The North Ballarat Rebels’ TAC Cup campaign got underway on Saturday at Shepley Oval in Dandenong, against the Murray Bushrangers, with the fixture being relocated due to the unavailability of the Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo. The Rebels’ welcomed 13 new players to the ranks for their first match, and in ideal conditions both teams took some time to adjust to the tempo of the game, with early season nerves contributing to handling errors from the two teams. The Bushrangers drew first blood, but the Rebels defence, led by Marcus Darmody with 8 possessions for the quarter, rebounded well and a goal to debutant Jeremy Cameron resulted from confident movement of the ball through the midfield. The loss of Rebels’ tall forward Lucas Cook due to being struck with illness in the 1
Attacking football from the Rebels in the second quarter, again moving the ball quickly through the midfield with good passages of play and generally accurate disposal, provided opportunities for the forwards. Jeremy Cameron cleverly judged the ball in flight and positioned himself well to mark strongly and goal four times within the first 13 minutes of the quarter, in a dominant performance. A number of free kicks kept the Bushies in the game however, and most of these were due to Rebels’ players over-committing, resulting in tackling errors.
Murray Bushrangers surged forward on a number of occasions in the third quarter, but solid and determined defence by the backs, particularly in Coleman Schache and Jeremy MacDonald, kept the Rebels’ chances alive, despite conceding five goals to the opposition. Sam Dobson goaled mid quarter and Rory Taggert continued to win possessions with determined play. Kurt Aylett’s confident running was rewarded with a goal at the 23 minute mark of the quarter to reduce the Bushies lead to 4 points at the final change.
The Rebels continued to back themselves in the final quarter and strong running from Richard Bamblett saw him on the end of some slick handball to goal at the 5 minute mark. Lucas Cook continued to find space on the half forward line, after returning to the contest in the second quarter, and his successive goals handed the lead, and the momentum, to the Rebels. Indecisive and disorganised play in the last line of defence, unfortunately, handed the Bushies and easy goal and they followed up with another goal at the 25 minute mark to clinch the game. Despite obvious disappointment at losing such a close contest, the Rebels can take many positives away from this encounter. Next week’s opponents, the Geelong Falcons, will provide a genuine challenge, having demolished the Bendigo Pioneers by almost 20 goals in an impressive display earlier in the day.