The Courier |
SUNBURY spoiled Bacchus Marsh's Brendan Fevola party to remain undefeated at Maddingley Park on Saturday.
SUNBURY 10.9 (69)
BACCHUS MARSH 7.9 (51)
In slippery conditions, the Eastern Lions threatened to run away with the match midway through the game, leading by 31 points at half-time.
But a fighting second half from Bacchus Marsh saw the match in the balance until the closing minutes of the game.
Slowly but surely, the Cobras pegged back the reigning premiers after the main break.
And when the former AFL superstar in Fevola received a free kick and slotted his fourth for the day, the margin was cut back to two points.
Bacchus Marsh was heaping intense pressure on Sunbury, which was uncharacteristically stumbling and fumbling.
The Cobras failed to ever hit the lead however, often falling across half forward due to skill errors and poor decisions.
And as good sides do, Sunbury steadied in the crucial stages.
Sunbury's Xavier Linton had been quiet all day but kicked 2.3 when moved deep into the forward line in the last 10 minutes of the match to secure the result.
Cameron McCabe was in stellar form throughout the midfield for Sunbury, as was Michael Coleman, both assisted by the dominant ruckwork of Pat Cariss.
Niall McGovern was given the onerous task of manning Fevola, but did receive assistance from a number of teammates when the Marsh failed to move the ball swiftly enough.
Sunbury coach Rick Horwood conceded his team was far from its best, affected by the intensity and effort from Bacchus Marsh.
"We went away from our normal game plan," he said.
"We have a few experienced players really down on form at the moment which we need to address."
Horwood also commented on the amount of free kicks Fevola was awarded.
"I look forward to when (Simon) Clarke is back in the side with the free kicks forwards have been getting lately," he said.
Bacchus Marsh coach Doug Hawkins praised the fighting effort of his side, especially when it was five goals down.
Mike Suban was again impressive, Rhys McNay stood tall all day and Matt Denham was arguably the Cobras' best.
"We could have rolled over and got belted, but we didn't, we hung in there and could've nearly pinched it in the end," Hawkins said.
"It makes such a difference when you've got a target at full forward that you can kick towards and know he is going to take a few grabs."
Sunbury faces East Point next week while Bacchus Marsh will meet Ballarat in what Hawkins has already declared to be an "eight-point game".
