Sport
2 September, 2025
Natte vanquish rivals Harcourt in thriller
Natte Bealiba are now halfway through their finals gauntlet to remain kings of the MCDFNL, surviving a late roar from Harcourt to advance to the preliminary final by eight points.
It was a much closer affair than their 57-point triumph over the Lions last season, yet it still eliminates their rivals after two brutal single-digit losses that could have gone either way.
One of the many positives for Natte was the return of player-coach Trent Mortlock, who said the confidence in the playing group continues to grow throughout the finals series.
“Our best footy stacks up against the best in the league, that’s probably something that I have been preaching to the boys for three months on standards and the way we want to play football,” he said.
“Harcourt had a really good game last week against Trentham, who are probably the team to beat, and we have just knocked them off.
“Getting the belief in the boys that we can still play some really dangerous footy and we are getting a few games under our belt again which is really nice.”
Another huge addition for the Swans alongside Mortlock was ball-winner Jai Howell, who has been unavailable since their round 13 win over Carisbrook.
The Lions made one change ahead of this fixture, with club legend Benjamin Leech coming in for Luke Burns.
After the bitter disappointment of their loss to Trentham the week prior, Harcourt was craving a fast start. They seemed to get it when Leech collected Jack Threlfall’s opening clearance, dummied the defender, and slotted the first goal in the opening 20 seconds.
The Lions remained on top in the early stages, yet the Swans held firm and were able to take the lead at the 10-minute mark after Howell made his return known with a quick snap for Natte’s first goal.
That helped the Swans take the early assertion, kicking three quickfire goals through Will Holt, Jordan Fraser and Emmet Smith to put themselves 19 points up by quarter time.
Slightly assisted by the wind being in their favour after the change of ends, the Lions began to claw their paws into the contest.
A moment of Braydon Vaz magic was a brilliant start to the second quarter for Harcourt, as his silky juke and finish from just outside 50 opened the scoring.
Thanks to the defensive prowess of Jordan Gartside, Mark Noonan and Joshua Hogg starting multiple counter-attacks and Cameron Anderson dominating in the contest, the Lions proceeded to boot the first four goals of the term, hitting the front at the 13-minute mark.
The Swans responded with a major from Howell, but their quarter-time lead had been shrunk to just two points at half time.
With the game still in the balance, both teams were looking for someone to step up and help turn the match in their favour.
Enter Will Holt.
The Swans’ key forward was commanding the marking battles inside 50, taking four contested marks, which were all converted into crucial goals.
With Jayden Templeton, Stephen Ross and Jordi Cossar turning the tide in the contest, the Lions didn’t have a chance to respond, held scoreless in the third quarter.
Cossar and Mortlock added to Holt’s third-quarter haul to give the Swans a welcomed 42-point cushion at three-quarter time.
However, if there is anything Natte has learned in their rivalry with Harcourt, it’s you can never count the Lions out, with rumblings of a furious comeback in the final quarter happening almost immediately.
First, Leech brought the comeback to life with a goal three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Three minutes later, Mitchell McKnight added another before a spectacular mark from player-coach Alex Code suddenly brought the deficit down to four goals with only seven minutes played in the fourth.
Natte was able to steady the ship for a little while before Gartside and Vaz narrowed the margin to 13 points for the clinical Lions with seven minutes left to play.
However, a free kick before the ensuing centre bounce allowed Natte to kill some precious time in their forward half.
A late goal from superstar Threlfall gave the Lions a glimmer of hope, but the clock struck midnight on Harcourt’s premiership aspirations, allowing Natte to book a date with Carisbrook for a spot in the grand final.
“It was really a tale of quarters with the breeze, both sides tried different things at different stages, so it was nice to come away with the win,” Mortlock said.
“They got the jump on us, and then we were able to respond, which was really good. I felt that in the second quarter, we slipped a bit and let them back into the game, then we were able to halt their momentum again and hit the scoreboard.
“You just saw us grow in confidence more and more as that third quarter went on, and unfortunately, it went away in the last, but the boys banded together in the third, and when we got the momentum, I felt we were really able to use it.
“Especially late in the quarter, we kicked a few late goals that probably hurt them a lot.”