Five minutes of football was all it took.

Mannum won the qualifying final with five minutes of football. At the last change most of the punters present thought that Ramblers were in the box seat. The Roosters were trailing by nine points and kicking with a breeze knowing that both Clubs had failed to score a goal at the Rural Press end of the ground for the entire game. The first five minutes of the last quarter was priceless for Mannum. Levi Krause banged through the first at the one minute mark, he repeated the dose in the following minute and when Ben Quinn took one of the great marks of the year against the odds and passed off for a goal it was game over. In five minutes of football Mannum had broken the game apart and got the money by 20 points. It was a wet and windy afternoon and the biggest concern for Mannum coach David Dolheguy pregame was whether the blond tips freshly installed that morning would run out in the rain. Ramblers had their chances with the big man Adam Jackson missing a couple of crucial shots. I can’t blame him as he has become recently engaged and it was obvious that the cost of the ring had got the better of him. Will his match payments cover the costs was his biggest concern? Ramblers are in trouble, they have lost their last four games, they have lost there mojo and they have one week to turn it around because it will a big task to roll Jervois on Fathers Day at Tailem Bend

At the after match press conference Meningie Coach Bobby Lightfoot was asked why Meningie won, he pointed to the team. Mannum Coach Steven Wakefield was asked why Mannum lost and he pointed to the list of outs. Bobby was looking for positives, Steven was looking for excuses. Its time to take the mirrors off the walls at Mannum, its time to roll up the sleeves or be bundled out in straight sets. Meningie were on fire and I don’t think I’ve seen them play that well in years. They were smart by playing in front and taking advantage of the conditions and with Paul McNicol dominating and Brad Biddle giving them something to aim at the Bears were just too consistent. Mannum scored one point after half time and they just couldn’t crack the Meningie defence. I don’t know how deep Meningie can go into the finals but it was obvious to everyone that with the elevated coaching boxes at Johnstone Park and the thin atmospheric pressure that it creates that a rush of blood had shot to Bobby Lightfoots brain because he coached like he was Mick Malthouse. The players love him and it’s terrific to see them having a go and enjoying a bit of success. I can see why senior coach Jamie Gibbs is a very nervous man with Bobby breathing down his neck

Tailem Bend fell for the old three card trick. Sam Mahony the Jervois coach set the trap and the Tailem Bend players got sucked in. You can’t give seven goal start in finals and expect to win. It was a different looking Jervois side from last week that has charged in the first semi-final at Tailem Bend next Sunday. The big men of Jervois were a constant thorn in the Eagles side all day with Sam Braidwood and Trevor Rigney kicking ten goals between them. They were to smart and too polished for the Tailem Bend defence who were under pressure from the opening siren. Jervois won the midfield, they moved the ball forward quickly and placed the Tailem Bend defence under enormous pressure and it collapsed under the strain. Braidwood and Sterzl don’t get any shorter as the day wears on and the team is going into a knock out final with a good win under its belt. Tailem Bend won the last quarter after Mathew Dent pleaded with his players to get some respectability on the scoreboard but it was too little to late. With less than five minutes remaining on the clock a farce developed when one Tailem Bend player landed a beautiful right cross on the jaw of his team mate and they had to be separated by their mates, Jervois were dumb founded when Central Umpire “Froggy” Farnham tried to restore common sense when he ordered the player off with a yellow card in an effort to calm the situation down and even then he wanted to go on with it after the final siren. It was the main talking point of the day as the coaches tried to calm the troubled waters. Never mind that Jervois won by 38 points but for many of us it was the first time in our lives that we had seen a situation such as this develop.

The Tailem Bend Reserves came to the rescue when they stitched up Jervois by 21 points and reversing last weeks result. It was the cagey old veteran Tony Hughes that showed the young blokes how to do it. He kicked three goals and he knows all the short cuts and with the big man Damien Ackland firing they were to strong for Jervois and with a couple to come back they are going to very difficult to beat from hereon.. Paul Abbott has a pretty useful list and they are going to take some stopping especially on their home deck on Fathers day.

ROUND 1

TAILEM BEND 18-11 D  MANNUM 12-12

Mannum lost a big opportunity to win this match, as they were in front during the final quarter, but 'Muffy' Kartinyeri is back at Tailem and he proved how much influence he has on a game, and Tailem kicked away. Mannum must go back to the drawing board.

RAMBLERS 17-10 D MYPOLONGA 12-10

Ramblers looked to be picking up where they left off last year. The O'Neil boys were again terrific, Zadow and Girardi played dominant games. For Mypolonga, the 'young guns' in McAlister, Adam Eckermann,  Jaensch and Norris, were standouts, but where was everyone else?

IMPERIALS 22-16 D JERVOIS 10-8

The first half was a close game. New recruit for Imps in Honnor was sensational and will take some beating, Hodge, Seyers and Girdham were the play makers. For Jervois, Sam Braidwood kicked 5-5 and provided a big target, but Imperials are a very classy outfit and will be again the team to watch.