In a game that was tight all day Boort recorded probably their best win for the year when they defeated league leaders Charlton by 7-points in a low scoring affair. Both sides could not be separated at the first break in what was a desperate term for both sides but it was entertaining to those on the other side of the white line. Both side’s mid-fields were staging a battle to give their teams the edge over their opponent but neither team could break away and the tight contest seen both teams locked on 2-2 at the first break. Lanyon and Henningson were players of note for the Magpies while Ben and Aaron Walklate were doing their best to keep their old side at bay.
The second quarter turned out to be almost a repeat of the first with both sides down on scoring opportunities. Wilson was tight in the back half for the Magpies as was his counterpart in Thompson at the other end for the Navy Blues. Charlton was able to break the deadlock and took a four point lead to the main stop in play but it could have been the other way had Boort capitalized on a couple of easy opportunities. Charlton welcomed back Joe McGrath who had been out due to injury for a couple of weeks and he was soon back into the action gathering many possessions. At half time it was Charlton 4-3 leading Boort 3-5 and the stage was set for an interesting second half.
After the main break it was Boort who were straight into attack with Easton putting the Magpies in front, Charlton through Trent Collins answered Boort’s goal to regain the lead. Boort then seemed to pick up the pace and went forward on many occasions but their inaccuracy brought them undone as they would kick seven points for the quarter, had they have been able to convert half of these shots they would have taken a handy lead into three quarter time. Lanyon, Gooding, and Henningson were the main reason for the Magpies taking control in this term which should have seen a greater lead than seven points with a quarter to play. Charlton’s best to this point were Aaron Walklate Rhys Thompson and Kieran Sait who was solid down back and turn many attacks from the Magpie back in Navy Blue country.
Boort attacked the goals early in the final term but were once again off target before Henningson put through their first major for the quarter and their lead extended beyond two goals for the first time in the game. Charlton’s Andrew White brought up both flags for the Navy Blues to answer the Magpies goal. Daniel Thiesz had the opportunity to put Charlton back in front but his usually accurate shot from about 30 meters out missed everything. From the free kick Boort pushed forward and Easton took a strong mark and made no mistake. Charlton won the ball from the middle and pushed it forward to McGrath who brought up both flags and the games was again getting very tight with eight points favouring the Magpies, Andrew White for the Navy Blues snapped a ripper to close the margin again and before long the scores were tied again.
After a strong mark Sam Dehne’s kick put the Magpies back in front and time was becoming the enemy of the Charlton side, Boort had two late shots but could not convert for full points. Charlton were moving the ball into a good forward position and looked like they might have one last crack at goals but the siren sounded to give Boort a much needed win. For the Navy Blues they have now lost three of their last four matches but still hold top spot be it only by percentage.
Final Scores: Boort 9-15=69 def Charlton 9-8=62
Best for Boort: J. Lanyon, M. Henningson, N. Gooding, J. Tamblyn, J. Dehne, C. Chalmers. Goals: R. Easton 3, M. Hodoras, D. Cameron, D. Johnston, S. Dehne, M. Henningson, C. Hatcher 1 each.
Best for Charlton: A. Walklate, D. Thiesz, J. McGrath, S. Rogan, K. Sait, R. Thompson. Goals: J. McGrath 3, T. Collins, A. White 2, R. McKee, D. Thiesz 1each.
Wycheproof-Narraport v Donald
At Wycheproof both Donald and the Demons set a hot pace from the first bounce with the Royal Blues getting on the board first. From this point on both sides struggled to get the required break on their opposition but the Demons finally broke the dry run of scoring from both sides when Ricky Allan kicked their first goal. The demons looked like they were starting to get a little edge over the Royal Blues but they were inaccurate up front and this allowed the Donald side to keep in touch with their more fancied opposition. Bad kicking from the home side would prove costly as it opened up opportunities for Donald to run the ball into their forwards who responded with two late goals to give them a slight edge at the first break.
