KANGAROO Flat sprung the upset of the 2008 season with a nail-biting six-point win over South Bendigo eight years ago in Round 12.

Down by 17 points early in the final term at Dower Park the Green and Whites rebounded on the back of four consecutive majors from Justin Maddern to sneak home by a kick.

Mid-season recruit ‘Harry’ Maddern saved his best work for the last stanza. He’d booted just the one goal until then as the South defence held him in check, but finished the day with five.

It was the Green and Whites’ first win over South since the 2002 season.

At the Gardiner Reserve Graveyard where the temperature needle did not reach double figures, Gisborne sounded an ominous warning to the other BFNL clubs when the Dogs inflicted Eaglehawk’s first loss of the 2008 season.
And it wasn’t just a close victory. Gisborne belted the Two Blues by 74 points, registering 42 scoring shots to Eaglehawk’s 23 with 11 individual goal-kickers.
It was also a significant victory for Gisborne as by the midpoint of the year eight seasons ago the Graveyard Dogs had finally landed the scalp of a fellow ‘big four’ club.

BUT back out to Dower Park. The Bloods led by a slender five points --- 5.6 to 5.1 --- after a gripping first half. Brady Childs and Brad Rohde goaled for South with Phil Lobb landing two for the home club in an end-to-end opening term.
Consecutive majors to South midfielder Neville Clark snagged the lead for the Bloods before goals to Lobb and Mitch Holt, back in the Flat side after a lengthy break, left the Roos less than a kick down at the long break.
The Bloods quickly responded to a fourth goal by Lobb into the breeze at the scoreboard end in the third term. Childs and ‘Rhino’ Connaughton were on target to hand South an 11-point lead with a quarter to play.
When Connaughton and Clark combined to find Rohde suddenly South had opened up the biggest advantage of the day. The final quarter was only minutes old.
Cue in ‘The Harry Maddern Show’. Roo Skipper Tyrone Downie found the gun spearhead for Maddern’s second goal of the match.
Maddern landed another with a running shot from deep in a Station Street end pocket and then goaled from a Lobb tap-across.
The big spearhead was involved in a forward thrust with Brendan Hehir which saw Jarryd Wiegard boot yet another Flat major. The home side led by two goals: 69-57.
But South wasn’t done. Zac East and Childs rebounded from the half-back line and the move was capped off by a Josh McLeod major.
Ryan Doherty continued to spark the Roos with his midfield grunt and a mark and set shot goal from Tim Brooks steadied the Roos.

ROOS’ coach Darryl Wilson was delighted with his players’ man-on-man pressure around the ground and especially from the centre ball-ups.
“We’ve been working hard on keeping possession and that factor was really important when we were into the breeze in the first and third quarters.
“Plus our play in the centre was really important too and we had Lobb, and then later Maddern, do some great things up forward.”
A groin injury kept South playing coach Ricky Coburn sidelined but he offered no excuses for the loss.
“All credit to Kangaroo Flat, They were more desperate when the game was there to be won. We had an opportunity to grab top spot but we didn’t take it,” he said.
“We had far too many turnovers, were second to the ball in a lot of contests and didn’t use the ball well when we did get it,” said Coburn.
Matthew Brown was the difference between Maryborough and Sandhurst in the Princes Park clash.
The Magpie spearhead booted 10 goals in a best afield performance while playing coach Shane Fisher marked just his second match for 2008 by spearing home six.
Jamie Bond dominated play across the half-forward line with strong marking and slick handball. Bond added three majors for the Pies.
The Dragons had few winners anywhere. Tyson Findlay did well to land three of the Hurst’s six majors and James Cozens battled hard in the ruck.
But Maryborough controlled play, with five goals in each of the first three quarters and eight in the last.
Like Wilson, Fisher was delighted with his players’ pressure and defensive work.
“We’ve been working hard on keeping pressure on opponents every quarter, not just for a quarter or two here and there,” he said.

