by Stephanie Kirkman
Eastern Ranges are in strong form with finals closely approaching, after a solid win against Bendigo this weekend defeating the Pioneers by 49-points.
Travelling up north to Golden Square Oval, the Ranges were off to a firing start in the first, taking control of the scoreboard early in the match.
With an 11-point lead at the end of the first quarter the Ranges looked to be in fighting-fit form.
But it wasn’t until the second quarter where the Ranges put on quite a show, converting 11 out of 17 set shots at goal to advance their lead at half time to a healthy seven goals.
The tiring trip up north didn’t seem to have an affect on the boys’ performance throughout the match, jogging off the ground at the end of the main break looking very promising for the finals.
Despite losing some momentum in the second half, the boys were dangerous in the backline, shutting down Bendigo’s forwardline from kicking no more than three goals until the final siren.
Eastern Ranges coach Shane Watson was impressed with the boys’ strong performance on the weekend.
“They did really well considering the two-hour trip up to Bendigo, I thought we really worked hard in the first half,” he said.
“We started to get a bit tired later in the third and fourth quarters, but we managed to stick in there and keep up a strong contest,” Watson said.
Ranges sharp-shooter Luke McDonald had a solid game up forward, booting through six goals for the match, whilst teammates Wilson, Kennedy and Scott kicked three goals each respectively.
Dynamic midfielder, Dave Mirra was voted best on ground collecting 19 possessions for the day and Andrew Moore was dangerous throughout the ground tallying up an impressive 27 touches for the day.
Although the Ranges had a seven goal win on the weekend, they still remain on fifth place on the TAC Cup ladder, despite Gippsland’s loss to the Gold Coast on Sunday.
Another strong win next week will give the Ranges a the opportunity to move up to fourth place, giving them a double chance coming into the finals.
Next week in Round 20, the Ranges will face the Western Jets who will miss out on finals this year.
This will be the Ranges last match at home wrapping up season 2009, so make sure to mark this one in your diaries!
Match details:
Eastern Ranges vs Western Jets
Sunday 29th August, at Box Hill City Oval 1:00pm.
SCORES
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TEAMS
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TIME/VENUE
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10.13-73
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Bendigo Pioneers
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12:30 PM Sun 23/Aug
Golden Square
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def. by
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19.8-122
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Eastern Ranges
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Goal Kickers: L. McDonald 6, R. Wilson 2, A. Kennedy 2, M. Scott 2, A. Johns, A. Young, J. Gysberts, A. Moore, B. Harvey, C. O''Shea, B. Griffiths Best Players: D. Mirra, A. Moore, L. McDonald, R. Wilson, C. O''Shea, M. Scott
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Last Modified on 01/09/2009 13:58