WITH Bears Lagoon Serpentine closing to within 13 points halfway through the last quarter of Saturday’s elimination final, Inglewood decided enough was enough.
The Woodies forced ball up after ball up, contest after contest, spending the best part of 15 minutes parked on their half-forward line while the Bears’ enigmatic full-forward Josh Mellington stood marooned on 99 goals at the other end of the Mitiamo ground.
If the footy was kicked forward by Serp, there was always an Inglewood player to take a relieving mark, with the team set up brilliantly behind the ball.
In the end, 15 more scoring shots translated into a 15-point win for the Woodies, who now face Pyramid Hill for a spot in the preliminary final.
With Melllington needing eight goals to reach his century, it was always going to be a fractious day.
Josh Whittle was chosen to stand the former Fremantle player, and while he gave up seven goals, he was one of Inglewood’s best on the day – scragging, pushing, niggling, and giving as good as he got.
Poking the Bear was never more fun Four of Mellington’s seven goals came from free kicks – some of them 50-50 calls at best – but the Serp star wasn’t content.
He was in the field umpire’s ear claiming that Whittle had jumper-punched him in the third quarter, calling for frees and berating spectators who delighted in taunting him.
But this was really the sideshow to a do-or-die main event.
Inglewood kicked the first three goals of the match, establishing a lead that was turned around by half-time, with the Bears’ accurate kicking putting them seven points in front at half-time.
Slippery conditions and persistent drizzle made ball-handling an inexact science for both sides, with gaining territory the main focus.
The Woodies kicked 3.5 to 1.0 in the third term and turned for home with a 10-point lead.
Two early goals saw the margin reach 24 points before Gabe Nevins kicked the proverbial handy point with a roost from beyond 50. A couple of quick breaks saw Mellington’s two goals trim the lead, but Inglewood always had things in hand and took a succession of uncontested marks to close out the win.
Bears ruckman Nathan Twigg and his Inglewood counterpart Tom Kennedy had a tremendous battle all day, with honours even.
Midfielder Harry Veitch was the Woodies’ best along with Kai Cavallaro, Liam Marciano and Bregon Cotchett.
Tyler Miles, Farren Priest, James Bailey and Ross Turner were best for Serp.