Once again quality football prevailed over difficult conditions, as round 12 of the Mallee Football League concluded on Saturday.

Hopetoun and Jeparit-Rainbow locked horns for the first match of the round. The Lakers kicked away with the wind in the first quarter, and held on to a 10 point lead after the first siren.

The second quarter was played to a higher standard as players adjusted to the wind, and the Devils kicked 6 goals 2 to the Lakers 4 goals 3. Hopetoun led by a solitary behind at the main break, but again the Lakers came out hard and kicked another 4 goals 3.

The game was very much in the balance in the final term, but it was a fitter Hopetoun outfit who were able to restrict the Lakers to a solitary behind, and run out victors by 8 points. Young Jack Landrigan kicked 4 goals in a best on ground performance for Hopetoun, and Ben Webster also kicked 4. Other Devils in the best were Hayden Drew and Matt Bellinger. For Jeparit-Rainbow, Elliot Bath and Heath Clugston each kicked 3, while Trevor Johnstone and Tyler Edelsten were the better
players.

The second match of the round was between the undefeated Beulah, and the second placed Sea Lake-Nandaly Tigers. The Blues got off to a strong start on their home ground and controlled much of play and held the wind advantage. A 2 goal 8 first quarter didn't amount to much when the Tigers kicked 3 quick goals late in the term
to only be trailing by a single behind. The second quarter was a dominant display of pressure football by the Tigers backline as they restricted Beulah's entry to the forward 50, and took a 13 point lead into the second half.

The Blues regrouped after the long break and worked hard to get themselves back into the game. They held the Tigers scoreless in the third quarter and completely dominated the last quarter, as they kicking strongly into the wind to win by 39 points. Denis Redden and Brock Orval kicked 3 goals each, while Lachy Foott and Callum Buchanan each kicked two.

Players in the best for Beulah included Brock Orval, Tom Hallam, and Michael Farelley. Cliff Ryan was the only multiple goal scorer for the Tigers on a difficult day up forward with 2, while John Guthrie and Ben Notting were named in the best.

The final match of the round was between Walpeup-Underbool and Woomelang-Lascelles. The Cats were able to score freely in the first term as they put on 4 goals 6 with the wind, but were unable to clamp down on the Roos, who easily put through 3 goals 1 for the term. Taking that momentum into the second quarter, walpeup-Underbool put
on 4 goals to the Cats 1, to take a handy 8 point lead into halftime.

We looked to have a game on our hands as both teams put on 4 goals for the quarter and the Cats reduced the deficit to 5 points. It was the reigning premiers who stood up in the last quarter, as they overran their opponents to claim a slender 19 point victory.

Corey Kelly kicked 5 goals, Jayden Lonergan 4, and Joshua Ratcliffe kicked 2 for the Cats, while Devin Mcfarlane and Trent Donnan were in the best. For the Roos, Kane Munro kicked 7 goals and was best on ground again, while Wade Champion kicked 3 and was also in the best, along with Ryan Stacey.

Ouyen United had the bye.

By Daniel Huttig