Round 17 / Qualifying Final Match Reports (2025)

Round 17 saw the Trobers back on the home deck to take on Box Hill North. La Trobe looking to consolidate 4^th spot on the ladder and officially lock down the final spot in the finals contest. A significant wind howling across the great Tony Sheehan Oval caused havoc all day.

The Trobers looked to immediately take over from the first bounce with some solid clearance work from Brandon ‘The Bull’ Grech and skipper Austin ‘Aussie’ Bennett. Some chaotic bounces, howling wind and solid Box Hill defence proved difficult to penetrate as we added 9 behinds for the quarter. Kyle ‘Brisket’ Brizzi opening our account with the first major, while Cal Randell kicked his first for the day. The visitors hit back quickly, then two scrappy goals for the Trober to lead by 8 points at quarter time.

The messaging was positive and all the signs were there, we just needed to be patient and persistent as breaking the game open looked inevitable. Ruben ‘Roo’ Cottee and Brodie McDermott absolutely took over the second quarter with Elliot Stevenson in support and dominant ruckwork by big man Tom Burns. Goals to Mitch Wallace, Aussie and Cal against the breeze whilst our back six led by Mark ‘Mobbla’ O’Brien and Sam ‘Scooba’ O’Donnell repelled many repeated attacks as we built the margin to 28 points at half time.

The messaging at half-time was to continue our strong play and set the tone from the first contest after the break. The third term saw all Trobers gelling together super well as a team with some great overlap handballs from our midfield cartel and some big shepherds leading to goals saw the Trobers add another four majors to zip in the third term, with Tirian ‘Tiz’ Hillman and Ben Morse showing their incredible snapping abilities. The Trobers really began to stride away from the fading Box Hill North. Leading by 44 points at 3 quarter time.

The final term saw the Trobers consolidate the dominance displayed all day, adding another five goals to nil in the final quarter. Since the quarter time break, the Trobers kicked 12 goals to none, highlighting the strength and discipline of the boys all day. Running out 87-point victors, the reserve men have officially locked in fourth spot on the ladder to qualify for finals heading into the final round of the season against top side Power House.