Round ten in North Central produced another upset win. Wedderburn who has been lingering at the bottom of the league table for the majority of the season recorded their first win for the year when they defeated Donald who were sitting in second place by ten points in a hard fought affair. Beaten by three point’s last round St Arnaud recorded their second win with a goal after the siren to Nick Coghlan to give the Saints a three point advantage over the Boort Magpies. Ladder leaders Wycheproof-Narraport retained their undefeated status with a close call win over the Birchip-Watchem Bulls. The Demons led at all changes, apart from the final change where they trailed by just two points but were able to get the job done in the final term to win by ten points. Coming off the back of a shock defeat in the previous weeks round the Charlton Navy Blues were out to make amends for that loss and got out to a good lead by half way to lead the Tigers by forty nine points. After the half time break the Tigers did claw their way back into the game with a seven goal quarter but the Navies rallied in the final term to run out winners by twenty six points and reclaim second spot on the leagues ladder with a four point break over the Royal Blues who suffered an unexpected loss to the Wedderburn Redbacks.
Donald v Wedderburn
Bottom placed Wedderburn’s trip to Donald to take on the second placed Royal Blues looked to be and should have been a formality for the home side gauged on their ladder positions, but football does have a habit of springing some surprise results and today’s result was just another one of those upset results,
In an opening term which did not reach any great heights as a spectacle, Wedderburn were first on the board when Adam Postle kicked the game’s opening goal in the first minute of play. From hear the game turned into a show of strength rather than a display of football skills with little spot fires popping up at both ends of the ground. Scoring for both sides was a hard task as many packs were formed and the game was becoming very scrappy. Through the course of the first term the Wedderburn Redbacks had the opportunity to open up a good lead but they let themselves down by kicking five points in the quarter. Donald through Seamus Young posted the Royal Blues first and only score for the first quarter and they went to the first huddle eleven points in arrears of the Redbacks.
Donald’s effort in the second term was certainly better than their first quarter effort but their next score for the match also took a while to achieve. Sam Dunstan who drifted forward marked strongly
and he got the Royals back on even par with Wedderburn. Donald added three goals for the term to take a ten point lead to the halftime break where the Redbacks were held to just the two points for the quarter and most thought that the Royals would kick further ahead after the long break. Proctor and Young were the Royals other goal scorers for the quarter.
What happened after half time was a surprise to all when the Royals failed to score and perhaps that was because they got too comfortable in the change rooms in their extended halftime break. On the other hand the Redbacks appeared to have a point to prove to the football world and a Ben DeAraugo goal got the Wedderburn side up and running. In this quarter the Redbacks would double their score of the first half and go to the final change nine points in front of the second placed Donald and the hopes of all Redbacks supporters rested on the team’s performance in the final term, could they hold on to record their first win.
Early into the final term Donald’s Sam Dunstan got the home side back with a couple of points of the Redbacks and with the Royals kicking to what had been the scoring end, the chances of the Redbacks recording their first win may have started to look a little dim. Wedderburn regrouped and pushed the ball into their forward line where Redbacks coach Danny Benaim took a strong mark and went back to line the big sticks up but with Ben DeAraugo swooping by Benaim handed off the ball and DeAraugo did the rest to put the Redbacks two kicks in front. Bryan Beckham put the Royals back into the contest with a six pointer. From the bounce again it was Wedderburn who got the ball into their scoring zone and a feed out from the pack landed with Nathan Holt who somehow slotted it through from a very tight angle to give the Redbacks a ten point lead and the big question was could they hold on but time was on their side and when the final siren sounded Wedderburn had recorded their first win and the celebrations for the Redbacks kicked in.
In a low scoring match Wedderburn’s Ben DeAraugo was judged BOG and was their only multiple goal scorer. Other good players for the Wedderburn side included Adam Postle, Jordan Hargreaves, Corey Lowry, Jake Hernan and Matt Lockhart who done a great job on Donald’s full forward Seamus Young who was goalless after half time. Best for Donald Jonathan Neville, Sam Dunstan, Nick Garner, Scott Wood, Brody Haddow and Toby Gilmore. Seamus Young and Sam Dunstan both with two goals were the Royals only multiple goal kickers.
Final scores Wedderburn 6-16=52 defeated Donald 6-6=42
Boort v St Arnaud
Boort who hold down fourth spot on the ladder set out to put the Saints chances of elevating back into finals calculations way out of reach and in the opening term they looked on target to achieve their goal as they established an early lead. St Arnaud with Coghlan in good form struck back late in the quarter to reduce the Magpies lead back to four points at the first break in play.
In the second quarter Boort was again able to kick out to a handy lead over the Saints and the Magpies were also rebounding any forward moves from the Saints who could only manage the one goal for the second term. Leonard-Shannon at half forward and James Orr, Ruck were delivering for the Magpies and their input was one of the reasons the Boort side went to halftime with a twenty seven point lead.
Needing five goals to get back on a level playing field with the Magpies the Saints second half would need to show a large improvement. And the Boort side just needed to keep their nerve and nullify any moves presented by St Arnaud in their efforts to get back into the game. As it turned out the game got a bit untidy after a brief shower made playing conditions very ordinary for both sides and that was reflected in the scoreboard where both sides could only manage one goal each. St Arnaud could have achieved their goal only bad kicking, seven points for the term certainly didn’t help their chances of taking out the game and a deficit of twenty points at three quarter time didn’t leave them in a good place with only a quarter to play.