Nothing much changed in the next term with scoring opportunities for both side being rebounded as both backlines were holding firm. The Demons got a late break and posted two goals before Donald found a way through the Demons defence to bring up both flags to reduce the Demons lead back to eight points at the half time break.
Donald were playing very confidently and if they could maintain this form they felt an upset could happen and the chance of this occurring was further endorsed when they matched it with the Demons and at three quarter time they had drawn level with the home side.
In the last quarter neither side gave their opposition any freedom as the struggle continued. Jones who had been dominant for all game broke free to give the Demons the lead, Ricky Allan kicked his third and the home side had taken a mini lead over the Royals. Ades, Anderson and Blake Grant lifted for Donald as they answered the home side and tied the scores up midway through the final quarter. Recognising that time was running out for both sides Jones again pushed forward and kicked his fourth goal for the day in a best on ground performance and with the siren sounding soon after the scoreboard showed that the Demons had prevailed by 10-points over a much improved Donald side.
Final scores Wycheproof-Narraport 11-17=83 def Donald 11-7=73
Best for the Demons C. Jones, B. Bish, M. Dillon, R. Allan, D. Lourey, S. Driscoll. Goals: C. Jones 4, R. Allan 3, G. Turner 2, J. White and J. Turner 1 each
Best for Donald: D. Ades, D. Pearce, J. Ingram, M. Clifford, A. Baird, B. Grant. Goals: L. Anderson 3, B. Jennings, D. Ades, D. Harrison 2, M. Clifford, S. Dunstan 1 each.
Birchip-Watchem v St Arnaud
On recent form of both these sides it was on the cards to predict that the Saints would hand out a football lesson to the Bulls but the home side performed quite well against the inform Saints. St Arnaud were able to take an eight point lead to the first break, which for the Bulls they would see this as a better result than they could have expected gauged on the Saints past few games.
Although the Bulls let the Saints get away a little in this quarter the blowout that most were expecting had not eventuated to this point and under the circumstances the Bulls would have been positive about trailing St Arnaud by just 23-points at the main stop in play.
In the premiership quarter both sides broke even and the Bulls were showing some real fight against the more fancied opposition who may have just taken the Bulls a little lightly. Noonan was enjoying the move into the middle which seen him gaining many possessions and was get great support from Gilla and Smerdon. Cunningham who would finish the day with six goals was a focal point for the Saint’s, Grigg was solid at half back and Chapman was continuing his good recent form for the visitors who maintained their lead of 23-points at the final change.
After holding the Saints to a respectable score for the first three terms the Bulls had a slight lack of concentration and this allowed the Saints to break free on many occasions as they built towards a healthy lead and another comfortable win? At full time the Saints had extended their lead from 23-points out to 72-points, while this score will increase the Saints percentage it would not be enough to lift them above the Navy Blues to top spot. Their big win has narrowed the percentage margin but this will be the case perhaps until the two sides meet in a fortnight at Lord Nelson Park. For the Bulls even with the loss of Angus Grigg the side continues to improve and sides that meet the Bulls in coming weeks will not want to take them lightly as the Bulls believe that a win in the near future looks more achievable now than it did a few weeks earlier.
Final Scores St Arnaud 19-17=131 def Birchip-Watchem 9-11=65
Best for St Arnaud: R. Grigg, Liam Cunningham, N. Coghlan, J. Chapman, J. Patching, D. McGrath. Goals: Liam Cunningham 6, J. McNamee 4, A. Lantjin, J. Chapman 2, L. Stewart, R. Tungatalum, J. Patching, R. Pupangarmirri, N. Coghlan 1 each.
Best for the Bulls: J. Noonan, J. Smerdon, C. Smith, J. Hogan, T. Gilla, Z. Holmes. Goals: S. Anderson, H. Christie 2, L. Foott, J. Hogan, C. Smith, Z. Holmes, A. Hutchins 1 each.
Next week
Donald v Boort
Wedderburn v Wycheproof-Narraport
Charlton v Birchip-Watchem
St Arnaud Bye
Last Modified on 02/07/2013 14:12