Hawks steal Busselton Cup

Augusta Margaret River have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to win the Busselton Toyota Cup by three points on Sunday at Sir Stewart Bovell Park.

Busselton were left heartbroken when Augusta Margaret River half forward Tom McDonald kicked a miraculous goal from the boundary with seconds left on the clock.

There was just enough time for barnstorming Hawks midfielder Mitch Lynn to win his fourth centre clearance of the last quarter before the siren sounded.

Busselton came out firing kicking the first four goals of the match led by strong marking and accurate kicking from full forward Jed Kemp.

Returning Magpies premiership star Daniel Mcginlay was on fire early kicking a first quarter goal and setting up many forward entry’s before Hawks coach Matthew Jamieson moved speedy wingman Mitch Ellis to a tagging role in the second quarter with the two going head to head for the rest of the match.

The Magpies enjoyed a slight breeze in the first quarter heading towards the Southern end of the ground which became the scoring end seeing 15 of the 22 goals in the match.

But for all their dominance the ‘Pies went into quarter time with just a two goal lead thanks to an after the siren goal from Hawks full forward Ricky Cary.

Up forward for Augusta Margaret River it was the Braden Smith show as the mercurial half forward kicked five goals including a clutch last quarter set shot from outside the boundary line to get the Hawks back in the contest.

The Busselton side switched the ball well with excellent skill execution and managed to control the ball through the middle of the ground setting up numerous forward thrusts.

Bailey Sanford worked hard in transition to get to several contests on the outer wing helping Busselton transition from defence to attack.

But Augusta Margaret River recruit Jon Coghlan proved influential in dying stages taking a pivotal intercept contested mark in the centre of the ground surrounded by three Magpies waiting to stroll into goal.

Coghlan’s display of determination and gut running got the ball rolling for the Hawks who looked dangerous with Smith, McDonald and Cary a handful for the Magpies defence.

The gruelling encounter saw several injuries to both sides with Augusta Margaret River reduced to two men on the bench after vice captain Lincoln Adams and tough inside midfielder Max Patterson both went down before half time.

Busselton Coach Steve Lester said he was bitterly disappointed with the loss.

“You’re always proud of the players but I think we really let that slip today,” he said.

“We had plenty of opportunities to ice it but we just made some poor decisions when it counted.

“I think we played some pretty good footy, a part from the second quarter when we couldn’t get our hands on the ball, our skills were good which makes it all the more frustrating.”

Augusta Margaret River Coach Matt Jamieson said the win was worth double the points due to other results over the weekend.

“This win gives us a game break in third place with two games against other teams in the top four in the next two weeks,” he said.

“We lost a couple of warriors early in the second quarter and with a couple of other key players missing it threw us out a bit so we had to grind it out but I’m just glad we were on the right side of the ledger at the end.

“I’m pleased for Tom McDonald, we talked about him working harder and moving around more in that forward position and he brought that run today and kicked two important last quarter goals to get us over the line.”

Busselton Goals: 6 Kemp, 1 Mcginlay, 1 Matthews, 1 Mrsich, 1 Sanford, 1 Golding.

Best: Kemp, Embry, Mcginlay, Sanford, Tenardi.

Augusta Margaret River Goals: Smith 5, Hick 2, McDonald 2, 1 Cary, 1 Hill.

Best: Lynn, Smith, Morgan, Gerrans, McDonald.

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