Injuries finally proved too much for Doveton to overcome in Division 2 of the Southern Football Netball League.
Reintroducing key players who suffered untimely injuries has been a late season juggling act
On Saturday, one of those players, Jake Basa, was a late exclusion with injury, while Michael Henry, backing up for the third consecutive week, was out of the game by quarter time.
The tough Jake Ingaliso was receiving treatment and visibly sore at the first break and Dylan Bayley exited the game with a shoulder injury midway through the second quarter.
Shaun Semmens was part of the on-ball mix and Mitch Pierce ran hard on the wings, just three games into each of their 2023 campaigns.
Despite the wounds, the Doves still competed well in the first half.
They had more possession, but couldn’t penetrate with deep, dangerous entries
But it was Murrumbeena’s ability to find space and free players on the spread which would have been coach Michael Cardamone’s concern at the first break.
Basa’s absence was hurting and eventually proved insurmountable when rotations also became a prohibiting factor behind the club’s post-stoppage run.
After Murrumbeena slotted the first, Cam Williamson massaged a snap from the boundary line to get the Doves on the board.
Pre-game there was talk that someone would need to kick a bag if Doveton was to kick a winning score.
Williamson was always going to be most likely, and he threatened and delivered.
Several times in the first half when his side needed a spark, Williamson provided energy.
He took a hanger in the second quarter and slotted a goal from 40.
He and Sam Muirhead each finished with small bags of four, but those were the only goal scorers for the Doves, who went down 15.9 99 to 8.9 57.
Murrumbeena was dangerous on transition, Ingaliso’s happy knack of floating in front of his opponent, and Matthew Jameson’s crucial wins on the last line of defence both key.
But eventually the dam wall burst.
After an aggregate of just seven goals in the first half and with the Doves on top by five points at the long break, the Lions responded with seven third-quarter goals.
Will Smith was classy in the midfield all day, but the 31-point three-quarter-time margin proved too much to overcome with the Lions running hot and too stylish.
Ricky Johnson’s run helped the Doves turn defence into attack off half forward, while James Gascard was also gallant.
But despite those ingredients working well this season, the Doves lacked a clear tall spearhead, putting responsibility on the dynamic Williamson to carry the burden of being the primary scorer.
Fleet foot in the midfield and a tall forward will be the clear target areas under the new coach in 2024, the Doves coming off a narrow grand final defeat in 2022 and the weekend’s preliminary final exit.
With Matt Stapleton, Shannon Henwood, Michael Henry and Will Smith leading an ageing contingent, the Doves will hope emerging players can take strides with their footy next season.
