Football
24 August, 2025
Southern Roos too good for Pimpinio
Harrow Balmoral have kicked off their finals campaign in style, defeating Pimpinio in the seniors football qualifying final on Saturday in the Horsham District Football Netball League.
The Southern Roos kicked 13.7 (85) to Pimpinio’s 5.6 (36).
Playing at Dock Lake Recreation Reserve, Harrow Balmoral established an early lead with goals to Simon Close and Brock Summerhayes, but Pimpinio were able to stem the momentum as both sides brought physicality to the contest.
A Will Burbury goal late in the first saw Harrow Balmoral enter quarter-time up 19-2.
Nick Groves kicked Pimpinio’s first goal at the start of the second, but the Southern Roos dominated the quarter from there.
Capitalising on open space out of the contest, Harrow Balmoral kicked five second-quarter goals, including another two from Summerhayes to lead 52-10 at half-time.
Despite the seven-goal difference, Pimpinio demonstrated their intent out of half-time, consistently spoiling Harrow ball before converting a couple of goals to bring the deficit to 30.
But two quick goals from Ethan Appleton and another from Cody Deutscher right on the three-quarter siren saw the Southern Roos take a 72-23 lead into the final break.
A determined Pimpinio side continued to win a lot of possession in the fourth, with Jason Westley kicking two goals.
But as had been the case for much of the game, Harrow Balmoral’s defensive pressure limited Pimpinio’s ability to effectively dispose the ball, as the reigning premiers finished 49-point winners.
Summerhayes and Matt Jones were two of Harrow Balmoral’s best all day, with Summerhayes and Cody Deutscher both kicking three each for the victors.
Daniel Baker was one of Pimpinio’s best at halfback, while Westley and Groves led the Tigers with two goals each.
Harrow Balmoral coach Jai Thompson said he was pleased with the side’s effort, citing their recent form in helping them get off to a strong start.
“We really wanted to come out and start strong, and the way we've been playing the last three weeks, building up to this game, has been really good,” Thompson said.
“We're starting to really get our ball movement to work really well and our defensive setups have been really good.
“And you can see that today we just clicked in straight away – that first half is really important for us.
“Final footy is like that: you want to get off to a good start and get yourself in front and not be chasing all day.
“We really thought about that before the game and to see the boys come out and execute was fantastic.”
While happy with the result, Thompson acknowledged there were improvements to be made ahead of next week’s clash against Noradjuha Quantong, where they will get their first chance at a spot in the grand final.
“We always believe that our game plan will beat anyone on any day if we execute it properly,” Thompson said.
“Our stoppage work probably wasn't as good as it could be today.
“Pimpinio got Healy in the ruck there.
"He's a big, strong man and we gave him first use a fair bit out of the front of the stoppage.
"There's some things there we'll hopefully fix up during the week, have a bit of a chat about.
“But the way we covered ourselves around the ground, I thought was fantastic."