Football
1 September, 2025
Southern Roos hold off Bombers to clinch grand final spot
Harrow Balmoral are just one step away from a historic third-straight seniors football premiership, earning a spot in the grand final with a challenging victory over Noradjuha Quantong in Saturday’s semi-final.
A six-goal third quarter from the Southern Roos proved pivotal as they kicked 8.9 (57) to Noradjuha Quantong’s 6.10 (46).
Playing in windy conditions, a highly contested first quarter was played out as each team gave the other very few scoring opportunities.
Noradjuha Quantong eventually scored the first goal of the game late in the first quarter, entering the first break with a 6-2 lead.
Both teams were able to create more opportunities in the second quarter but after Ethan Appleton scored Harrow Balmoral’s first goal early in the quarter, the Southern Roos struggled to kick accurately with the wind.
The Bombers, however, capitalised with three goals and extended their lead to 25-12 at half-time.
Appleton scored in the opening minute of the second half to make it a seven-point game.
Having made some half-time adjustments, Harrow Balmoral built momentum, quickly kicking five goals midway through the quarter while limiting Noradjuha Quantong’s upfield pushes, taking a 50-27 lead over the Bombers at three-quarter-time.
The minor premiers battled back in a stoppage-heavy final quarter.
Still, they struggled to convert their opportunities, kicking multiple behinds before Declan Phyland kicked a necessary goal midway through the fourth.
A Fergus Roberts goal created a three-goal buffer for the Southern Roos, but a Jye Walter goal kept the Bombers within reach with just over five minutes remaining.
Harrow Balmoral were able to suppress Noradjuha Quantong’s late-game push with smart possession play to finish the game, holding on to win by 11 points.
Peter Staude was the best on ground for Harrow Balmoral, with Clinton Robinson having a strong game at the defensive end.
Noradjuha Quantong’s Zachary Kelly and Riley Dunlop were two of the Bombers’ better players in the tight loss.
Appleton, Roberts and Simon Close each scored two goals for Harrow Balmoral while Hobbs led the Bombers with two.
Harrow Balmoral coach Jai Thompson acknowledged some positional changes at half-time as helping spur their third-quarter performance.
“I think we finally got some structural stuff right,” Thompson said
“Michael Close went forward and that was a real bit of a game changer for us.
"Our backline was holding up really well, we had the breeze, so we swung him forward, and Cody Deutscher went into the middle and gave us a bit more drive out of there.
“As well as a few structural changes to what we needed to do, I think that was a big thing in us being able to kick those scores.
“I think it's some of the best footy I've ever seen us play.”
Thompson says constant pressure and intelligent gameplay helped the side hold on in the fourth.
“They had that breeze in the last quarter and we just wanted to control the footy, which I think we did pretty well,” Thompson said.
“All their scoring shots were really under pressure.
“When we had possession of the footy we just wanted to chip, mark and be able to maintain possession.
"We saw early in the game once they get a bit of free-flowing footy they can score pretty quickly.
“It certainly wasn't over there at three-quarter-time.
"We just had to use some experience and a couple of old heads to hold the game up and maintain possession to be able to stop them from playing their game plan.”
Thompson credited his team’s backline for helping deliver the victory.
“I think Clint Robinson was unbelievable down back,” Thompson said.
“He’s just great at beating his opponent and really steadied the ship for us down there, and Dalton Burns as well.
“Our backline was tremendous, especially in that last quarter when the heat was on and they were getting a bit of momentum.”
Noradjuha Quantong will now take on Laharum in this Saturday’s preliminary final, with the winner advancing to the grand final.
