UGSFL 2024: Narrogin fall short and Brookton-Pingelly jump to fourth as top-four battle goes down to the wire

The battle for a spot in the finals will come down to the last round of the regular season in the Upper Great Southern Football League, with four teams separated by just one game heading into this weekend. Wickepin sit third on the ladder with 28 points ahead of Brookton-Pingelly, Narrogin and Kukerin-Dumbleyung, who all have 24 points going into the final round. In a defining round-13 clash on Sunday, the Cougars held off the Hawks at Clayton Road Oval by 17 points. Coen Marwick was brilliant for the visitors as his bag of eight goals powered them to a sixth win of the season and kept their finals hopes alive. With both teams chasing a win, the pressure was relentless, and the Cougars made their intentions clear in minutes, scoring the first quick goal. The Hawks responded with two swift majors without letting the Cougars touch the ball. The Cougars led by 13 points at the first change and the Hawks booted four goals in the second to trim the deficit to nine by half-time. The home side could manage only one goal in the third as they felt the game slip away, and despite four majors in the last, the Hawks fell short 11.6 (72) to 13.11 (89). Marwick’s eight goals were well supported by player-coach Jye Depane (three goals), while Justin Joyce had a big influence in the opening half. The Cougars also had strong contributions from Austin Shotter, Josh Harrison, Charlie Keast, Sheldon Taylor and Byron Blevin. The Hawks shared their goals around, with Noah Criddle-White kicking three, while Simon Mason and Langford Williams added two and teammates Damon Penny, Tom Kilpatrick, Kacey Beard, Jydan Lanciano and Jordan Heil played well. On Saturday, the Panthers outplayed Wagin in a 51-point blitz to jump to fourth on the ladder by percentage. The Panthers wasted no time at Matera Oval, kicking five goals in the first term to open up a 19-point advantage. The gap continued to widen throughout the game as the Panthers strengthened their finals hopes with a 12.12 (84) to 5.3 (33) win. The visitors were best served by Nicholas Haslam (three goals), Ryley Conlan, Jacob Sounness, Joshua Hughes, Daniel Trevaskis, Joshua Lee and Ezekiel Bolton (two). For the Bulldogs, Brayden Watt, Josh Kirk, Nick Menegola, Mark Allington, and George Gibson toiled hard, and Cooper Schulz kicked two goals. Flag fancies Boddington recorded a 46-point triumph against the Warriors in the other Saturday fixture in Wickepin. Lloyd Padwick carried the Eagles’ front half with seven majors, and teammate Luke Kirk added three. The Eagles booted eight goals to one in the second half on their way to a 13.16 (94) to 7.6 (48) win as Matt Giumelli, Korben Halter, Callum Giles-Morton and Kiattisak Deechaiyaphum all shone. The Warriors were encouraged by a five-goal to one second term before they were outmatched in the last half. Matt Jukes finished with four goals, and the best players were Joshua Houwen, Kieran Pirie, Flynn Spark, Joe Dowling and Matthew McWhirter. On Sunday at Quartermaine Oval, Katanning Wanderers produced their best performance to lose by only 22 points to second-placed Williams. The Tigers won the second quarter and trailed by only 10 points at the long break, but the Cats emerged with a hard-fought win in the end. Nathan Pearce (four goals) and Noah Logie (three) were vital for the Cats in the 8.6 (54) to 11.10 (76) win. The Tigers had strong performances from Ryan Pontillo (three goals), Deakan Morton, Brock Green, Thomas Hamon, Abdul Pickett, Devan Mills-Durack and Caleb Quartermaine. In the decisive final round, the Bulldogs host the Warriors, and the Panthers will be looking to knock off the Eagles in Boddington. The Cougars will hope a win over the Tigers can get them into the top four at Nenke Oval, and the Cats host the Hawks, with all four games to be played on Sunday.