Port Melbourne coach Gary Ayres heaped praise on his players after they pulled off an “absolutely unbelievable” 64-point win over reigning premiers North Ballarat at Eureka Stadium on Saturday, as Samantha Landy reports.
The Borough dispatched the triple-premiers in a spectacular second half, booting 12 goals to the Roosters’ four to claim their tenth straight win of the season. The visitors overcame a number of challenges, including losing star midfielders Adam Bentick and Toby Pinwill to injuries in the second quarter and wet and windy conditions, to post the decisive away win.
North Ballarat had the opportunity to prove themselves as a genuine chance for a fourth straight Grand Final berth, coming off five straight wins including a telling victory over second-placed Williamstown last week. But their performance seemingly dashed these prospects. The Roosters’ forward line was exposed as frail, able to muster only eight goals, and their midfielders laced pace in comparison to the Boroughs’ slick onballers.
Ayres could not contain his glee after the match, telling his players he was “enormously proud” of their effort.
“Today’s game was really really hard,” he said. “The weather, the [away] ground, having players down. But we deserved to win and I’m very very proud.”
The Borough shrugged off another top-echelon team, once again proving their premiership credentials and, according to the coach, instilling further confidence in the side.
“For us to measure up against the [AFL]-aligned sides; for us to measure up against Ballarat, who we regard as a fantastic opposition, and then to win, I think it creates a real self-belief,” Ayres said.
Stellar Borough forward Patrick Rose booted eight goals to claim the best-afield honours and bring his season tally to 46 majors.
“He’s just been so consistent for us,” Ayres said. “He’s all class, as we know. He looked like he was really having fun out there today.”
But the Port Melbourne coach was reluctant to single out playerse He , praising the whole team for chipping in for the win.
“Our backline to keep Ballarat to eight goals; Marc Johnson’s job on [Bill] Driscoll, who’s a very good player. Our two ruck guys Wayde [Skipper] and Fabian [Deluca] were really good today, which was important because [Orren] Stephenson is the best in the game as far as VFL representatives in the ruck...Sam Pleming going back with the flight of the ball with that courage.”
Ayres also acknowledged Jarrod Dalton’s performance at full back, where he amassed 12 marks and Shane Valenti’s 28-possession return after over a month on the sidelines.
Marcus Darmody led the way for North Ballarat with 27 touches and 10 marks, supported by consistent performers Cameron Richardson and Cruize Garlett. Myles Sewell tried hard, gathering 25 possessions and slotting an early goal while Driscoll and Derick Micallef contributed with two goals apiece.
The Roosters started the contest strongly, booting the first two majors through Driscoll and Myles Sewell. Port Melbourne struggled to kick accurately into the roaring breeze, posting one goal and four behinds to trail by nine points at quarter time.
The Borough affected a 21-point turnaround in the second term, advancing to a 12-point lead. The visitors came out firing after Ayres urged them to “keep taking the game on” at quarter time, winning the first three centre clearances and converting five majors as a result. North Ballarat mirrored Port’s first term performance, struggling to pinpoint forward targets kicking into the wind and finding the goals only once through Micallef.
The third term began with a splash of rain which turned the contest into a scrappy affair. North Ballarat again laboured to find targets up forward, repelled time and time again by Port’s backmen Pleming, Johnson and Dalton. The visitors increased the margin to 31 points at the final break, converting six majors, three of which came from miraculous soccer kicks in the goal square.
Port Melbourne broke the reigning premier’s spirits in the final term, booting another six goals to win by 64 points in a quarter which at times resembled a Boroughs’ training drill. This was most apparent when Ryan McMahon booted two goals in as many minutes to put the result beyond doubt.
The win was marred for the Boroughs by an ankle injury to Bentick, which early indications suggest will sideline him for four to six weeks, and a possible fractured cheekbone or jaw to Pinwall. Ayres said the true extent of the injuries would be determined once the players had scans. But the coach is confident the loss of these influential midfielders can be covered.
“It opens the door to Josh Scipione and Matt Smith, and hopefully Sam Dwyer and Malcolm Lynch will be fit to come back next week [against Geelong], maybe after the bye,” Ayres said.
“So it just creates another opportunity for us to expose our depth; a great test for us.”
North Ballarat arguably face a bigger test next week, taking on top-four side the Northern Bullants at Visy Park in a game where they must perform well to regain their finals credentials.
Last Modified on 20/06/2011 14:59