SENIORS
Muddy conditions continue to prevail at Panton Hill, but a fine day provided for a big crowd in the all important clash between The Hills and The Bridges. The home side started stronger and skipped to a four goal lead by half time with Will Box controlling the backline as usual and Shane Hodgson, John Byron and Paul Haydock linking up through the midfield. By halfway through the third quarter The Hills looked in total control and held a 5 goal advantage. But then a few undisciplined acts on top of each other cost goals and the momentum. With finals like pressure the visitors got on a roll and brought themselves within a whisker at the last change. Kicking to the “good” end, Hurstbridge got a couple of goals early in the last term and then just held on for a win. The Hills really let it slip in a game that they should have won but now know how important it is to play 4 quarters of football heading into the finals. Chris Sansom continued to improve with a good performance in the ruck and Matt Sherwood ran well from the backline. The team will be determined to play some running football away NEXT WEEK on the big Heidelberg West ground and restore that winning feeling
RESERVES
The Hurstbridge side hate playing at Panton Hill, especially after a few weeks of constant rain which made for an old-fashioned local footy mud-bath. The Redbacks however, love playing at home, and don’t usually have a problem with challenging conditions. In a low-scoring affair, the Bridges struggled to stay with the Hillers, as the conditions made for slow ball movement and a lot of stoppages. Nath Hendry had another cracker in the ruck and up forward, while Gilly was everywhere with an effort that would have gained the attention of the senior coach. A familiar face in Nuts enjoyed a solid comeback match at the hill, while the performance of Keeno repaid the sacrifice made by the selfless Quoc, who gave up his own position in the team to allow the key ruckman to play. Tommy and Sterlo, who are both first-year players, continue to show rapid improvement and probably both played their best games for the club last week. NEXT WEEK hopefully will be a case of déjà vu for those who played at the expansive Heidelberg West ground (which doubles as a landing strip for small aircraft) only a few weeks ago in that memorable last-gasp win before the bye.
Last Modified on 26/07/2010 22:31