The Courier |
AN OFF-THE-BALL incident late in the third term will be remembered as the one that halted Springbank's momentum and provided the spark needed for Daylesford's crucial 22-point victory on Saturday.
Tigers onballer Carl Morandi was yellow-carded and reported for striking Bulldogs playing coach Andrew Button, who was knocked to the ground and failed to take any further part in the match.
The timing couldn't have been worse for the visitors, who had stormed to within four points of their rivals following goals to Tom Eltringham, Paul McMahon and James Millikan before the incident occurred.
Almost immediately, the Bulldogs fired up. and tall Sam Winnard rolled through a goal from the pocket to give his side a 10-point cushion heading into the final term.
Button addressed his troops at the three-quarter-time huddle before they went out and kicked five goals to three to secure a win that keeps the side well and truly in Central Highlands Football League top four calculations.
Button, who was playing his first match back from a three-week holiday overseas, believed the incident galvanised the players at a crucial stage of the contest.
He said the result kept alive the chance to secure a double chance in finals, with the Bulldogs only a game out of the four.
"I think Hepburn (fourth) has got a slightly tougher run in. They've got Buninyong and Bungaree in the last three matches and, without disrespecting Skipton and Carngham-Linton, we've only got Waubra that is above us. Potentially, if (Hepburn) drops two and we drop one our percentage might be able to sneak us above them," Button said.
Springbank coach Sam Giblett said the Bulldogs' midfield controlled Saturday's encounter.
"You can't haemorrhage goals through the midfield. Their midfielders ran both ways and ours tended to run one way," Giblett said.
The players who led Daylesford's charge in the centre of the ground were Michael Cummings (four goals) and Luke Adams (one), while Xavier Keighran (one) had a good game on the wing and Seb Walsh (three) was also dangerous in attack.
The Tigers, which are now sixth, functioned well at times, with Eltringham (five) and McMahon (three) lively at stages during the contest.
Down back, Hayden Nash stood tall and was arguably the team's best, while Chris Quinlan did some good mopping up around the ground.