FOOTBALL
MID GIPPSLAND
Trafalgar made it five from five with the most comfortable of victories over Boolarra, 19.13 (127) to 1.2 (8)
With a few of their first choice players unavailable the Bloods used the opportunity to put some senior experience into the minds and bodies of their next tier of footballers.
Boolarra were also forced to cover some gaps with gun goaler Jesse Giardina, a late withdrawal due to a slight hamstring niggle.
Trafalgar opened with solid movement into attack despite the tricky conditions caused by a cross-ground wind.
Matt Van Scaijiik was connecting well with Brayde Bosman who converted two of his side’s four goals in the first quarter.
Van Schajiik claimed one for himself and Brad Hamilton also registered a major.
Trafalgar’s Tyson Leys scored from 40 out and on the run to open the second term and when Jamie Hines added to the team’s tally with his first, the game was threatening to be a blowout.
For Trafalgar Klay Butler, Matthew Swenson, Leys and Hines were noted as the better contributors.
Bloods coach Clint Einsiedel said his side’s first half was “fantastic”.
“We’ll focus mainly on that and the game was probably done by then so we thought we would test some guys in the second half and try a few things,” he said.
Yarragon v Mirboo North
Mirboo North finally claimed their first victory of the season with an impressive 32-point win over Yarragon, 10.11 (71) to 5.9 (39).
Last week the Panthers were closing fast in their 10-point loss to Trafalgar with their midfield the driving force in the closing minutes.
Yarragon coach Rob Cahill was keen to get his team off to a fast start this week and take any hope of Mirboo North getting their tails up.
The first quarter was an arm wrestle with both midfields battling hard for the chance to send their team forward.
Neither side could break the other, with the match going goal-for-goal until quarter-time before the visitors were in front by two points at the first break.
Mirboo North were given room to move in the second and managed to add three goals to their tally while keeping the Panthers goalless.
For the Tigers, playing coach Josh Taylor led the way with Braydon Wilson, Hudson Kerr, Damien Turner and Joe Brooks providing solid support.
Taylor said he was pleased with his team’s resurgence after a tough run to start the season.
“After a couple of tight losses in recent weeks we were still positive and still believed we could win with a four-quarter effort,” Taylor said.
“It was great to have a win, it was great that everyone remembered the words to the song and I feel we’ve still got a bit to offer, especially with a handful of guys still to come back.”
Hill End v Morwell East
In one of the most dramatic comebacks of the season, Morwell East fought back from 33 points down at three-quarter-time to win by eight points over Hill End, 12.12 (84) to 11.10 (76).
A fairly pedestrian first quarter gave no indication of the excitement that was to come and the home side trailed by one point at quarter-time.
The Rovers assumed control and led by 15 at half-time with Josh Hecker, Simon Fairbairn, Luke Mulqueen, Ambu Uliando and playing-coach Mike Santo all key contributors.
The 15-point lead was extended to 33 points at three-quarter-time and the visitors were on their knees.
Somehow, for the second week in a row, the Hawks managed to clinch victory from the jaws of defeat and coach Colin King admitted the round five win was something special.
“It was an amazing game … I said at three-quarter-time ‘this could be a memorable win’,” King said.
“[Hill End] kicked the first goal of the final quarter and we were 39 point down, but we got on a roll and for a number of weeks in a row we’ve managed to come from behind.
“So we believed we could do it again and we controlled the game.”
Yinnar v Thorpdale
With a firm focus on not dropping two games in a row, Yinnar bounced back to the winner’s list with a victory against Thorpdale, 10 12 (72) to 7 8 (50).
Coach Jaime Aitken knew he had his hands full early in the week when several of his first choice players remained unavailable due to injury.
The Blues found themselves in the same boat as coach Josh Collie was faced with similar injury woes.
Thorpdale threw everything they had at the Magpies early in the game and led by four points at quarter-time.
Yinnar wrestled back the lead by half-time and boasted a nine-point buffer.
There was not a lot separating the two sides during the match but Yinnar seemed to be a step above and kept the Blues at arms length.
Aitken, while pleased with his side’s performance, admitted there was still room for improvement.
“We’re winning games but we’d like to be more accurate and we’d like to be more consistent over a longer period. But at the moment we’re doing what we have to,” Aitken said.
Yallourn/Yallourn North v Newborough
The Bombers were comfortable winners over the Bulldogs in round five, 15.9 (99) to 7.6 (48).
Tipped to be a one-sided affair, the Bombers found the going tougher than expected early against a desperate Bulldogs side.
Newborough managed to stay in touch with the in-form side of the competition by kicking three goals from their six chances in the first quarter but trailed by seven points at the first break.
Yallourn/ Yallourn North emerged in the second and knocked the stuffing out of the visitors in the space of 20 minutes, adding seven goals to one in a devastating second quarter to extend the lead to 46 points at half-time.
Bombers’ coach Barrie Burnett was happy to come away with the points but said “the boys weren’t really switched on early.”
“We started playing our brand of footy … flowing nicely and putting things together, which is what we can do,” he said.
