Boort v St Arnaud
In a game where most would have felt that the Saints would have had a percentage booster against the Magpies did not go the way of the expected predictions. Boort only trailed the Saints by eleven points at the first change and they were hoping that they could keep the league leaders in touch as the game moved on but it wasn’t to be.
St Arnaud found some form in the second quarter that they have had missing in their past two outings to kick out to a six goal lead by the half time break. Boort managed one goal for the quarter and were starting to lose touch with the Saints who had Vassallo causing plenty of concern for the Magpies with his dominance around the packs. Wilson brothers and Jack Smith were working overtime down back and only for their good work the gap at the main break may have been greater.
In the third term the Saints who were coming off two losses in their past two games set about making a statement but the opportunities didn’t come very often as Boort tightened up on the backline and restricted the Saints to just two goals, but the Magpies were unable to add to their first half score and at the last change they trailed by forty nine points.
In the final term the Saints set themselves a goal to build on their lead but were restricted to a reasonable score by Boort. Boort who had suffered some fairly significant defeats at the hands of St Arnaud in their first two meetings this season with both loses resulting in wins of over one hundred and forty points for the Saints. Boort could only add one goal to their tally in the final term but the work that was done in the backline to hold the Saints to just the three majors was equal to anything the Saints had done for the majority of the game.
The Saints who had been consistent for most of the game was well led by James McNamee but Gavin Vassallo was judged BOG, Caleb Bloomer was again in good form gaining many possessions with tall forward Daniel Need joining Vassallo with three goals. Boort again had a great return from Aaron Wilson and he had good support from his younger brother in Keiran, Jack Smith was again named in their best.
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Final scores St Arnaud 14-9=93 def Boort 4-8=32.
Charlton v Wycheproof-Narraport
In the closest game of the round Charlton prevailed over a determined Wycheproof-Narraport to reclaim second spot on the North Central ladder. This game never had any margin that was not within touch for both teams. Charlton took a narrow lead to quarter time of eleven points. Wycheproof-Narraport was a bit rusty coming of the bye and went into the game with a couple of key injuries and Charlton could argue that they could match the Demons injury problem.
In the second term there was very little difference between these two sides and whatever one side done the other was able to match it. James Baird was doing well for the Navy Blues and young Kristian McNicol was starting to show his talent as was Andrew Mead-Harding up forward for the Demons. Kris Clifford was the Navy Blues leading goal scorer to the half way mark in this important contest for both clubs and the half time lead for the home side was down to seven points.
In the third term not much changed from the first half with both sides keen on getting a break on their opposition but that task was becoming harder for both sides to gain any great advantage and the result at the end of the third term gave a strong indication of how close this contest was and the low scoring was giving a true indication of the endeavour from both sides and the importance of the final outcome as both sides strive for a better finishing position in the coming weeks but it was Charlton who took a one goal advantage to the final break.
The final term turned out to be a beauty with both sides throwing everything at every contests and that was good for the crowd as the scores for the day were never greater than a couple of goals and a few points. Charlton did get a slight break on their opposition but they could only manage points but in a close contest every one of them was a counter. Both sides could only post one major each for the final term and with the off target points the Navy Blues were able to score gave them a margin of ten points at full time. With the result favouring Charlton this now sees them return to second position on the ladder and for the Demons their loss was not favourable to them as they now drop out of the top four and face up to Birchip-Watchem next week in another important clash for their finals chances.
In a close match you can always find players who deserve a mention and the Navy Blues James Baird turned in one of his better games for the Navies and was well supported by the Walklate bros and McKay with Kris Clifford being their major goal scorer with four. The Demons better players were Kristian McNicol, Dane McLennan and Andrew Mead who kicked four goals.
Final scores Charlton 8-12=60 def Wycheproof-Narraport 7-8=50
Birchip-Watchem v Donald
Birchip-Watchem got off to a better start than Donald who was coming off the bye and the Bulls were coming off a confidence boosting win over St Arnaud last week. The Bulls broke away in the first quarter to set up a nineteen point lead at quarter time and in doing so they had held the Royal Blues to minor scores and they Bulls looked full of confidence but on the other hand for the Royal Blues they have been in this territory before where they have been kept to low scores in quarters on a few occasions throughout the year and this is something they need to address with a finals berth the reward for a turnaround of this issue.
In the next quarter the Bulls was able to extend their lead, Donald were first to score but they could only manage points but the Bulls through Sean Hogan put their lead out further. Donald Coach Luke Fisher put a hold on the Bulls dominance when he posted two goals mid- term to keep the Royals Blues in the game but by the end of the term the Bulls through Gilmore and Douglas had established a lead of 30 points over the Donald side who were finding it hard to break through Jake Noonan and his backline team.
In the third quarter both sides were well held in the scoring department with only the one goal being scored and that coming from Birchip-Watchem’s key back man, Dale Hinkley. Donald was able to add just the one point to their score and if the margin at the last change was a good indicator they were not going to turn around their form of the first three quarters as they trailed by around six goals.
The final term did not do any favours for the Royal Blues as the Bulls charged towards reclaiming a finals berth for this week. The Bulls they need to continue this run of form as they only have the two games to go against Wycheproof-Narraport and Charlton to finish off their home and away season and has the bye in the final round of the year. Their 46 point win over Donald has given the Bulls a strong chance of retaining a finals position but one loss could undo a lot of good work. Castellano was named as their best with Hinkley again rating a mention in the higher bracket with Cusack and Messer being named as better players. Donald on the other hand needs to regroup, this week’s loss has not done them any favours but they should recover from this loss when they play host to Boort next week and visit Donaldson Park in the following weeks. Luke Fisher as has been common was named best for the Royal Blues with his continued good form and had good support from Daniel Pearce, Jarrod Newell and Sam Dunstan.
Major goal scorers for the Bulls was Gilmore and Messer with three each and Castellano with two. Donalds major goal kicker was their coach in Luke Fisher with three.
Final scores Birchip-Watchem 12-7=79 def Donald 4-9=33
Next week
Donald v Boort
St Arnaud v Wedderburn
Wycheproof-Narraport v Birchip-Watchem
Bye Charlton
Last Modified on 03/08/2015 20:37