I WAS out at Country Vet Oval watching what was, in retrospect, one of the most miserable contests I’ve seen in recent seasons.
The Bulldogs ground a completely undermanned Kyneton into the turf, restricting the Tigers to one solitary goal for an afternoon’s work and posting 23 themselves.
The Carter brothers Nick (6) and Christian (4), along with Jason Hewitt (3), contributed 13 of the Dogs’ 23 goals. Midfielders Jason Griffin, Mark Lloyd, Darren Walsh and Aaron Hawkins had a picnic continually pumping the ball into attack.
Tigers’ stand-in coach Bill Young, deputizing for Brett Cook who’d been stranded in the Northern Territory through work commitments, packed his defence. But his players were unable to clear the defensive 50m arc --- particularly at the Maple Street end.
It was almost comical to watch the Kyneton defenders try to clear the defensive arc. They used little chip kicks out to the swimming pool side, allowing the Square forwards and midfielders to swarm all over them.
It was somewhat of a similar story down at the Gardiner Reserve.
The match was all over by half-time with Gisborne leading 13.9 to 6.4. The Dogs went inside their forward 50-metre arc 27 times in the opening half and registered 22 scoring shots.
Only Shannon Milward, in the absence of injured star full-forward Matt Gretgrix, could kick multiple goals for the visitors. Milward booted six of the Hawks 12 goals for the day.
Apart from landing the opening two goals for the match in the first three minutes and a run of three, unanswered second term goals the Hawks never fired a shot.

SO WHO fired for Gisborne as they trounced the previously unbeaten Eaglehawk?
Captain Anthony Belcher was excellent across centre half-forward. Since he’d resumed with the Bulldogs after recovering from a thumb injury Gisborne hadn’t been beaten.
Cameron Medica blanketed Hawks’ key forward Brady Herdman and kept Herdman to a solitary mark. That came in the final term when the match was in ‘junk time’.
Also returning from injury was Shane Davis. He’d recovered from a calf niggle and had stints in the midfield and across half-forward where he nailed two goals.
Forwards Richard White (4 goals), Darren Farrugia (4) and Jordan Barham (three,to give him 63 for the year) were top contributors while midfielders Ollie Messaoudi, dual Michelsen Medallist Matt Fitzgerald and Gareth Bowes were all prominent.
And Tim O’Hare subdued Hawks’ winger Luke Milroy who seemed in blistering touch early in the match before O’Hare got on top.
Final scores: Golden Square 23.21 (159) def. Kyneton 1.3 (9), Kangaroo Flat 12.4 (76) def. South Bendigo 10.10 (70), Gisborne 23.19 (157) def. Eaglehawk 12.11 (83) and Maryborough 23.15 (153) def. Sandhurst 6.8 (44). Bye: Castlemaine.
Top Five: Eaglehawk 10 wins, 1 loss, 1 bye, 44 premiership points; Golden Square 9-2-1, 40; South Bendigo 8-2-2, 40; Gisborne 8-3-1, 36; Maryborough 5-6-1, 24.

GISBORNE also notched a significant victory in the A grade netball competition by jumping two games clear of fifth-placed Eaglehawk following their 42—34 victory.
Melissa Harris, Tarryn Rymer and Shelley Barclay were Gisborne’s stars.
Sandhurst’s winning run rolled on at Maryborough as the Dragons controlled the match, winning 62—30.
Best for Sandhurst included Meaghan Atkins, Maddi Foote and Ash Cole.
Kangaroo Flat’s midcourt and attack players were in hot form as the Roos belted South Bendigo by 28 goals: 57—29.
Lauren Cowling, Yasmin Thomas and Benita Swatton were the Flat’s best.
Meanwhile Kyneton forfeited to top team Golden Square.
Top Five after 12 rounds: Square 44 pts., Hurst 40, Flat 36, Gisborne 36, Eaglehawk 28.

AROUND the traps and Pyramid Hill took a two-game break at the top of the Loddon Valley ladder following a massive win over cellar dweller YCW,
Chilcott booted seven majors for Pyramid outscoring the Eagles’ final total by more than 30 points off his own boot.
Current powerhouse Bridgewater managed just four goals against second-placed Calivil United and clung to fifth spot on the LVFL table by just one game. But the Mean Machine had a percentage deficit of 16 per cent compared with sixth-placed Marong.
Nic Balic landed eight goals for Calivil.
Bears Lagoon-Serpentine accounted for Inglewood by an even seven goals while Marong downed Inglewood by 35 points.
Nick Stone booted 11 majors for Harcourt against Trentham in the MCDFL to reach the magical 1,000th career goal milestone. The Apple Eaters won by more than 10 goals: 18.22 (130) to 9.7 (61).
Top team Elmore hung on by 19 points to beat Broadford in a key Heathcote DFL clash while Colbinabbin shored up second spot with a comfortable 12-goal win over White Hills.
And before Huntly started its long climb from the bottom in the HDFL the Hawks were trounced by third-placed Heathcote: 29.16 (190) to 6.7 (43).

Richard’s tips for Round 14: Kyneton by 7, Castlemaine by 29, Kang. Flat by 89, Sandhurst by 11 and Strathfieldsaye by 46.

Running total for 2016: 48.

By Richard Jones