The Dumbleyung Men’s B Grade hockey team had a fight on their hands Friday night at the Narrogin turf when they took on Wagin in the preliminary final. Wagin were seen as favourites for the game by some but Dumbleyung took no notice of this and went out with some fierce intensity to get the job done. They got off to a strong start although Wagin looked to be a tad stronger, especially when they pocketed the first goal.
Dumbleyung kept the motivation up and managed to force a short corner. With Shane Hall and Courtney Bairstow on the top of the circle and Scott Angwin pushing out, the short corner looked to be a force not to be reckoned with. Scott pushed to Courtney, who tapped to Shane, who pocketed a goal by doing a massive hit that went about 6 inches inside the side of the goals. This put the game at 1-1. With plenty of fire in both team’s bellies, as well as the supporters, the game was a tough one and proving it was anyone’s to win.
Dumbleyung performed very well with some smart plays and plenty of short passes and long strong hits. This was a pinnacle in getting the ball into attack where Courtney Bairstow was able to put another goal into the net for Dumbleyung by doing a sweep in off of a cross ball from Ethan Henry. Some unlucky play saw a goal for Wagin which was unfortunate and this levelled the game again. Half time was upon them with a draw 2-2.
Plenty of encouragement was given by Assistant Coach Jill Clarke and the supporters and Dumbleyung went out determined to gain a spot in the grand final. The smart plays came out again as well as constant fresh legs from the sidelines. The 35 minute half went on with no more scoring and it looked as if it was going to go into time on and one on ones with a draw. The men kept pushing and Wagin seemed slightly rattled giving Dumbleyung the edge and plenty of opportunities in attack.
A minute to go and the ball was in attack and supporters were screaming for Dumbleyung to get a goal. Wagin gained control of the ball with about 20 seconds left on the clock. Courtney Bairstow managed to fly in and steal the ball from Wagin and with some smart tackling got through to the D and with just 10 seconds on the clock, Courtney turned on the back stick to perform a magical tomahawk which was hard and fast straight into the goals.
The uproar from the supporters was incredible and the men knew they had done it. It was a spectacular finish for Dumbleyung as they cemented the win of 3-2 and a spot in next week’s grand final for the Upper Great Southern Men’s B Grade Hockey. Well done to Wagin on a game well played and thank you to the umpires. A big shout out and thanks to all the supporters for the encouragement and cheering. It does not go unnoticed.
The club would love to see everyone get on up to the turf at the Narrogin Recreation Centre on Saturday at 2.30pm to cheer our boys through the grand final against opponents Warriors. This will be a cracker game to watch. 2010 was the last time that Dumbleyung took out a grand final so hopefully 2016 is our year. Bring all the green and gold and a loud voice and let’s cheer to victory.
Good luck and go Dumbleyung!
Article by Ylana Bairstow