Birchip-Watchem v St Arnaud
The Bulls gave their supporters a good sighting of things to come in the opening quarter when they outscored last year’s preliminary finalists and held a seventeen point lead. Castellano was proving a handy recruit and he got into the action early. The Bulls kicked the first two goals before the Saints struck back with three goals in three minutes to gain the lead before Castellano and Ratcliffe put the home side back in the lead.
In the second term the Saints hit a purple patch kicking five unanswered goals with Needs and Brown kicking 2 each. Birchip-Watchem then rallied to kick the last three goals of the quarter to again hit the lead at the main break.
After half time the game continued to be an arm wrestle with both sides kicking three goals for the term. During this term the Bulls recruits appeared to be getting familiar with players around them and while they were able to collect plenty of the Sherrin, goals were not matching their possessions but they went to the final change with a narrow 4-point lead.
A few strong words from the Saints Coach must have hit home as the saints took complete control of the game, in this quarter they slammed on 9-goals to the Bulls one goal and it was quite evident that the home side was tiring after three solid quarters. Needs and McNamee dominated the quarter with Needs kicking four last term goals and McNamee three with the Bulls only goal coming from Castellano who finished the day with four goals.
The win to St Arnaud showed even at this early stage, that they will be right in the mix of the action come September, for the Bulls they will improve in the coming weeks and they will be looking to rid themselves of that bottom side tag they gained in 2013.
Final score; St Arnaud 20-8=128 def Birchip-Watchem 12-10=82
Best for the Saints: Ben Batters, Andrew Jesse, Jobastin Priest, Tom Douglas, Daniel Needs, Jake Tillig. Goals: D. Needs 7, J. McNamee 4, Nick Coghlan 3, N. Brown 2, rest singles
Best for the Bulls: Daniel Ratcliffe, Tom Carland, Jake Noonan, Daniel Castellano, Alex Hutchins and Mark McConville. Goals: D. Castellano 4, M. McConville and S. Neeson 2, rest singles.
Wycheproof-Narraport v Wedderburn
In a scrappy but very tough affair the Demons and Redbacks left nothing in the rooms in the opening term. The Demons who reports had indicated that they not be as competitive as in past seasons put all that to bed when the matched motors with their more highly rated opposition. Barnes kicked the first to goals of the contest for the Redbacks before Brock Bish opened the Demons account for 2014. Herdman answered for the visitors and just prior to the end of the term Allan who received a free struck back for the Demons to see them 7-points in arrears of the regaining premiers.
Gash kicked the first goal in the second quarter, but didn’t take long for James Coatsworth to respond for the home side. The Demons coach of the past two season’s was turning in a top game and gathered plenty of the ball and putting it to good use. Nathan Holt chimed in for two goals to give the Redbacks a bit of breathing space before Ricky Allan kicked two goals and Brock Bish another and the Demons had tied the match up at the half time break.
Barnes and McCarty posted early goals for the Redbacks in the third term but they could not shake off the Demons, Allan and Bish again put the scores locked up again only to see Tonkin snap a much needed goal. Herdman found some space and kicked truly as did McCarthy. Wedderburn dropped their guard just before the final break and James Coatsworth made them pay for it. In this term Sam Barnes was reported and sent from the ground for an indiscretion leaving the visitors a player down.
In the final quarter Ricky Allan brought up his fifth goal for the game and reduced the Redbacks three quarter time lead back to 11-points, but their comeback was halted when Wedderburn were able to finish the game off better than the Demons as they kicked the last 6-goals for the match. Herdman kicked three last term goals to finish with five for the day to be amongst the Redbacks best. Wycheproof-Narraport was game in defeat and their showing against the reigning premiers will have a lot of clubs now do a rethink when preparing for their matches against a very competitive Demons side. For Wedderburn they run out comfortable winners and will now have a two week break before fronting up to the Saints. Wedderburn look a good combination and their constant pressure will worry a lot of teams in the coming weeks and a lot would have to go wrong for them not to play finals in 2014.
Final score Wedderburn 17-15=117 def Wycheproof-Narraport 10-10=70
Best for Wedderburn: M. Lloyd, A. Postle, T. McCarthy, R. McHugh, B. Herdman and L. McCarthy.
Goals: B. Herdman 5, N. Holt, S. Barnes 3, R. Tonkin 2, D. gash, A. Chalkley 1 each.
Best for the Demons: S. Driscoll, B. Brennan, James Coatsworth, D. Lourey, Joe Coatsworth, D. McLennan. Goals: R. Allan 5, Brock Bish 3, James Coatsworth 2.
Boort v Charlton
Charlton’s visit to Magpie land started in explosive fashion as they registered early goals at one end and defended solidly at the other. The Navy Blues shot out to a handy 30-point lead at the first break which could have been greater only for their bad kicking. Charlton had posted 4-7 to the Magpies single point for the first quarter and the way the ball was being delivered into the Boort forward line would have to improve dramatically if they were going to make up the deficit.
Charlton had the best of the second term and posted another 3-3 while they again were able to restrict the Magpies to just the one point and at half time Boort had kicked only two points and trailed the Navy Blues by50-points.
Boort coach Rick Easton was not a happy man at the long break and he called on his players to give a more committed effort in the second half. Both sides kicked 3-1 for the term and the three quarter time lead held by the visitors remained at 50-points. Boort supporters gained a little relief when the Magpies kicked the first two goals but their mini revival was halted when Tom Finlay continued on his outstanding game as he kicked two more goals in the term to bring his tally to seven with a term to go. For Boort the Wilson brothers in Aaron and Keiran were defending as if their lives depended on it and were amongst a few from the magpies who could hold their heads high.
In the final quarter both sides kicked four goals, Charlton’s form in the early part of the game gave them a solid platform to build on and when their defence was able to restrict the Magpies scoring they were looking towards opening their account in their first official game for the year. Boort have now lost their first two games and will need to get on the board quickly to prevent other sides from getting away from them which will make playing finals a much harder task to perform.
Final scores: Charlton 14-14=98 def Boort 7-4=46
Best for Charlton: R. Thompson, T. Finlay, J. McLean, A. McKenzie, D. Thiesz, A. Walklate.
Goals: T. Finlay 9, Angus McKenzie 2, Matt Willox and Joe McGrath 1 each.
Best for Boort: A. Wilson, K. Wilson, C. Wilkinson, M. Henningson, J. Dehne, J. Kane.
Goals A. White, R. Easton 2, Taylor, P. Manser and N. Gooding 1 each.
Next round April 26th
Donald v Boort
St Arnaud v Wycheproof-Narraport
Charlton v Birchip-Watchem
Wedderburn Bye
Last Modified on 15/04/2014 00:16