Donald v Boort
Donald used the first quarter to set up a good platform for their game against the Magpies and that was going to be the pattern for the day. Boort were held goalless in the opening term and the Royals who had suffered their first loss in last week’s round were out to redeem themselves from that loss where they failed to score a goal in the first three quarters.
In the second quarter the Boort Magpies were able to kick a couple of goals but it was not enough to keep in touch with Donald. While conditions were not perfect it wasn’t favouring either side. Donald was able to increase their lead and kept a good lead to half time where they took a lead of 49-points to the main break. Young was again in good form in front of goals and finished of the good work by Fisher and Garner. Boort were finding it hard to increase their score-line in this half but their efforts were still creditable regardless of the low scores they are producing.
Donald opened the second half full of running and they were first to hit the scoreboard as they added a further eight goals in the term but the lead they could have held at the last change could have been greater if they had have kicked straighter as they also posted ten points with their eight goals. At the final break the Boort side had not added to their half time score and things were not looking to good as another heavy defeat looked well on the cards.
Boort with nothing to lose were out to build on the low score and drew first blood when Taylor converted. This was soon followed by a goal to Pearce and the Magpies supporters were in hope of a repeat of their final quarter last week where they kicked six goals. Unfortunately they could not match that quarter against the Royal Blues but they did achieve one thing in the term, after trailing all day they outscored the Donald side in the last term where they held Donald to just two points but the early quarters had done the damage to the Magpies, with the Royal Blues running out comfortable winners by 94- points and a return to the winners list.
Seamus Young finished the day to be the major goal scorer but the BOG honours went to the Donald coach in Luke Fisher who led from the front and he was well supported by Nick Garner in what was a good team effort.
Final scores Donald 17-21=123 def Boort 4-5=29
St Arnaud v Wedderburn
St Arnaud was quickly into action and was taking full advantage of a strong wind to record the first goal of the game from Zac Notting. It wasn’t long after that Adam Tipungwuti gave a strong indication that he was going to play a huge role for the Saints when he posted the first of his three goals for the day. St Arnaud were doing it at both ends as their forwards were attacking the goals and at the other end they were turning back any forward moves by the Redbacks who in the finish were able to manufacture a couple of much needed goals. The Saints went to the first break with a handy lead which was going to set them up for a solid defence when the opposition had their turn with the strong wind. At quarter time St Arnaud led by twenty seven points and was looking the goods against a Wedderburn side who were hoping for a better result after the break.
In the second term the Saints defenders made it hard for the Redbacks and limited their scoring opportunities in shocking weather conditions for both sides. Wedderburn bridged the gap slightly reducing the Saints lead back to 20-points at the main break.
With a 20-point lead and a strong wind favouring their end, St Arnaud set about building on what they hoped would be a winning score and in the early part of the quarter it looked like they would achieve their goal. Late in the quarter Wedderburn through Nathan Holt kicked two late goals which reduced the Saints lead back to 29-points with a term to play.
Wedderburn would have to attack the goals early if they were going to give themselves a shot at getting over the top of St Arnaud but many missed opportunities from the Redbacks did not help their cause and when Tillig posted his third goal the Redbacks chances slipped a bit further back and at full time the Saints would run out winners by 33-points and retain their position at the top of the ladder having only dropped the one game to this point. For Wedderburn they are reasonably strong down back but they are having trouble converting up forward which is denying them kicking a winning score.
Final Scores St Arnaud 11-18=84 def Wedderburn 7-9=51.
Click Here for photos from the Saints v Redbacks.
Wycheproof-Narraport v Birchip-Watchem
Wycheproof-Narraport got away to a good start over the Birchip-Watchem Bulls when they kicked out to a 19-point lead at quarter time. The Demons had made the start that had been letting them down in recent weeks where they had been finding it hard put a respectable score on the board. And it was the opposite for the Bulls who are usually good beginners but could only manage the one goal to the Demons four in the opening term.
In the second, the roles were reversed with the Bulls getting their game back on track and were cutting back into the Demons lead and by half time they were right in the mix as they trailed by just two points.
The third term produced the best football as the lead was up for grabs on many occasions as both sides were able to score on a regular basis. Wycheproof-Narraport got the better of the term kicking four goals and keeping the Bulls to three goals. Castellano for the Bulls and Mead for the Demons were both lively up forward with Ricky Allan, James Coatsworth and Tom Keane being good contributors for the home side while Sean Hogan, Daniel Ratcliffe and Joel Creaney were the prime movers for the Bulls. The Demons went to three quarter time holding a ten point lead.
Holding a slender ten point lead the Demons set their sights on extending their lead and they got off to a good start in the final term when Allan put them a little further in front. As the quarter went on the Demons looked to be getting their sights on their first four points as they got out to around a 28-point lead, with the time piece on their side, but then with time running out the Bulls found a new lease of life and added two quick goals to be back a bit closer. The Bulls continued to force the ball forward and before the Demons could slow the game down the Bulls had got back to within a kick. Prior to the Bulls revival they were looking at a loss, but in a five minute period they nearly got up to win but the clock beat them and they went down by 5-points in the end. Wycheproof-Narraport have been just failing to run the games out in the past weeks and when they held a good lead late in the quarter they must have relaxed a little and all but let the Bulls in to take the win but to the credit to the Demons they did rally to hold off the Bulls to record their first win for the year.
Final scores Wycheproof-Narraport 12-8=80 def Birchip-Watchem 12-3=75
Next Week
Wedderburn v Donald
Boort v Wycheproof-Narraport
Birchip-Watchem v Charlton
Bye St Arnaud
Last Modified on 11/05/2015 16:32