Boort looked in the box seat starting the last term, having led the game for the first three quarters and holding a twenty point lead it looked like the home side just needed to kick a couple of goals would be enough to get them a win and the Saints would then have to double their score of the first three terms to be any chance of scoring a win. The Saints opened the scoring with the first goal of the final quarter, this was quickly followed by another goal to Nick Coghlan and the Boort lead was diminishing. Dean Bramley put the Saints run on hold when he slotted through the Magpies ninth goal of the game to again give the home side a bit of space over the Saints. Not to be locked out of the contest the St Arnaud side again pushed forward for a positive result. With Boort hanging on and time ticking away on the Saints they were again able to get the ball forward to Baldwin who put the game back within a kick. From the restart and with time still the Saints enemy, the Saints kicked the ball deep into their forward line where their main goal scorer in Nick Coghlan marked the ball just prior to the final siren. With Boort leading by three points the match result was on the shoulders of Nick Coghlan and from the kick he made no mistake and his goal had given the Saints a three point win their second for the year. St Arnaud’s come from behind win was due to a big last quarter where they kicked five goals and held Boort to just the one goal. Nick Coghlan with six goals was named as best for the Saints with Vassallo, McNamee, Needs, Williams and Baldwin also mentioned as better players. A shattered Boort side who led for all game and to be beaten after the siren would certainly take its toll as they need to quickly regroup for their match against their main contender for a finals spot in Birchip-Watchem next week. Jack Baker was named best with Aaron Wilson, James Orr, Matt Hodoras, Cam Chalmers and Brodie Leonard-Shannon also rating mentions.
Final scores St Arnaud 10-10=70 defeating Boort 9-13=67
Wycheproof-Narraport v Birchip-Watchem
Wycheproof-Narraport were out to protect their winning form and were away to a good start against the Bulls who were hoping that they could again cause another upset and be the first to claim the scalp of the undefeated Demons.
In the first term the Demons able to be first on the board and were able to keep the Bulls at bay for the main part of the quarter but the Bulls were able to peg back the home sides lead to trail by just five points at quarter time.
After the first break the Wycheproof-Narraport side set about building on their first quarter lead and with Corey Jones back in the side strengthened their already powerful forward line. The Demons were able to consistently send the ball forward and reap the full benefit of their talented forwards.
The Demons added four goals for the quarter while the Bulls kicked two majors to trail by just three goals at the main break.
In the third term the scoring roles were reversed with the Bulls adding four goals to the Demons two which gave the Bulls a slender two point lead at the last break in play. Lochie Sirett for the Bulls and Chris Howgate for the Demons were staging their own contest in the big man department with both displaying their rucks skills to gain any advantage for their respective teams. With just the two points separating the two teams with a quarter to be played the stage was set for an exciting finish.
The final term in this contest would be a test for both sides with the Demons looking to continue their winning streak of nine wins and the Bulls needing to get the points to keep in touch with the top four sides so it was vital for both sides which way the end result went.
Wycheproof-Narraport was quick to wipe off the small lead of the Bulls and a goal to Jones put the Demons back in front. Birchip-Watchem not to be outdone replied to again grab back the lead. From the restart the Demons cleared the ball forward where Mead-Harding put control back in the hands of the home side. With Demons holding a slight advantage Birchip-Watchem was still in the game but time was running out and the Demons got another goal which virtually put paid to the Bulls chances and at full time the Demons had survived a strong challenge from Bulls who would fall short by ten points in a game that kept everyone on their toes throughout the day. Corey Jones was the main goal kicker for the Demons with seven goals and also named along with James Coatsworth, Chris Howgate, Spencer Allan, Tim Holobowski and Rolly White. Best for the Bulls was Lochie Sirett with Charlie Hallam, Tom Carland, Brendan George, Sam Martin and Joel Greaney also named as better players.
Final score Wycheproof-Narraport 13-6=94 defeated Birchip-Watchem 10-14=74
Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers v Charlton
In the final game Charlton coming off a surprise loss last week was out to make amends when they made the trip to Sea Lake to take on the Tigers. Charlton was the first to score and they were able retain control for the remainder of the first term to hold a fifteen point lead at the first break in play.
Charlton’s form improved in the second quarter as they added a further five goals and kept the Tigers to just the one point for the term and at half time held a commanding forty nine point lead.
In the third quarter the Tigers finally found some form and set about getting themselves back into the game. Their efforts in this term were rewarded as they reduced the stranglehold the Navy Blues held on the game. By the end of the quarter the Tigers was back within touch of the visitors as they posted seven goals and kept the Charlton side to just the three goals but the Tigers still had a fair bit of work to do as they trailed by over four goals heading into the last term of the day’s play.
The final term didn’t see any side gain any advantage but the lead that the Navy Blues held heading into the last quarter would be sufficient to get them the four points and with Donald going down in their game against Wedderburn the Navies would be elevated back into second place on the leagues senior ladder. Charlton’s main goal kicker was Joe McGrath with six goals with their better players being Dean McKay, Jye Sandiford, Joe McGrath, Kieran Sait, Matt Girri and Aaron Walklate.
Best for Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers: Luke Martin, Joe Summerhayes, Brad Collins, Zac May, Matt Elliott and Lachie Gilbert with Jordan Doering being their leading goal scorer with four.
Final scores Charlton 14-12=96 defeated Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers 11-4=70.
Next week July 9th
Birchip-Watchem Bulls v Boort Magpies
St Arnaud Saint’s v Donald Royal Blues
Wedderburn Redbacks v Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers
Charlton Navy Blues v Wycheproof-Narraport Demons
Last Modified on 14/08/2016 18:25