Wedderburn were made to work hard to get the points when the Navy Blues who had trailed by 17-points at the last change and by 35-points midway through the final term rallied in the final ten minutes and posted four goals to bring the final deficit back to just 12-points in a match that was very fiercely contested for the entire game. At Donald the home side was no match for the visiting Wycheproof-Narraport team who secured their first points for the year, winning by 73-points.
Boort v Birchip-Watchem
Boort with a solid start to their match against the Bulls got off on the right foot kicking six opening term goals and restricting the Bulls to three goals. Boort looked by far the best side on the ground as the teamed well for positive results, whereas the Bulls worked hard to get on the board; eventually they were able to break the lines when Castellano got the Bulls on the scoreboard. Well into the quarter the visitors were able to kick a couple more majors to reduce the Magpies lead back to 19-points at the first change.
Both sides’ matched motors in the second quarter adding three goals each but Boort could have kicked out to a good lead early in the quarter when they were inaccurate in front of goals. Jack Dehne was getting plenty of the ball and was causing the Bulls plenty of grief as he continually pushed the ball forward creating many scoring opportunities. By the time the siren sounded for half way Boort’s lead was 22-points in what was turning into an interesting contest.
Goals were hard to come by in the third term as both sides attacking moves were rebounded by the opposition’s backmen. Aaron Wilson was leading the Boort backmen and at the other end it was the Bulls Jake Noonan turning in a solid game in defence where his fellow backmen held Boort to just the one goal while the Bulls posted a couple to reduce the Magpies lead back to 18-points with a term to go.
Boort who only managed to kick two goals after half time were immediately under pressure from the Bulls who were building in confidence and were sensing the possibility of another win constantly pushed the ball into their forward line and all of a sudden they were looking a real chance until Boort’s White managed to ease the pressure momentarily. Neeson and Castellano answered quickly and the margin narrowed to just 9-points but time was becoming the enemy of the Bulls, Barnard let go a big bomb which brought up both flags and the lead was down to single digits, but that’s where it would remain with the Magpies getting home by three points in a game that turned out to be an interesting contest which also tested the hearts of supporters from both camps.
Final Scores Boort 11-12=78 def Birchip-Watchem 12.3= 75
Best for Boort: A. White, M. Henningson, Cam Millward, Keiren Wilson, Shannon Millward and Dale Cameron. Goals: A. White 3, S. Millward, D. Cameron 2 rest singles.
Best for the Bulls: T. Carland, D. Castellano, J. Noonan, Z. Holmes, A. O’Loughlan, M. McConville. Goals: D. Castellano 4, S. Neeson 3, M. McConville, J. Barnard 2, S. Hogan 1.
Charlton v Wedderburn
Charlton and Wedderburn were keen to get on the board early and the task of scoring goals was not going to come easy with both sides applying plenty of pressure in the opening minutes of their much talked about contest. Charlton were first to break the shackles when Tom Finlay posted their first major score at about the eight minute mark of the game. Barnes was the next to score when he kicked truly for the Redbacks first goal. Play rebounded for the next ten minutes without any scoring and a free kick awarded to Joe McGrath resulted in the Navy Blues second goal. Wedderburn had the opportunity to join the home side but could not convert what were gettable shots at goal. At quarter time the Navy Blues held a slender 3-point lead in a game that was full of pressure and getting fairly scrappy.
Joe McGrath kicked his second for the day in the early minutes of the second term before Wedderburn drove the ball into Ben De Araugo who made no mistake. The Redbacks midfield were then able to get the ball into their forward line reasonably easy and Barnes capped off their good work kicking three goals for the term before Rhys Thompson kicked a late goal for Charlton, Wedderburn’s Prime, answered just on siren time to give the Redbacks a seventeen point lead at the half time break.
It was Wedderburn who opened the scoring in the third term when Herdman got the Redbacks first major score. Ben Roberts replied for Charlton and this would be the only major scores for the quarter. In this quarter it was tough out there and any player in possession of the ball was quickly wrapped up as many packs like scrums emerged. It wasn’t pretty football, but the pressure was unreal with both sides having players showing signs of being involved in this very physical game where there was no place for a faint heart. Wedderburn held onto their half time lead of 17-points at the last change and the game was in the balance and either side was in with a chance of grabbing the points.
In the final quarter the Redbacks kicked the first three goals to extend their lead out to the six goal margin and the game looked like it was getting out of reach of the Navy Blues. It was at this point with about ten minutes to go the home side put in one last effort to keep their winning streak intact and Finlay with a strong mark started a Navy Blue revival, James Baird, McLean and Baird again posted four goals to reduce the margin back to two goals, but it was time that beat them and at full time they would remain in arrears by 12-points.
It was a solid game and neither side would have lost any faith from their faithful supporters as all players had given their best and as they left the Park you could see the signs of some very sore and tired bodies heading for a much needed shower.
Final Scores: Wedderburn 10-11=71 def Charlton 9-5=59
Best for the Redbacks: L. McCarthy, C. Perry, J. McKay, A.Chalkley, N. Bell and M. Lloyd.
Goals: S. Barnes 5, B. Herdman 2, B. DeAraugo, L. McCarthy, P. Prime.
Best for Charlton: A. McKenzie, T. Baird, D. Thiesz, B. Roberts, A. Walklate, M. Laffin.
Goals: T. Finlay, J. McGrath, J. Baird 2, R. Thompson, B. Roberts, J. McLean 1 each.
Donald v Wycheproof-Narraport
Both side entered the contest winless and at the end of the day one side would remain on zero points. The Demons started the better than the Royals and were quick to register their first major score kicked by Ricky Allan; he was soon to add another as the Demons looking confident were playing the better football than their younger opposition. At quarter time the visitors held a twenty point lead, holding the home side to just 2-points.
Donald started the next quarter a bit better and posted two quick goals and things were starting to look up before the Demons kicked back into gear and registered goals in quick fashion to halt the Royals mini revival. When the siren sounded for half time the scoreboard for Donald looked a lot better than at the first change but the Demons had extended their lead to 26-points.
In the third term the Donald side was looking for some improvement but they could only register minor scores while the Demons who entered the second half minus James Coatsworth added three further goals and had built a solid lead going to the final break in play and they held a match winning lead of 42-points, which looked beyond the home side, considering they could only manage 3 goals in the first three quarters.
The final quarter belonged to the Demons as they went on a goal kicking spree to add a further seven goals and restricted the Royal Blues to just the two goals. Wycheproof-Narraport had a spread of good player’s; with Ricky Allan kicking six goals to set a solid platform for the Demons to build on should rate a mention. The Demons would be happy to record their first win and will now go into next week’s match against Boort with some renewed confidence. The Donald side will not be looking forward to their next encounter which will be against ladder leaders Wedderburn at Donaldson Park next week.
Final scores: Wycheproof-Narraport 17-12=114 def Donald 5-11= 41
Best for the Demons: Jesse White, D. Lourey, S. Allan, S. Driscoll, Joey Coatsworth, Jason Coles. Goals: R. Allan 6, S. Driscoll 3, Joey Coatsworth, N. Elliott, D. McLennan 2, Boe Bish, K. McNicol 1 each.
Best for Donald: A. Sheridan, B. Haddow, B. Sexton, J. Heslop, Darby Harrison, l. Carr.
Goals: Aaron Jones 2, B. Gilmour, S. Goldsmith, A. Wright 1 each.
Next Week
Wedderburn v Donald
Wycheproof-Narraport v Boort
St Arnaud v Charlton
Bye Birchip-Watchem
Last Modified on 12/05/2014 00:37