The Northern Bullants proved they’re a class above the young Collingwood side with a convincing 46-point win at Vic Park on Saturday afternoon as Brittany Shanahan reports.
Collingwood led for just under 15 minutes and didn’t regain the lead for the rest of the day. The Bullants piled on six goals to lead at the first change and Nathan Buckley was roaming around the Collingwood huddle to provide some much needed inspiration.
Matthew Kreuzer was terrific for the Bullants not only kicking two goals but his ability to gather the ball in traffic and put it on his boot will certainly spark interest in his selection for Carlton.
It was the second half of the match that saw the Bullants assert their authority on the match kicking eleven goals to seven and had a total of 10 goal kickers for the match.
Brad Dick’s impact was limited by Bullants youngster, Marcus Davies, while Tyson Goldsack was selected to play for Collingwood’s seniors against the Saints.
Collingwood coach Tarkyn Lockyer had conceded the game was lost at three quarter time but wanted the players to play as a team and “make a statement” about who they are.
The Collingwood youngster’s kicks dropped short and they were just unable to hold onto the marks. Luke Rounds and Irishman Paul Cribbin are developing young players who were the little positives coming from the match.
Bullant Lachie Henderson dominated in the one-on-one contests up in the forward line and was able to chalk up five goals.
After the match, Northern Bullants coach Darren Harris believed that the second quarter was disappointing but delighted that they were able to rectify in the second half.
“I thought in the second quarter we lost our way a little bit with their numbers back and we didn’t get it as one on one as we liked,” Harris said.
“They kicked 3 goals, six hit the post a couple of times and it could’ve been a lot closer at half time.
“I thought the 15 min mark of the last quarter when Iacobucci went into the middle to support McLean, who had been great all day was when we got a little bit more ascendency.”
Matthew Kreuzer was among the best on the ground and Harris believes he will be pushing for selection in the Carlton side next week.
“The plan has always been to build him up. Last week I thought he looked heavy and a little bit flat compared to today,” he said.
“I would imagine he is available for selection. I thought it was just another massive tick in the box today, he was fantastic.”
Harris was thrilled with Henderson’s five-goal effort but emphasised Davies impact on the game.
“Lachie keeps improving every week really happy with how he is going,” he said.
“He (Davies) kept Dick to seven touches and had 20 himself and that’s the sort of form that helped him play the last 7 games for Carlton last year and play in a final.”
“At the moment all we are trying to do is win enough qualifying games to give ourselves the chance to play finals footy.”
The Northern Bullants will now look forward to their next challenge, playing Claremont on the Gold Coast in the Foxtel Cup this weekend.
Match Summary
Northern Bullants 19.15 (129) d Collingwood 12.11 (83)
Goals
Collingwood Reilly 3, Bolton 2, Farmer 2, Fasolo, Perham, Ugle, Couch, Sundberg
Northern Bullants Henderson 5, Austin 3, Twomey 2, Kreuzer 2, Arrowsmith 2, Houlihan, Iacobucci, Thomas, Kerr, McInnes
Best
Collingwood Sundberg, Rounds, Blair, Cribbin, Young, Bolton
Northern Bullants Davies, McLean, Henderson, Bower, Kreuzer, McCorkell
Last Modified on 07/06/2011 08:20