TO quote the old man about to be placed on the plague cart in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, South Mildura are “not dead yet” and “feel happy”.
The Bulldogs have been on the brink of elimination from finals contention for weeks now, but simply can’t be clubbed out of the A Grade race.
Their resilience came to the fore again at the Henshilwood Park courts in a Saturday matinee when they fought back to clinch a two-goal victory over highly favoured hosts Irymple.
Down by five goals after the first quarter, things looked grim for the visitors, but they hung tough and were all square going into the final stanza.
South then claimed the lead early and held on grimly despite repeated surges from the Swallows.
Tara Bate’s Dogs are now even on points with Red Cliffs for fifth and can jump into the five if they can beat the Tigers at the ‘P’ this week.
“It was a great team effort,” the coach and tireless centre said after the game.
“We had a couple of little injuries and stuff, but the girls did really well to just get out on that court and slot into those positions.
“Amy (Lutze) twisted her knee, and it just didn’t feel right. And then Tay (Sellens) dinked her head and had to come off.”
One of those replacements was 13-year-old Emma Mottram who came on for Lutze in the second half and coolly scored 19 goals.
“She held her own. She played a really brilliant game and did everything we asked of her,” Bate said of the tall shooter whose upside appears huge.
“It was nice to bring such a talented young player up. Her and Macey (Andriske) work really well in the goal together and they play their hardest.”
Andriske was named among the team’s best along with keeper Sharne Lane, but it was a strong team effort over the last three quarters.
Now they are going to have to emulate that against Red Cliffs in the battle for fifth place with only two rounds remaining in the regular season.
“I try not to look too far ahead,” Bate said.
“We’ve got Red Cliffs next week and it will be an interesting one. It’ll be good, we’ll see what happens.”
Her Irymple counterpart, Shelby Trigg, was left to lament what might have been as her team was unable to take advantage of a Robinvale Euston loss and push into the top three.
“We had a very off game,” the first-year coach said.
“Obviously, South had a lot on the line trying to make the finals. They were hungry and really wanted it.
“Unfortunately, it seems when one of us is off the rest of the team carry that through and it’s something we really need to work on.
“I just told them after the game we need to stick tight and bring more energy and when someone’s off we need to all be accountable to get each other back into it and have the energy and intensity to match any team that is as hungry as us.”
Trigg named defender Kasey Caristo and hard-working wing defence Sophie Price among the better Swallows on the day.
Their hopes of a top-three finish and the double chance will hinge on this week’s crucial match-up at Robinvale Euston, who hold third by two points but will be playing their final game of the regular season.
A win would see Irymple jump past the Eagles and seal the spot, but Trigg is not taking anything for granted.
“It’s a tough run home but hopefully we can get the second chance,” she said.
“It’s back to basics … just come together and keep the connections and spark alive to get us going for the remainder of the season.”
