never count the Lions out, with rumblings of a furious comeback in the final quarter happening almost immediately.
First, Leech brought the comeback to life with a goal three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Three minutes later, Mitchell McKnight added another before a spectacular mark from player-coach Alex Code suddenly brought the deficit down to four goals with only seven minutes played in the fourth.
Natte was able to steady the ship for a little while before Gartside and Vaz narrowed the margin to 13 points for the clinical Lions with seven minutes left to play.
However, a free kick before the ensuing centre bounce allowed Natte to kill some precious time in their forward half.
A late goal from superstar Threlfall gave the Lions a glimmer of hope, but the clock struck midnight on Harcourt’s premiership aspirations, allowing Natte to book a date with Carisbrook for a spot in the grand final.
Talbot vs Navarre
Navarre has rocked the MCDFNL finals bracket by upsetting the high-flying Hawks right at the death to earn a spot in the preliminary final for the first time since 2018.
A clutch goal from Aaron Slorach gave the Grasshoppers a five-point lead with just over two minutes to go and it was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
A straight-sets exit out of finals is an agonizing end to an otherwise stellar season for the Hawks, hoping 2025 is the start of sustained success on the football field.
While Navarre entered the match unchanged from their elimination final triumph over Dunolly, Talbot were without key forward Dean Limbach, replaced by Rhys Egan.
Looking to replicate their outstanding second half the week prior versus Carisbrook, the Hawks dominated the first five minutes with three scoring shots before the Grasshoppers achieved an inside 50.
However, they were made to pay for starting the game with three behinds when Slorach kicked the opening goal from a set shot after a remarkable diving mark.
After Zak Varley increased Navarre’s advantage to 13 points, Talbot finally got their deserved goal through Zac Cicchini.
Navarre’s Riley Bibby and Talbot’s Egan traded goals to end the quarter, with the Grasshoppers up by three points at quarter time.
That lead was erased when Jude McGuire put the Hawks in front at the three-minute mark of the second quarter, winning a 50/50 ball and dribbling it through.
After drawing level with three behinds, Bibby responded to McGuire’s major at the 10- minute mark for the Grasshoppers, giving his team a one-goal lead after an impressive contested mark and set shot conversion.
Despite being down a man following a yellow card midway through the period, the Grass- hoppers threatened to create a sizeable gap between the two teams, controlling the end of the quarter.
However, similar to Talbot at the start of the first quarter, Navarre couldn’t take full advantage of the wind in their favour, kicking 2.6 for the term to limit their half time advantage to eight points.
The second half got off to a fast start with Talbot’s Adam Scott and Navarre’s Sam Rickard opening the goalscoring for their teams inside the first four minutes before Jarrod Stephens kicked his first goal for the Hawks to cut the deficit to two at the nine-minute mark.
Tempers began to flare midway through the term, which bubbled over at times, resulting in a second yellow card for Navarre.
Talbot took full advantage with Joshua Britten making full use of a 50-metre penalty to retake the lead for the Hawks.
Slorach would end the quarter with some clever tapwork to set up his third goal of the afternoon, but Talbot remained ahead by one point heading into the fourth quarter.
Both teams threw everything they had left in the final quarter, looking to make the most of a golden chance to qualify for a preliminary final.
It was Talbot who drew first blood in the fourth, with Scott skillfully roving a marking contest and snapping truly to increase the Hawks’ lead to seven points.
After 19 minutes of gruelling and entertaining back-and-forth football, no one could answer Scott’s opener until an Angus Bade kick inside 50 dribbled past the leading Rickard, giving Slorach a chance to soccer the ball home.
However, an outstanding defensive effort from Kirk Lang touched Slorach’s effort off the boot, keeping Talbot in the driver’s seat.
With time ticking away, Navarre desperately needed a hero. From the following kick in, the Grasshoppers rebounded the ball back into the hands of Rickard, who snapped truly to make it a one-point ball game with four minutes left.
Then, from the ensuing centre bounce, Bade won a holding the ball free kick, found Varley on the forward flank who delivered to Slorach who took a clutch contested mark 30 metres from home.
With all the pressure on his shoulders, Slorach proved to have ice in his veins, slotting his chance to put Navarre up by five points.
Despite Talbot’s best efforts, Navarre managed to kill the clock to complete a famous victory, advancing to face premiership favourites Trentham on Saturday.