Ben Rowles
In the upset of the year, Meringur have boosted their finals chances by defeating premiership contender, Gol Gol at Lake Cullulleraine in Round 17 of the Millewa Football League.
In a major scalp for the Roos, they now jump one game ahead of fellow finals
hopeful Nangiloc in their battle for the final top 4 spot, and will take
confidence from the fact that they can indeed mix it with the best in the
league.
Meringur got off to the flyer they needed in the first term, as they took advantage of
the breeze to claim a handy 22-point buffer at quarter time.
Many expected the Hawks to hit back hard in the second term, and this they did
despite wasting many opportunities to claim the advantage. Nevertheless, Gol
Gol were well and truly snapping at Meringur’s heels as they entered into half
time 5-points down.
The Roos came out in the third term looking like a team on a mission, and despite
kicking 8 behinds for the quarter and failing to land the killer blow, Meringur still held a comfortable, but not
match winning 29-point lead at the final change.
As expected, the Hawks came home hard with the wind in the final quarter, as they fought
to extend their winning streak to 8 games on the trot. But with their finals
campaign on the line, Meringur’s fighting spirit saw them hold off the Gol Gol
charge, as they claimed a thrilling 6-point win.
Tony Lando and Colin Keatch were exceptional all day for the Roos, as they lead
their team superbly to a fantastic win. Meringur’s even spread of goal kickers
was also a highlight on the day, with Jason Kirby, Carlo Longeri, Mark
Fitzgerald and Aaron Finch all kicking 2 majors.
For Gol Gol, Tim Robinson and Dion Collins stood out in a dirty day for the Hawks,
as they failed to match the intensity and determination of the Roos. Nevertheless, the Gol Gol coaching staff will
hoping this is just a minor hiccup, and will be looking to refocus and regroup
after the bye next week.
In other games, Bambill rediscovered some of their best form, as they outclassed a
youthful Nangiloc outfit in a highly entertaining game at Mildura Senior
College.
The Saints named a close to full strength team for the clash, with players and
supporters alike arriving at the ground to be greeted with immaculate overhead
conditions.
Nangiloc won the toss and elected to kick with the wind in the first term, but it was
Bambill who fired the first blow, with a smart snap from Luke Kearney giving
the Saints their first goal. Soon after, Damien Gray bettered the efforts of
Kearney with another superb snap to get the Demons’ scoring tally underway.
The first quarter was played at a lightening pace, with both sides daring to run
and take risks through the midfield. Bambill were having plenty of chances
early, with David Hall and Denny Fox controlling the centre hitouts and
providing first use to their midfielders. However, the Demons risky play was
paying off, as they took it right up to the Saints to be only 11-points adrift
at quarter time.
The second quarter resumed with Brett Haase kicking his second goal straight after
the break, as Bambill started to generate some serious momentum with the
assistance of the wind. With tensions flaring midway through the term, the
penetrating kicking of Andrew Ross and classy disposal of Ben Milsom through
the midfield were complimenting each other well for the Saints, as Bambill took
a 33-point lead into half time.
The Demons needed quick goals after the main break to keep themselves in the match,
but they couldn’t get them, as Kyle Haase manufactured two smart goals to
stretch Bambill’s lead beyond 8-goals. The likes of Nathan Grayling and Cam
Peters were working hard around the ground for Nangiloc, but with Bambill
reintroducing some ‘spark’ back into their football on the back of their
attacking game plan, they were finding it hard to get the upper hand.
Much to the relief of Nangiloc fans, Gray and Jake Reed kicked two late goals to
give the Dees a slight sniff heading into the final change.
But as we have seen so often this year, Bambill put the foot on the accelerator and
took full control of the game; kicking 5 goals to none in the final quarter to
run out 73-point winners.
The silky skilled Milsom claimed best on ground honours with a superb game for the
Saints, and he was well supported by his teammates in Ross, Hall and Billy
Fishwick who also played fine games.
As for Nangiloc, they showed signs of an extremely good outfit in the making in
patches, but they lack the class of teams like Bambill to compliment their
exciting running play. Peters is one exception to this, with his smart ball use
being a highlight for the Dees. Grayling and Gray were involved in everything
across half forward all day, but it was Nangiloc’s failure to make inroads
against the wind in the second quarter which cost them in this game, and they
will be hoping to bounce back strongly in their encounter with Euston next
week.
In the final game of the round at Euston Reserve, the Bombers sealed a First Semi
Final berth with a convincing 92-point win over Cardross.
Euston didn’t have it all their own way early on though, as the Lions came out firing
and with a point to prove to the supporters as they look ahead to 2010.
Despite trailing by 11-points at quarter time, the Bombers came alight in the second
term with eight goals to two to assume control of the game by half time. The
Bombers continued to extend their lead at every change, after leading by
18-points at the main break, 43-points at three quarter time and finally coming
home with a 10 goal last quarter to drive the Lions into the dirt.
The Cardross defenders will have nightmares after their encounters with explosive
forwards Brad Kennedy and Sean Smith, who helped themselves to 8 and 6 majors
respectively to lead the Bombers to victory.
As for the Lions, Darren McCarthy kicked 3 goals in a fantastic effort despite
having very few opportunities, while Mark East helped himself to two majors in
another tough day at the office for Cardross.
Last Modified on 17/08/2009 11:01