Boort v Donald
Boort looked as though they meant business in the opening term when they pushed the ball forward at every opportunity but their inaccuracy at goals let them down where they posted 4-10 for the term in what could have been a match winning margin in the opener. Donald eased into the game and at the end of the quarter they Anderson who kicked three quarter goals had the Royal Blues within 10-points of the Magpies, Rice was the main contributor for the home side also kicking three goals.
In what was turning out to be a solid contest between these two sides, you would have thought that they were vying for a finals spot with the pressure being applied by both sides. Boort made the better of the scoring opportunities to record 4-3 to Donald’s 2-5 for the quarter and at half time the Magpies had established a 20-point lead. Anderson for Donald and Rice for the Magpies were the focal points both kicking two goals to give them a tally of five goals at the half way mark.
With two terms to go no one predicted what was about to happen and right from the first bounce Donald started to turn on some exciting football that their supporters had not seen or believed they were capable of producing. The Royal Blues turn that 20-point deficit into a 42 point lead at the last break having kicked twelve third quarter goals. Boort could only manage two goals for the term and had no answer to the performance on Lucas Anderson who was totally dominating at centre half forward; he added another for goals to bring his total to 9 goals which would turn out to be eleven by the end of the day.
With the game out of their reach the Magpies were playing for pride in the final term and their coach put it on them to play the game right out and wipe of as much of the Donald lead as possible, early in the term they looked like meeting the coaches request but then the visitors again responded to kick four goals late in the term to see them win another term and run out winners by 45-points. Anderson’s performance was the talking point at the after match and his display up forward was one to be seen and his effort rewarded the good work of the mid field who kept the supply up to him all day and in particular the final half. Both sides who are out of finals contention had the same amount of scoring shots in this game and their seasons could have been different had they won a couple of the close games earlier in the year.
Final scores: Donald 22-9=141 def Boort 13-18=96.
Best for the Royal Blues: Lucas Anderson, Darcy Harrison, James Heslop, Will McAllister, Brenton Dixon, Brendan Jennings. Goals: Lucas Anderson 11, Darcy Harrison 5, Adam Baird, Danny Ades 2, rest singles.
Best for Boort: Nathan Gooding, Matt Hodoras, Joe Kane, Jarrod Fitzpatrick, Matt Rice, Jack Dehne. Goals: Matt Rice 5, Matt Hodoras 3, rest singles.
Wycheproof-Narraport v Wedderburn
In a game which the Demons were playing to keep their hopes of a double chance alive they made their intension known early when George Turner got them on the board early. Jones was in the action from the first bounce and it wasn’t long before he added to his seasons tally. The Redbacks, backline were under a fair bit of pressure as the Demons built on their lead. Scoring opportunities for Wedderburn were near enough to non-existent with the scoreboard reading 1-point with about five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Lourey goaled for the Demons to extend their lead before Strange marked strongly and registered the Redbacks first goal on siren time to see them trail by 18-points.
The second term was fairly even with both sides keeping the scoreboard ticking over. The Demons were the first side to get full points from the boot of Ricky Allan, the Redbacks then seen McHugh follow the play forward and he capped of a nice piece of play to register the visitor’s first goal in the quarter. This pattern of scoring continued for the remainder of the term and at the main break the Demons held a 16-point lead. Wedderburn could have been a bit closer but easy shots at goal missed the target.
After the break the Redbacks had made some positional changes which were effective straight away with Strange tapping the ball to Perry who found Herman, who had been moved from half back to half forward and he made no mistake. From this point it was all the Redbacks who slammed on 9 third term goals to take a healthy 37-point lead to the final break in play. Herdman and Strange were the main contributors for Wedderburn in this quarter where the Demons main player in Corey Jones had to leave the playing area on two occasions to the blood rule and this didn’t help the Demons in their endeavour to stem the goal spree of the Redbacks.
With the Redbacks in full flight, they again dominated the play to extend their lead further and it looked like being a big blowout but the Demons kicked a couple to steady the flow late in the quarter but the Redbacks had done the damage with an outstanding third quarter. With this result these two sides look set to face off against each other in three weeks’ time in the first semi. Both sides have some key players to return in the coming weeks so we look set for a top game to kick off our finals series.
Final Scores: Wedderburn 18-10=118 def Wycheproof-Narraport 11-13=79
Best for Wedderburn: B. Herdman, B. Strange, R. McIvor, K. Hayes, J. DeAraugo and B. Rose. Goals: B. Herdman 6, D. Benaim, R. McHugh, M. Reiffel 2, rest singles.
Best for the Demons: J. Turner, Josh White, S. Driscoll, R. Allan, S. Allan, Jesse White. Goals: Corey Jones 3, Declan Lourey 2, rest singles.
Charlton v Birchip-Watchem
Charlton set the scene in the first term kicking 8 goals and holding the Bulls goalless to set up a commanding lead of 51-points at the first change. McGrath carried on his good form in front of goals to finish the day with 5 majors.
In the second quarter it was Charlton again who led the way and kicked their lead out further before the Bulls struck back with two late goals but it wasn’t enough to reduce the Navy Blues lead which extended to 60-points at the main break.
Birchip-Watchem had no answers to the Navy Blues strength and a repeat of their last meeting where Charlton got the points by 188 points in round twelve. Charlton were ruthless in their effort to retain top spot and protect their double chance as they proceeded to build on their lead and at the last break in play they were in control to the tune of 84-points.
In the last quarter the Bulls main aid was not to let the Navy Blues blow them out of the water and they were able to produce their best term of football in this quarter. Charlton were held goalless and could only contribute 6-points, and the Bulls lifted their tally to seven majors to reduce the three quarter deficit back to 72-points at full time.
Charlton will now move to next week’s top of the table clash with St Arnaud with confidence that they can retain the top spot, for the Bulls their roster sees them taking on Donald who are coming off a big win. In their last game the Bulls were able to record their first and only win to this point and they will be hoping to build on that win next week.
Final scores; Charlton 16-20=116 def Birchip-Watchem 7-2=44
Best for Charlton: B. Walklate, J. McLean, C. Thiesz, M. Laffin, T. Finlay, A. Judd. Goals: J. McGrath 5, B. Walklate, J. McLean, T. Finlay 2, rest singles.
Best for Birchip-Watchem: J. Noonan, Z. Holmes, J. Smerdon, L. Coffey, S. Anderson, J. Hogan. Goals: J. Smerdon 2, rest singles.
Next week
Wedderburn v Boort
Donald v Birchip-Watchem
Charlton v St Arnaud
Wycheproof-Narraport bye.
Last Modified on 19/08/2013 02:07