LIAM DURKIN
FOOTBALL
NORTH GIPPSLAND
By LIAM DURKIN
YARRAM returned the biggest talking point in Round 3 of North Gippsland football.
The Demons prevailed over neighbouring rival Woodside, defeating the Wildcats on their home deck 8.10 (58) to 7.9 (51).
After looking somewhat at sea in their loss to Yallourn Yallourn North on Good Friday, Yarram put that performance to rest with what could well be the best win the Demons have had since the 2018 grand final.
By their own admission, Yarram is well down on personnel this season, having lost high calibre players like Boadie Motton to the SANFL and David Brinker-Ritchie to the VFL, and has been forced to play players who, in the greatest respect, were struggling at times to get a game in the reserves last season.
With this in mind, for the Demons to roll Woodside, a team some have tipped to win the premiership, speaks volumes of the
winning culture established at Yarram.
The Demons added three goals in the last quarter to win, following an arm wrestle of a contest that saw the biggest margin at any of the breaks just six points.
The Yarram defence was resolute,
allowing the Wildcats to kick just five behinds in the last quarter when the game was at its hottest.
In the eyes of most the Demons still had enough quality leading into this season to win as many games as it lost, but a win over an opponent such as Woodside may prove quite telling when the ladder starts to take shape in the next four to five weeks.
Tyler Chisholm was best for the winners, while Jacob Davis, Dan Vardy, Shem Rendell, Matt Clavarino and Trek Davis also played well.
Will Broadbent, Rowan Missen, Tom King, Josh Scott, Nick Stockdale and Joh Fythe did the job for Woodside.
Projecting further ahead, the victory might even serve Yarram well in years to come.
If the players they have now are capable of a performance like that, just think what a frightening proposition it would be if all those with connections to Yarram came back to play.
If one club has connections it is Yarram.
It would nearly be RIP competition if Nathan Vardy returned home to play alongside his brothers, even more so if they had Kyle Dunkley in the midfield and Jed Lamb up forward.
Add to that Motton (who has family in the area), Brinker-Ritchie, Chris Coulthard and Liam Farley if or when they decide to return from Traralgon, there is the makings of a seriously strong North Gippy side.
SALE City raised a few eyebrows after accounting for Rosedale.
The Bulldogs overcame a gallant Blues outfit to win 13.10 (88) to 10.14 (74) at Stephenson Park.
The result offered a stark contrast – great for Sale City, potentially disastrous for Rosedale.
Sale City, who remained something of an unknown quantity leading into the season, have started with two wins from as many games.
The win over the Blues will give them serious street credit, and ensure all opposing teams enter matches against the Bulldogs without any great reassurance of achieving victory.
An accurate Sale City kicked nine straight to half-time, and responded to a third quarter rally from Rosedale to then kick three goals and keep the Blues to just two points in the last.
Sam Davidson kicked five goals for the Bulldogs and was listed in the best, as was Jaxsyn Whitehill, Tom Bowman, Blake Safstrom, Brayden Macgregor-Davies and Hudson Tollner.
Best for Rosedale was Jason Garrett, Luke Stuckey, Rohan Hildebrand, Riley Atlee, Joel Bristow and Nathan Flint.
Rosedale is yet to win a game, although admittedly, has had a very tough draw, playing YYN and Woodside in the first two rounds and has not been totally disgraced in any match so far.
The Blues have Heyfield this week, and looking at the draw, could easily win their next five games.
YALLOURN Yallourn North added to their percentage with a triple-figure win over Glengarry.
The Jets celebrated the opening of their new netball courts as a club, as the senior football team completed an 18.14 (122) to 3.4 (22) rout in a twilight fixture.
YYN put the game to rest at half-time when it led by 67 points.
The Magpies put numbers behind the ball in the third to stem the bleeding in what became a bit of a dull exhibition of kick-to-kick between the two teams.
The Jets broke the damn wall in the last, kicking six goals, one of which was kicked by debutant Bailey Brown, who was duly mobbed by teammates after it went through.
In what is always a special moment when someone plays their first game, Brown was presented his jumper by YYN legend Brad Paulet.
Dean MacDonald and Keenan Hughes kicked 10 goals between them to be named best. Others to perform well were Jai Masesse, Dylan Bath, Mitchell Luck and Darcy Shellcott.
As an aside, perhaps it is just this writer reading too much into it, but YYN players all had smiles from ear-to-ear as they ran out for the second half. Football is a game meant to be enjoyed after all.
Travis Patten, Alex Bermingham, Nic Quenault, Seth Healy and Jack Burgess battled hard for Glengarry.
CHURCHILL continued its scoring blitz.
On the hit list this week was Cowwarr, who saw the Cougars send through 29.23 (197) at home in what resulted in a 168-point shellacking as the Saints only managed
4.5 (29).
Churchill has ruthlessly piled on the pain for opponents so far this season, and kept those running the scoreboard very busy,
In three games this season the Courgars have kicked 19, 41 and 29 goals for a total of 89, to go with a grand total of 89.61 (595).
Ben Kearns might already have enough goals to sustain a lead to the end of the season, and kicked 14 last weekend to take his tally to 30.
A dozen players got on the scoresheet for Churchill, who had seven goals on the board in the first term.
Hayden Weir, Christopher Williams, Ryan Lowrie, Bailey Flanigan and Angus Mitchell won the votes for their efforts in the win.
Unfortunately for Cowwarr they gave milestone man Shane Morgan a game to remember for all the wrong reasons in his 300th.
The Saints legend featured in the best players, alongside Brett Grieve, Kyle Stamers, Ben Coffey, Jack Casson and Nick Wozniak.
POOR old Gormandale suffered another hammering blow.
The Tigers had no answers to the might of Traralgon Tyers United, going down 32.19 (211) to 3.4 (22).
TTU showed no mercy at home, and had 169 points up by three quarter time.
Liam Willaton, Tom Fleming, Dailan Navaskas, Stuart Goddard, Lincoln Albanese and Trent Hourigan did the job for the Bombers.
Kodie Owen, Will Flanagan, Liam Deering, Al Jenkin and Matt O’Toole fought the good fight for the Tigers.
HEYFIELD had the bye.
