FOOTBALL
MID GIPPSLAND
Trafalgar were super impressive in their comfortable victory over reigning premiers Mirboo North in round 11, 10.15 (75) to 2.8 (20).
The Bloods’ possession game did not immediately suit the conditions, while the Tigers moved the ball forward quickly by all means possible.
Mirboo North were attempting to go over the tight Trafalgar zone and hit the scoreboard and their skills improved as the game progressed.
Ben Stoertebecker goaled for the Tigers to give them a two-point lead at the first break.
Trafalgar’s Bryson Tullett left the ground with a hamstring injury early in the second term and a string of goals for Bloods gave them a handy 22-point buffer at half-time.
Among the best for Trafalgar were Ben Doran, Tyson Leys, Jesse Stone, Lochlan Farrell, Darcy Brock and Austin Byrne.
For Mirboo North, Kris Berchtold, Tristian Salerno, Damien Turner, Jacob Blair and Julian Blackford were all handy.
“If anything, at the end of the first quarter we were a bit disappointed [with] the way we let them back into the contest after such a good start, but apart from that it was a good performance,” Trafalgar coach Clint Einsiedel said.
Morwell East v Yinnar
Yinnar did the job they had to do to account for Morwell East, 14.9 (93) to 9.11 (65).
The Magpies made certain they were in the zone early and dictated the play almost from the first bounce.
Yinnar were impressive in almost every area of the game; their 22-point point lead at quarter-time sucked the early confidence out of an enthusiastic Hawks side.
The Magpies lifted to another level in the second term and added six goals to extend their lead to more than five majors at the big break.
Any hopes the home side had of an unlikely victory were put to bed by three-quarter-time as the Magpies continued to apply the pressure and increase their lead.
The Hawks came home hard and added three goals and three behinds to no score from the visitors, but the likes of Lincoln Albanese (four goals) and Jim Dowling (three) helped the Yinnar team home to victory.
Hill End v Newborough
Newborough bounced back from the disappointment of last week’s drawn game by winning comfortably against Hill End in round 11, 9.15 (69) to 5.8 (38).
The visitors got off to a solid start at a venue that can cause some problems – their seven scoring shots returned just two goals for a lead of eight points at the first break.
Newborough would have been a little happier by half-time, however, the efforts of James Grant, Michael Gelagotis, Mat Slattery, Nick Caldow and Anthony Battista helped them to a 28-point lead.
By three-quarter-time, Bulldogs coach Tom Hallinan was confident his team had heeded his concerns from round 10 and put in a consistent game of football. Michael Gelagotis kicked an impressive bag of five goals and singles went to Michael Hicks, Jesse White, Jared Risol and Zac Regester.
“It was a player-led victory and a great response. Firstly through training and then into playing, it was really pleasing, especially given it was for four quarters,” Newborough coach Tom Hallinan said.
Yarragon v YYN
Yallourn-Yallourn North did what most thought they would by accounting for Yarragon comfortably on Saturday, 9.7 (61) to 4.5 (29).
A three-point deficit at quarter-time was a better result than the Panthers had confronted in recent weeks, but the Bombers don’t need much room to cause damage and the little space they had in the second quarter was enough to open the game up.
Dean Macdonald picked up another four goals and Rohan Reid and Keenan Hughes kicked two each.
“After dropping players behind the ball, [Yarragon] are tough to score against but we worked it out a bit better in the second quarter and found our way through enough times to do what we needed,” Bombers coach Barrie Burnett said.
“All we had to do is go there and win and we did that. Even if it was ugly in the really slippery conditions, but make no mistake they are a pretty solid side and better than where they sit on the ladder at the moment.”
Thorpdale v Boolarra
Thorpdale won in comfortable fashion against Boolarra on Saturday, 12.12 (84) to 1.3 (9).
The home side put the game to bed early and their seven scoring shots on goal returned four goals and three behinds and they limited Boolarra to the solitary goal.
Thorpdale added better than five goals in the second term and there were signs the match might get ugly for the visitors.
Ed Greene and Corey Nickels finished with four goals and Chris Redl three.
“It was a bit of a scrap given the weather made it tough, but once we clicked into gear we put them away and played good team footy, which was good,” Blues coach Josh Collie said.
“We played well for three quarters and probably took the foot off the pedal a bit in the last quarter, but the fact is the next three games for us are really important against Trafalgar, Mirboo North, and Yinnar.”
