by Jim Gordon
SEA LAKE NANDALY TIGERS V JEPARIT RAINBOW
In Jeparit Rainbow’s first game at Berriwillock for eight years, the Lakers came away with a very good win. They were able to keep pressure on the Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers all day and due to some hard tackling, they were able to forge a win against quality opposition. This win would have been very pleasing for the Club.
The game started well for the Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers when half way through the first quarter they lead four goals to two, but when Jeparit Rainbow kicked the next four goals they had a 13 points by quarter time.
Things went from bad to worse for a determined, but undermanned Sea Lake Nandaly side. They were already without several key players when they ran onto the park, but when Tiger captain Liam Barry went down early and was eventually hospitalised with a massive gash to his forehead, more misery followed when at the opening bounce of the 2nd quarter, coach Col Durie hobbled off with a leg injury. It left the Tigers with no one on the bench.
The second quarter was an arm wrestle with inaccuracy by the Laker forwards keeping the Tigers in it and Jeparit Rainbow lead by 16 points at half time. The second half was a shoot out with Jeparit Rainbow opening up a comfortable lead, eventually winning by 43 points.
Jeparit Rainbow had its share of concern too, losing top onballer Ash Clugston to a foot injury in first ten minutes of the game, but they had the luxury of greater depth and other players stepped up to cover his loss. Heath Clugston, Corey Waldron and Lucas Edelsten all won lots of the ball and Luke Werner was moved from the back line to play on the ball due to Clugston’s injury and he ended up doing very well for the Lakers.
For the Tigers, Nathan Wight kicked five goals and continues to play well. Darcy Ryan was at the bottom of every pack and with his coaches and captain sidelined, the assistant coach led his young Tiger side from the front. Luke Martin was excellent in the ruck, but an undermanned and inexperienced defence could not cope with the amount of ball the Jeparit Rainbow midfield was supplying.
Justin Chilver played a great game in the ruck for the Lakers and he provided lots of ball to the Jeparit Rainbow midfielders and onballers. The Laker backline was good with Jayden Werner playing his usual solid game.
Although dogged by some poor kicking for goal, Peter Weir dominated the game at full forward with over 20 possessions and kicking 7.8; he also set up a couple more goals for others. Weir’s game was notable for some great leading and marking. Ben Zanker was another in the Laker forward line to kick a bagful of goals and his welcome return to form was his best game for the year.
OUYEN UNITED V HOPETOUN
Ouyen United came out on top in a physically intense match that would have left many players with sore bodies. The strong and talented Ouyen onballers were able to negate Hopetoun’s polished disposal, diminished the Devil’s use of the ball and restrict forward thrusts and scoring opportunities.
In near perfect conditions, with only a slight breeze to the northern end, both sides scored behinds before Glenn Joyce opened with a goal to Ouyen United followed by a goal to Hopetoun from Bryce Wellington. It seemed like this game was going to live up to expectations with Clint Burdett and Leigh Hutchinson prominent early for the Devils and Pete Caldow and Corey Gregg likewise for the Demons.
The game seemed to take a turn for the worst for the Devils with a goal to Ash Connick after a shocker of a turnover by Hopetoun on the full back line. Up until this point, it was a tight and even affair, but not long after this bad error, Jarrod Munro ran out of defence, delivered to Ryan O’Callaghan who passed to Brenton Jardine who found Sonny Lindsay for a goal that saw Ouyen United suddenly on top and able to take a three goal lead into the first break.
At times Hopetoun were able to string together some very good passages of play. When Marcus Burdett found Leigh Hutchinson to release Jordan Phelan, a goal would have been a just reward, a behind was an opportunity gone begging.
The second quarter saw passages of good play from both sides, but it was a case of whatever Hopetoun could do, Ouyen United could do better. When Hopetoun were able to get the ball quickly out of the centre, they were capable of kicking goals, the problem was that they missed chances on goal that should have been taken. An exception was a brilliant individual run and goal from Clint Burdett who was a great player for Hopetoun all day.
Robbie Miller kicked a beautiful goal to start the quarter off for the Demons. Marc Hahnel was making good position and always looked for and managed to find a teamate and Wayne Grace kicked two goals towards the end of the quarter to help Ouyen United to a four goal lead at the main break.
The first half of the third quarter belonged to the Demons who were able to build up a solid lead with goals from Ryan O’Callaghan, Wayne Grace and Peter Caldow. All hell broke lose when Ash Connick was sent off and this seemed to spark Hopetoun into action and their three unanswered goals left them with a sniff at the final break. Quentin Willmott was getting a lot of the ball, Tom Pridgeon was doing well and Steve Hallam had sprung into life.
Unfortunately for the Devils, it took no time at all for Ouyen United at assert their superiority in the final quarter with two goals in as many minutes to Ryan O’Callaghan and Robert Miller. Glenn Joyce was getting he ball out of the centre and precision play into the forward line lead to the Demons scoring match winning goals.
Hopetoun kept fighting, but a great goal after a strong mark to Bryce Wellington was quickly answered by two Sonny Lindsay gaols, the first after good work by Glenn Joyce and the second after a pass from Marc Hahnel. The rest of the quarter saw the Demons in control and come away with a very good win.
WOOMELANG LASCELLES V BEULAH
A nine goal to nothing first quarter spelt doom for the Cats in a match that ended in a 157 point drubbing. Beulah were at their best in a powerful display that indicated that they were not going to take this match lightly and would only be satisfied with a huge win.
To Woomelang Lascelles’ credit, they battled hard all day but they could not contain a forward line that had five players kicking more than one goal. Jarrod Combe was a great target at full forward kicking seven goals and Adam Carter was a live wire with five. Jake Percy was another Blue who created many chances for others in the forward line and ended up kick four goals himself.
Beulah domination really began in the centre with ruckman John Dixon giving his rovers first use of the ball. Even though the Cats put in a better performance after quarter time, Beulah still managed to kick four, six and six in the next three quarters to increase their lead at each break.
Kim Hallam was impassable at centre half back for the Blues, stopping countless attacks with his high marking as Woomelang Lascelles pushed forward in an effort to gain some scoreboard presence. Whatever Hallman let slip through, the ever reliable Tim Hill was at full back to stop anything that came his way.
It was not surprising that the best Woomelang Lascelles players were in defence, although coach Daniel Quinn played his best game for the year as a ruck rover covering a lot of ground. Joel Donnan halted many attacks with some great marks in defence and beside him James Bailey battled hard in an effort to hold the back line together.
The Cats did have some good players on the ball and they were competitive at times against John Dixon, as Waylon Richie used his high leaping in the ruck and managed to get the ball to Clayton Lee who went in and under every pack. Trent Donnan got a lot of the ball, but in the end the Cats were too undermanned to match it with the talented Blues.
Next week Woomelang Lascelles visit Walpeup Underbool. If they can get some of their injured players back and if they play with as much heart as they have been playing, they could upset the Roos who have not been in good form. Meanwhile, Beulah go from strength to strength and are forging a path to top position by the end of the year and premiership favouritism.
Last Modified on 04/07/2010 17:59
