The Hills headed out to High street Epping on Saturday eager to taste a dose of finals footy. In what was a great day for football it promised to be a great match up against the Burra. The day started well with captain Will Box winning the toss which gave the Hills a chance to kick with a slight breeze. The game started at a fast and physical pace, and it was the Hills that kicked the first goal of the game. The supply into the forward line was plentiful and with Ryan Byrne swooping on anything loose the hills looked dangerous. Ricky Woods started well kicking his first for the day before going down with a knee injury that would see him sit out the rest of the game. The Burra also had plenty of run but were wasteful in front of goal which allowed the Hills to take the lead into ¼ time. The Hills went into the break happy with the efforts, but knew that they had to continue to apply pressure to stay in front. The Redbacks started the second with plenty of run hitting their targets going forward. Nathan Brundell was having a day out down back and Tristan & Brock Kreymborg were dominating the ruck. The Hills managed to extend their lead at the main break. The 3rd they say is the premiership quarter and the Hills were to start the better. They had another two more goals on the board within the first 5 minutes. Will Box was really starting to have an impact, as was Brett Thorn, and Jack Ryan was winning countless one on one’s out on his wing. Jake McKenzie was also showing plenty of grunt in the midfield. As the ¾ time siren sounded the Hills were looking at an 8 goal lead. At the huddle the Hills were praised for the efforts to this stage, they had worked very hard to take command of the game, but as they knew the Burra are a young side that love to run and wouldn’t lie down without a fight. The last quarter was an even contest in the early part with both teams kicking a goal each. Panton Hill started to take the foot off the pedal a little and the Burra kicked some easy goals. But when the final siren sounded the Hills had come away with a 22 point win, and advanced to the preliminary next week against Parkside. It was a real team effort from all the Panton Hill players and one that they will have to repeat this week to advance into the Grand Final. Go Hills!
Last Modified on 04/10/2012 12:59