The Courier |
RYAN Barnes played the hero as Learmonth inflicted a cruel blow on Creswick on Saturday afternoon.
The Courier |
IT'S hard to quantify how strong John Northey's influence at Learmonth has been.
The Courier |
A stunning final quarter from Gordon resulted in a 54-point thumping of Clunes on the weekend, continuing the Eagles' impressive form.
GORDON 17.19 (121)
CLUNES 10.7 (57)
The home side restricted the Magpies to a single point in the last term, all while kicking five goals itself to notch up a comprehensive victory.
There were moments where Clunes gained the ascendency, including consecutive goals late in the third term when it breached the gap to within 13 points, but the Magpies were unable to withstand a ferocious response from their opponents.
Slippery conditions failed to stifle a well-oiled Gordon unit, which used the ball with precision and played the majority of the game on its own terms.
The Eagles proved too good in all the important categories for wet weather football, including contested ball, forward entries and, most importantly, scoreboard pressure.
Gordon Coach Corey Grills said he was pleased with his players' grunt work.
"We saw it as a real challenge, playing in the wet," Grills said.
"We battled to win every contest, which is something that I'm really happy with."
With a mix thus far of convincing victories and competitive defeats, it now appears clear that Gordon is to be taken seriously as a finals contender this season.
When asked whether he was pleased with his team's form, the answer from Grills was a firm yes.
"I'm really happy with the way we've been playing."
"I wanted a group that would attack each contest. So far, they're doing that."
After giving up seven goals in the opening quarter, it's a credit to Clunes that it managed to claw itself back to within striking distance in the third.
In the end, a poor final term dashed what could have been a crucial victory for the Magpies.
Coach Justin Johns said the poor start put his team on the back foot from the outset.
"They smashed us early, especially with their spread and forward entries," he said.
"I thought we were a chance at three quarter time, but then they kicked a couple early and it was just junk time from there."
Small forward Mick Nolan was brilliant for Gordon, kicking five goals in an excellent display, while Matthew Raworth was exemplary through the midfield.
For the Magpies, rover Brenden Chugg worked tirelessly up and down the ground, while Michael Milne performed admirably in defence.
The Courier |
ROKEWOOD-CORINDHAP triumphed in the battle of the cellar-dwellers, celebrating its first victory of the Central Highlands Football League season with a 38-point win over Illabarook on Saturday.
ROKEWOOD-CORINDHAP 12.15 (87)
ILLABROOK 7.7 (49)
The Grasshoppers set up the result in the first term and controlled the contest for much of the afternoon to prevail 12.15 (87) to 7.7 (49) at Smythesdale.
Rokewood-Corindhap broke away to a 29-point lead at the first change, and although there were some periods of dominance by the Bulldogs in the second and final terms, the result never appeared in doubt.
Grasshoppers coach Heath Anderson said his team played its best football of the season in patches during the day.
"It was important to get that win. Hopefully it will be good for the confidence of the playing group from now and I hope we can build on it," Anderson, who recorded his first win as coach of the club, said.
The Grasshoppers were led all day by midfielder Ross Arnall and ruckman Jono Willey, while up forward young Caius Barrenger added four goals to his three in the under-17.5s in the morning.
Illabarook, chasing its first win since round two of 2011, tried hard, but was simply not good enough to kick a winning score. The Bulldogs made too many decision and skill errors to trouble their former Lexton Plains rivals, frustrating coach Rod Gladman.
Gladman, who didn't play in the clash despite signalling his intent to start on Thursday night, said it was important for his team to be competitive in upcoming fixtures against 2012 finalists Waubra, Creswick and Buninyong.
"We just want to be competitive. That's all you can ask for," he said.
Gladman was impressed with his backline, led by Chris Morcombe and Michael Avery, while Brandon Greenwood and Stephen Frys were busy around the ground and Ryan Jeffrey and David Tung good up forward with two goals apiece.
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The Courier |
AN undermanned Springbank side had more than enough firepower to take care of a hapless Beaufort by 34 points on Saturday.
The Courier |
WAUBRA didn't let the weather bog it down on the way to an easy 44-point win over Newlyn.
WAUBRA 12.18 (90)
NEWLYN 7.4 (46)
It was a soggy ground after 30 millimetres of rain overnight and mud patches made heavy going on the Newlyn ground on Saturday.
But the undefeated Kangaroos made themselves right at home and cruised to their seventh win on the trot this season.
Contrary to reports, Waubra skipper Shane Mullane took the field and the only change to the lineup was Josh King, who added a bit of an edge to stoppages.
The Cattery fell silent in the first quarter as signs of struggle became apparent and Newlyn finished the term with just a point on the scoreboard while Waubra kicked three goals and four behinds.
The word "accountability" was uttered loudly in the Newlyn huddle at the first break and the Cats took the second term up to the Kangaroos, kick for kick on the scoreboard.
But the damage was done and the Waubra half-time lead of 21 points grew to a 46-point buffer and eventually the Kangaroos ran out victors by 44 points.
Some key drivers in the Waubra attack were Josh King, Dean Kelly, Nick Sullivan, Steve Tung and Ben Webster.
In front of goal it was Tung and Webster, with three each, and Sullivan and Clint Molloy, with two each, who made a day of it. Captain Mullane and Kelly contributed one each.
Some big efforts came from players like Matthew Wapling, Adam Dufty and Paul Dodds.
Newlyn still got down and dirty despite the dominance of Waubra.
Lachlan Vallance shone many times through the game, whether in the ruck or as the big target out of defence or into attack.
Nathan Skewes and Anthony Taylor slotted home three majors each in a busy afternoon. Jamie Gardner popped one through at the start of the third term in a rare slick piece of play by the Cats.
If pain was a yardstick to performance then two players were stars Calvin Pane and Luke Faull copped heaps.
Waubra coach Jason Allen was happy with the result.
"It was a gutsy win," Allen said. "It was the first wet-weather footy, so we adjusted pretty quickly.
"I was proud the boys were pretty physical. They won the contested footy which was good.
"Overall I was very happy."
It was a different story from Newlyn co-coach Chris Gardner, who was disappointed the Cats failed to put four quarters of footy together.
"When we're on, we show we're competitive. But when there are a few lapses in concentration, that costs us," Gardner said.
"Waubra is a very good side with some very damaging players when they're given any chances. Any lapses by our players cost us dearly."
The Courier |
THE return and debut of two key talls was a highlight in Hepburn's runaway win over Skipton on Saturday.
The Courier |
CARNGHAM-LINTON stayed in touch with the top eight, running over Dunnstown to win by 12 points in trying conditions on Saturday.
The Courier |
SOMETIMES the scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story.
The Courier |
WAUBRA will turn back the clock to the late 1990s early next month when the club's traditional geurnsey
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