An ‘ugly’ win is still a win and Moama coach Simon Maddox could not be happier his team is off the mark for season 2013.
The Magpies, described as ‘‘their own worst enemy’’ by Maddox, held off home side Barooga to record a 15.15(105) to 13.15(93) victory on Saturday.
‘‘To get our first win of the year is fantastic and I hope it bonds the group together really well,’’ Maddox said.
‘‘I am absolutely rapt to get the win.
‘‘It is a new group, so for a lot of them it was their first win in a Moama jumper and hopefully it is a bit of a confidence booster.’’
After not getting their first win until round 12 last year, the much earlier triumph boded well for the team, Maddox said.
‘‘We’ve got a side this year where we go into every game thinking we’re a good chance,’’ he said.
‘‘To go 1-1, hopefully it is a platform to kick our season off from.’’
The Magpies started the game well in the first term, kicking five goals to four and led by seven points, before both teams kicked three majors each in the second and third quarters.
Moama went on to kick four goals to three in the final quarter to ensure the 12-point victory.
‘‘We were in front all day, but any time we got out to a lead, we made a silly mistake or Barooga got a goal from their own merit,’’ Maddox said.
‘‘We couldn’t quite get away.
‘‘They were always just close enough where, if they got a run on, they could have taken the game away.
‘‘But in saying that, we were getting our hands on the footy first, but turnovers were our worst enemy and keeping them in the game.’’
Despite the mistakes, what pleased the coach most was the players maintaining their effort throughout the match.
‘‘We didn’t play overly well, but we did play four quarters,’’ he said.
‘‘It is important when we don’t play our best we can still find a way to get the job done and that’s what we did.’’
Leitchville-Gunbower recruit Tyler Jones dominated in the forward line and ‘‘could have had a field day’’ after kicking six goals and just as many behinds, while ruckman Joe Cosgriff and midfielders David Ismail and Kyle Manley played well, Maddox said.
Shannon Galea also kicked three goals.
Another pleasing aspect for the coach was having Jake Kilmartin, Tom Gilligan and Paul Van Der Sluys as late withdrawals, yet the team still prevailing.
‘‘So to go over there and get the four points was a super effort,’’ Maddox said.
‘‘We’ll have a few blokes back this week so there will be competition for spots.’’
■Moama’s reserves team enjoyed a much more comfortable result, defeating Barooga by 100 points.
Matt Grant starred for the visitors with eight goals and Darcy Hall chipped in with four as the Magpies won 20.12(132) to 5.2(32).
Moama kicked five goals without reply in the first term, before kicking away to a 77-point lead at the long break.
The team then won the third quarter as the Hawks came back to kick four goals in the final term.
Aside from Grant, ruckman Paul Nevill impressed, as did Mark Pell
