The North Ballarat Rebels came within 7 points of a major upset in their TAC Cup fixture on Saturday.
Pitted against the highly fancied Geelong Falcons in excellent conditons at the Northern Oval, the Rebels put in one of their best performances of the year.
In a frenetic opening it took 8 minutes before either side registered a major. It came after a strong mark and goal from Rebels forward Michael Jamison. Good play from Rebels Matt Raworth set up Matt Rosa soon after and suddenly the home team was out by 11 points.
This lead was extended to 18 points at the 21 minute mark after a great crumbing goal from Central Highlands Under 17 Best & Fairest Winner and Rebels debutante Zac Peoples. He followed this up with some good play out of the middle resulting in Michael Jamison's second goal.
A goal from the Falcons late in the quarter reduced the Rebels quarter time lead to 18 points.
Sensing they had a game on their hands, the Falcons came out firing in the second quarter. They kicked goals in the first minute of play and at the 8 minute marks to bring the lead back to 3 points.
It took some excellent work from Bill Driscoll and Steve Clifton to break the cycle, resulting in a second goal to Zac Peoples.
After withstanding Geelong's charge, the Rebels seemed to regain control. Unfortunately 4 shots on goal went unrewarded with Zac Peoples once again prominent. The misses proved costly as a late goal from the Falcons against the tide of play reduced North Ballarat's lead to 3 points at the main break.
The Falcons opened the third quarter as they did the second with a goal in the first minute of play. The Rebels reply came quickly after a 50 metre penalty and goal to Matt Raworth put the home team back in front. The lead then see-sawed as the Falcons kicked a second for the term only to be met with a third goal from the Rebels Michael Jamison.
It took 3 consecutive goals from Geelong to break the strangehold and extend their lead to 19 points. If not for the work of Bill Driscoll and Darren Ewing the lead would have been far greater as the Rebels battled to penetrate their forward line.
It took a strong mark and a fourth goal from Michael Jamison to get the Rebels back in the game. This was quickly followed by a goal from Brendan Huf which reduced the Rebels deficit to 7 points. However a late goal after the siren to the Falcons undid all the good work as the Rebels trailed by 13 points at the last change.
With nothing to lose the Rebels had the ball on a string early in the last quarter. Liam Picken consistently drove the ball from defence creating numerous opportunities. Once again though, inaccuracy in front of goal proved costly. Jamison, Peoples and Harris all squandered chances before the Falcons kicked straight after a free kick.
At the 16 minute mark the Rebels trailed by 19 points but refused to lie down. A goal off the ground from Steve Clifton and a strong mark and goal from Ryan Herring just minutes later suddenly had North Ballarat to within 7 points. Some great play from Glen Phelps and a great mark from Clint Ladiges resulted in another major and just a 1 point deficit. Ladiges had the chance to put his team in front with a snap off the pack in his team's next foray forward but narrowly missed. Scores level at the 22 minute mark.
It took a magnificent snap off the pack from Geelong's Nick Daniele with just a minute to play to break the deadlock and consign the Rebels to another heartbreaking defeat.
They now play their last home and way fixture for the year this Sunday against the Calder Cannons at home.
Geelong Falcons 12.18 (91) d North Ballarat Rebels 12.11 (83)
Goals: Jamison 4, Peoples 2, Clifton, Herring, Huf, Ladiges, Raworth, Rosa
Best: Ewing, Young, Herring, Peoples, Driscoll, Jamison
Last Modified on 08/02/2009 14:19