AN impressive first half from Churchill laid the foundations for its 62-point victory against Woodside in round 13 of North Gippsland football.
The Wildcats could do little but watch in as the Cougars rebounded from the disappointment of the past month and hit the scoreboard hard and fast to put the result beyond question in the opening 50 minutes of play.
With a spot in the finals on the line the Cougars did not miss a beat as they took it up to their opponents.
Apart from an even final term, which saw the two sides go goal-for-goal in a high scoring 12-goal term, Woodside could do little to reduce the margin.
Churchill coach Tim Darby created headaches for the opposition’s defenders in front of goal to finish the contest with a bag of six.
Nic Celima made the most when pushing forward to finish with five goals.
For the Wildcats Rob Michaelides was judged best on ground and finished the match with five majors.
Boisdale Briagolong v Cowwarr
An 81-point drubbing of Boisdale Briagolong catapulted Cowwarr back into finals contention as it moved into fourth position on the ladder.
The scores were even at the first change and the Bombers showed they were not easy beats.
The red and black brigade continued to test the Saints in the second term and trailled by eight points at half-time.
With its end of season ambitions on the line Cowwarr stood tall as the visitors slammed home 16 goals to four in a one-sided second half.
Cowwarr’s Shane Morgan kicked 10 goals and was the go to man in front of goal in the absence of Tim Johnson.
Glengarry v TTU
Traralgon Tyers United became the first side in more than six weeks to defeat high flying Glengarry.
Little separated the sides in a low scoring first term with TTU leading the Magpies by five points.
The Bombers opened up a 20-point lead by half time with a four-goal second quarter with Michael Hall and Brian Graham in blistering touch in front of goals.
The Magpies kept within arm’s reach in the third term, but could do little to eat into the Bombers’ margin, which they continued to build on in the second half.
Sale City v Heyfield
A seven-goal to nil final term ensured Heyfield took the four points against a competitive Sale City outfit.
Heyfield kickstarted proceedings to skip away to a 17-point lead following a five-goal-to-two first quarter.
Nic Dinsdale and Jesse Bedggood opened their accounts in the first 25 minutes of play, with City’s goals scored through Byron Shingles and Nick Grainger.
Sale City slowly ate away at Heyfield’s 16-point margin following the yellow carding of Shaun Humphreys. The Dogs did not falter when moving forward and led by two points at half-time.
City booted the first of the premiership term before back-to-back goals to Heyfield.
Bedggood looked to make it three-in-a-row with his long bomb at goal spraying across the face.
He then worked hard to combine with Joel Dinsdale who switched play to the other side of the forward 50 resulting in Kodie Woodland goalling.
Jesse Leeds, Woodland and Bedggood worked from one end of the ground to the other, however Bedggood’s kick to the leading Brett Szabo was spoiled by Martin McDonough.
McDonough’s piece of play resulted in Grainger scoring at the other end of the ground, before Heyfield was gifted another to its tally following an undisciplined 50-metre penalty.
A direct kick from the top of the 50m arc by Abe Schuback hit the Grainger in the pocket, who reeled the margin back to four points with his goal.
Grainger made it two on the run to hand his side the lead ahead of three-quarter-time.
In the final term the Dogs’ defence worked diligently to contain the midfield’s dominance and delivery into the forward line, however it was not enough as the Kangaroos scored seven unanswered majors to record a 51-point victory.
Rosedale v Gormandale
ROSEDALE was forced to work hard for the four points against a persistent Gormandale line-up.
Gormandale led the contest in the opening term and skipped out to a seven-point margin at the first change.
The Blues fought back in the second term with five goals to turn a quarter-time deficit into a four-goal lead at the long change.
The going did not get any easier after the main break as Gormandale outscored the second-placed Blues in the premiership term to remain in the hunt.
The Tigers drew within one kick by the final break and appeared poised to cause one of the upsets of the season. In an epic arm wrestle the Blues got the better of the visitors late in the fourth to come home with a 21-point victory.
