SENIOR FOOTBALL
The Tatura team, still smarting from the last round loss to Rochester, was far too strong for the Kyabram outfit. Tatura won by 125 points in the round 17 clash at Tatura Park on Saturday. After some home truths from Coach Steve Daniel about the form of some of his charges, it was especially pleasing to witness the manner in which the team responded.
The first half was an even contest with inaccuracy in front of goal being the Bulldogs’ major concern. Leigh Owen bounced back to form with a superb opening term; he amassed 10 possessions and capped his hard work off with two goals. The young Bombers found it difficult to penetrate the Bulldogs’ press and their high-possession football caused a few turnovers.
Ryan Crawford had the big job on Kyabram spearhead, Paul Newman. Ryan stuck to his job all game to restrict the star forward to only two goals for the day, yet was still able to provide a lot of run from defence. Steve Shaw played his best match for a while; he finished his hard work off with four goals from straight kicking.
Once again, Paul Kirby was unstoppable in the ruck contests and, this time he had solid support from Tim Little who also worked his way back to some consistent form. The two big men finished with five goals between them whilst resting in the forward line, an aspect that pleased the coaching staff.
Having 16 shots on goal to six at the long break had Tatura only up by 20 points. The difference could have been less, except for an uncharacteristic miss by Newman on the half-time siren. The long break gave the side an opportunity to regroup; the team that ran out for the second half was focussed and intent on regaining the initiative and making sure that the game was out of the Bombers’ reach early on.
In what was possibly the best quarter of football for the season, the Bulldogs slammed on 12 goals to its opponents’ solitary major, which came about courtesy of a double 50 metre penalty! The really impressive part was the amount of run from all over the field and the quality of each disposal.
All of a sudden, the yips in front of goal were dismissed and goals were kicked from all angles and distances. Kirby slammed through two majors and was virtually unstoppable up forward; he proved too strong and elusive for his young opponent.
Paul Neville joined in with a couple of opportunistic crumbing goals and Robbie Montgomery, who was prominent all game, picked up numerous possessions and drove the ball forward. Instead of bombing the ball in on top of the forwards heads, the delivery of the ball was precise and made the job of the Kyabram defenders very difficult.
Jye Warren continued his fine form; his speed and ability to run through the lines will be critical come finals time. The defence, led by Crawford, rebounded anything that came their way. Tom Miller, Jayden Young and Justin Murphy provided tremendous run and set up the play with skilful use of disposal by either foot or hand. Miller and Young also got on the scoreboard with a goal each.
The final term aw the red hot Bulldogs slam through another seven goals, to a single goal from the visitors. The most pleasing aspect was the straight kicking, 19 goals and five behinds for the second half was an excellent tune up in preparation for finals. The spread of 14 goal kickers showed that the side has many options up forward.
The only down side was the injury to spearhead Cam Trewin, who has a slight strain of the hamstring and may miss next week’s encounter against the Swans. The big victory over a side that still held some hope of playing finals football consolidated top spot for the Bulldogs and the prospect of a home final against Rochester on the Sunday of the first week of finals.
This game will be on the 9th of September at Tatura Park; so pencil it into the calendar and make sure you are in attendance to cheer on the home team.
SCORES: Tatura 25-15-165 V Kyabram 6-4-40.
GOALS: L Owen 4, S Shaw 4, P Kirby 3, J Sullivan 2, P Neville 2, T Little 2, A Browning 1, R Montgomery 1, C Trewin 1, T Sullivan 1, T Miller 1, A O’Reilly 1, J Young 1, S Broadbent 1.
BEST: L Owen, P Kirby, S Shaw, R Montgomery, J Warren, T Miller.
RESERVES FOOTBALL:
The Reserves, despite being well below full strength, had a 71-point victory which consolidates third spot on the ladder come finals time and gives the team a real opportunity to go deep into September. This team has only lost four games for the season and has a percentage over 200, which is a great achievement for a side that lost up to 17 players from 2011.
Rhys Pollard (four goals) continued his good form around the goals and fed off many goals to team mates. Brother Matt was also prominent around the ground. James Walters relished his move up forward slotting through four goals too. Corey Mallon (three goals) and Jon Coe (two goals) maintained their consistent form and will be solid replacements if needed in the senior side.
The big improver had to be Steve Beale, who contested well in the ruck and provided plenty of dash around the field. Josh Harris is also another player who has the talent and form to play seniors if required and we all know that injuries can strike at any time. “Brenda” Vanderdonk put his body over the ball and won plenty of possessions and finished with a goal. Brad Stagg hit some form as well, joining Chris Atkinson in providing plenty of run and skill when he delivered the ball.
SCORES: Tatura 16-13-109 V Kyabram 6-2-38.
GOALS: R Pollard 4, J Walters 4, C Mallon 3, J Coe 2, J Thurston 1, B Vanderdonk 1.
BEST: S Beale, J Harris, M Pollard, C Mallon, C Atkinson, B Stagg.
U/18s FOOTBALL:
Coming up against the strong Bombers side the young Bulldogs hit the ground running with. With early goals to Matt Cordy and some big marks from Sean Martin, it was apparent the game was going to be a good contest. Unfortunately, the pattern of previous encounters against quality opposition re-appeared.
The sheer weight of numbers told and simple skill errors resulted in the ball being turned over to hurt the young Bulldogs on the scoreboard. The even first half was followed by a dominant display from the visitors. Dylan Argus (three goals) was a real livewire in the forward and is still a chance to win the league goal kicking, if he can maintain his current form.
The usual suspects played their hearts out and did not stop trying all game. Mitch Elliott continued his outstanding season, with a polished performance and is knocking on the door of the senior team. James Nihill, who does a lot of the hard inside work, got his hands on plenty of ball too. The big improver in the U/18s was Geordie Kilmartin; he played the small forward role and won lots of the football. Matt Cordy, up from the U/16s, showed enough to suggest he will be a very good player with quality skills.
With a winnable game against the Swans coming up, the season will be looked upon with optimism. The development of all the players and the systems used are to be applauded. With some smart, recruiting a very competitive outfit can be assembled for 2013.
SCORES: Tatura 8-3-51 V Kyabram 17-10-112.
GOALS: D Argus 3, M Cordy 2, M Elliott 2, R Kirby 1.
BEST: M Elliott, S Martin, M Cordy, D Argus, J Nihill, G Kilmartin.
Last Modified on 29/08/2012 13:21