The return of four gun footballers wasn’t enough to spur the Lakes Entrance seniors over the line against Lindenow at the Lakeside Oval last Saturday, going down by 37 points in round 16 of East Gippsland football.
Spearhead Gerard Kennedy returned from his one-match suspension for striking, along with Bairnsdale players Joel Waters, Jarrod Matthews and Xavier Ryan. They lifted the Seagulls on home soil, but a fantastic second half from the Cats saw them run over the top and claim the points.
Bairnsdale under 16 player Ben Timms made his debut after a solid performance in the under 18s before hand, while youngster Lachlan Buck again donned the maroon and white.
The two sides went goal-for-goal early in the first term with the Cats’ Bairnsdale-listed forward Nathan Storer giving them an early spark with two long goals with the wind at his back, while his teammate Matt Busch was also lively in attack. However, the Seagulls were first in at the contests and worked hard to force the ball forward.
The Seagulls had plenty of it in the attacking 50, with young gun Ayden Vogrig in everything early while Kennedy was finding space thanks to some smart blocking from Matthews.
Lindenow led by three points at the first change and knew it would be tough to counter attack into a strong breeze.
However, Lakes left a number of scoring opportunities go begging. The Seagulls weren’t kicking behinds, they weren’t even scoring, despite a clear advantage in the inside 50 count, butchering the footy and losing possession easily.
Matthews stood up for the home side at centre half forward, but found himself too far away from scoring range, leading up into the Seagulls’ half back line at times.
James Pitt crumbed a goal early, but the Cats responded, taking their side into the main break with a 10-point buffer.
The visitors came out the more positive side in third term as Busch began to find space in the attacking 50. He was getting good delivery from the Lindenow onballers, while at the other end Lachlan Dumaresq, Johnson and Morgan Davies were holding firm in defence.
Kennedy was a solid target for the home side in attack, however his space was being crowded, again resulting in missed opportunities for the Seagulls.
The margin was out to 24 points at the last break, however was extended early in the last through Busch.
Storer then bombed a long running goal from the centre square and Cameron McPhan got on the end of the loose ball to put Lakes right out of the game.
Ben Crittenden and Kennedy, who finished with four for the day, kicked late goals for the Seagulls, however the Cats ran away with the game, winning 13.14-92 to Lakes 7.13-55.
Waters was Lakes’ best, picking up plenty of disposals and not wasting a possession. Dylan Paten played well running off the half back line, Luke Reggardo won his fair share of contested footy while Buck and Timms showed they have promising futures.
RESERVES
Lakes Entrance remained equal second on the ladder with a 60-point win over the fourth-placed Cats.
The Seagulls kicked with the wind in the first term and were off to a flyer with Daniel Zammit marking strongly and converting within opening minutes of the game.
The home side didn’t let up in the first half as Graham Sellings, Zac Guarnaccia and Rhys Hubbard worked hard in the centre to set up forwards Chris Andy, Danny Prazza and Rohan Sproule.
Hubbard provided the run and didn’t stop all day, despite not finding heaps of the footy.
The Seagulls’ back line was strong and didn’t let too much past, with Daniel Roberts, Stuart Yates and Chris and Tom Bulmer getting the better of their opponents.
The home side held a 36-point buffer at half time but knew the Cats were capable of hitting back hard in the latter part of the game.
The Seagulls were inaccurate in the third term, but led by 40 points. They corrected their third-term deficiencies, piling on four majors to run out comfortable winners. James Lee ran himself into the ground with a best-on-ground display in the ruck, getting the better of his larger opponent in almost every contest.
Prazza finished with four and was the home side’s best forward of centre, while Hubbard was second best for Lakes, with Yates, Andy and Sellings also playing good games.
UNDER 18s
A five-goal bag from Lakes’ Zac Svetlik saw the Seagulls winners over the Cats in a 78-point onslaught.
The home side had an amazing first half and led by over seven goals at the break, with Mat Buchanan showing his agility is not a problem deep in attack, continually baulking opponents to up his goal tally.
Ben Timms smashed the Cats around the ground and was causing a problem, while winning tapouts at the stoppages.Sean Dobson held firm in defence, while Ricky Hayward’s defensive pressure in Lakes’ attacking half resulted in plenty of turnovers going the home side’s way.
The Seagulls topped their solid first half off with a four-goal third term and a three-goal last quarter to run out big winners.
Timms, Hayward, Jayden Herbert, Kyle McKenzie, Sean Dobson and Luke Guarnaccia were Lakes’ best, with Svetlik, Buchanan and Guarnaccia prominent in attack.
Last Modified on 16/08/2012 16:41