Wedderburn and St Arnaud was draw to play the rematch of last year’s Grand Final, Wedderburn got the points in the finish but the Saints put up a spirited fight to reverse the result of their last meeting in 2012.
Play commenced at a hot pace in the opening term as both sides were keen to get on the board early. It only took a few minutes before the Redbacks took advantage of the breeze and registered the first goal from the boot of Sam Barnes. St Arnaud responded from the bounce but their forward moves were halted by the solid backline of the Wedderburn side. Wedderburn again went forward and Barnes kicked his second. From the restart the saints moved the ball quickly into their forward line where Liam Cunningham kicked truly and it would be their only goal of the quarter as Wedderburn took control and peppered the goals, Barnes finished with four goals at the completion of the first term.
Trailing by fifty points the Saints had to make some positional changes to pull back the big lead the Redbacks had gained in that opening term. Coughlan goaled from a free kick and the Saints were away. It didn’t take long before Ross Tungatalum showed his class as he finished of some good work from the mid-field kicking two goals in a matter of a minute. Hando and Cunningham kept the scoreboard ticking over before Barnes and Rose struck back for the home side, just before the siren Cunningham brought up his third goal and the Saints had reduced the lead of Wedderburn back from fifty points to just four goals.
Both sides had given their all to half time and with the game being of a high standard the next half could give some strong indications for how the season ahead would pan out.
It was the Redbacks who were first into attack with Reiffel and Herdman getting the home side of to a flyer. Wedderburn would run the term right out and extend their half time lead back out to 36-points at the last change. St Arnaud who continued to apply the pressure to the reigning premiers missed a couple of easy scoring opportunities which could have reduced that margin right back, Munkara kicked two nice goals and showed that he will be a danger player for opposition sides. Wedderburn’s backmen were solid all day but a slight lack of concentration allowed the Saints an easy goal on siren time and we were set for an interesting final term.
Chasing down a 36-point deficit with only one quarter to play is not what any side needs in the opening round, but the visitors were going to give it their best shot. Some of those players to stand up in the final term for the Saints, had been quiet in the earlier quarters, Coghlan kicked two goals with McNamee, Batters and Sullivan making contributions to the Saints score. Barnes and Nathan Holt steadied for the Redbacks and in the dying minutes of what had been a fantastic game of footy Tungatalum kicked truly for the Saints but it was all too late as the siren sounded and the Redbacks had come out victorious by 17-points. Both sides will benefit from the hit out and look like they will both be strong contenders for some September action.
Final scores Wedderburn 18-14=122 def St Arnaud 15-15=105
Goals Wedderburn: Barnes 7, Herdman 3, Rose, Holt, Reiffel 2, McHugh and Jack McNamara 1 each. Best S. Barnes, R. McHugh, M. Reiffel, B. Rose, B. Herdman, J. DeAraugo.
Goals St Arnaud: Ross Tungatalum, Liam Cunningham, N. Coghlan 3, D. Munkara 2, J. McNamee, B. Batters, Z. Sullivan and B. Hando 1 each.
Best: L. Stewart, Z. Sullivan, R. Tungatalum, S. Dyke, N. Reid and S. Elliott.
Donald v Charlton
Donald who were celebrating the triple premierships were hoping for the perfect start with a win over old rival Charlton, but it wasn’t to be with the Navy Blues take the four points by 41-points and signal that they will cause other sides some headaches in the coming weeks.
Charlton started the game full of running and looked to pacey for the Royal Blues, kicking 5-1 to Donald’s 2-2 and take a 17-point lead to the first break.
Donald made a mini revival early in the second term but could not cut the margin back, Charlton’s inaccurate kicking probably kept the home side in the contest, when they kicked 2-7 to take an 18-point lead into half time. Charlton were far too quick for Donald to this point and the Royal Blues would need to regroup and show some improved form in the second half if they were to stay in the contest.
Charlton started off the premiership quarter with a goal to extend their lead, this was followed quickly by another and the game was slipping away from the home side. Donald could not match the Navy Blues as they could only manage one major in this term. Charlton finished the quarter off with two goals and when the siren sound they had kicked out to a 35-point lead and the celebrations for the home side were going a little bit sour.
With only 30 minutes to go both side were showing the effects from the contest with many players cramping, the Navy Blues managed two goals while holding the Donald side to one and the contest was getting scrappy. By time the final bell sounded the Charlton side had gone out to a 41-point lead, the visitors deserved their win with many contributors, for the Royal Blues they had many who flashed in and out and will need to become more consistent for the entire game if they are to cause some havoc to their opposition in the coming weeks.
Final scores Charlton 13-14=92 def Donald 7-9=51.
Best for Charlton: A. McKenzie, L. Kyriakides, S. Rogan, R. Thompson, T. Finlay and Aaron Walklate
Goals: T. Finlay, A. Judd, S. Lawry, J. McKee, L.Mulquiny 2, L. Kyriakides, M.Laffin, J. McGrath 1 each.
Best for Donald: L. Anderson, J. Burke, D. Harrison, A. Grant, K. Harberger, B. Jennings.
Goals: L Anderson 2, A. Ades, J. Burke, M. Clifford, B. Grant, B. Jennings 1 each.
Wycheproof-Narraport v Birchip-Watchem
The Demons set the pace early in this game kicking 8-4 to the Bulls 1-2. The home side who established such a big lead early had the visitors chasing for the rest of the day. Wycheproof-Narraport dominated this game for all but the last term; they were able to keep Birchip-Watchem to four goals in the first three terms while they kicked 15 goals. Demons coach James Coatsworth was the main focus kicking 8 goals and for the Bulls new recruit Angus Grigg did a top effort kicking seven of the 9 goals recorded for Birchip-Watchem.
The Demons had many winners on the day with spoils being shared around, for the Bulls while they had many who tried hard all day, they could not match it with the Demons. With new recruits from interstate joining the Bulls, it may take a couple of weeks before they gel and that will give them a better gauge than yesterday’s opening game on how their season might go after that.
Final scores Wycheproof-Narrapport 19-12 def Birchip-Watchem 9-12=66
Best players for the Demons: J. Coatsworth, S. Driscoll, Boe Bish, D. Lourey, D. McLennan, Josh White. Goals: J. Coatsworth 8, C. Jones, G. Turner 3,Boe Bish 2, K. McNicol, K. Prestidge, R. Fawcett 1 each.
Best for the Bulls: A. Grigg, T. Gilla, S. Anderson, A. Hutchins, Z. Holmes, A. Rout.
Goals: Angus Grigg 7, L.Foott and S. Anderson 1 each.
Round 2 matches
Birchip-Watchem v Boort
St Arnaud v Wycheproof-Narraport
Charlton v Wedderburn
Donald Bye
Last Modified on 14/04/2013 14:32