Border Mail | YACKANDANDAH staged a brilliant second-half comeback to produce one of the upsets of the season in a narrow one-goal win against Thurgoona on Saturday.
The game ended on a controversial note, with a free kick paid to the Roos on centre wing just as the Bulldogs were having a shot on goal.
Thurgoona’s Callum Butler was reported for the off-the-ball stoush with a Yackandandah player.
The timing couldn’t have been worse for the Bulldogs, who were trailing by a goal and looking to tie the scores.
The loss is a setback for Thurgoona, who now find themselves even with Chiltern and Barnawartha with four wins apiece, albeit with the benefit of a two-point buffer thanks to their draw with Kiewa earlier in the season.
Trent Castles and Matt Fowler engaged in yet another shootout, booting five and six goals respectively, although Fowler was well held in the second half after kicking five of his six goals before half-time.
Bags of goals are becoming par for the course for the league’s best forwards, with Tallangatta pair James Breen and Luke Bloom kicking seven and five goals respectively, Barnawartha’s Seamus Quinn and Dederang’s Darren Bradshaw snared five each and Wahgunyah’s Nathan Brockley booted four.
But it was Guy Telford’s 15-goal demolition job against the Wodonga Saints that takes the cake this week.
Dederang remain winless after succumbing to Wahgunyah, but nearly caused a second upset this round, going down by 13 points after trailing by five goals at quarter-time.
The Bombers came alive in the second half, kicking eight goals to the Lions’ four in a terrific display that belied their winless start to the season.
It would have been a frustrating loss for the Bombers, who gave up a 10-point lead to Yackandandah last week, but have nonetheless improved dramatically under new coaching duo Damian Jones and Daniel Manning.
Tallangatta saw off the challenge from sixth-placed Barnawartha with relatively little fuss, setting up their 54-point win with a dominant seven goal to one first quarter.
Mark Sarau’s men didn’t give in at any stage, but weren’t able to gain sufficient momentum to topple the Hoppers, who remain unbeated heading into round eight against Thurgoona.
