Bungaree 22.6 (138) d Dunnstown 7.10 (52)
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
By Scot Nicholson
BUNGAREE swept aside Dunnstown by 86 points on Saturday, stamping itself once again as a serious premiership contender.
The victory was never in doubt thanks to an influx of experienced players returning to the Demons’ squad.
The inclusion of Luke Mirtschin was an instant success as he kicked six goals and had multiple score assists during the contest.
Christian Elliott and Shaun Finlayson also demonstrated great form with five and four majors respectively.
Bungaree coach Heath Pyke said he is now focused on a “mini finals series” against some of the best teams in the Central Highlands Football League.
“It’s very well known that over the next three weeks we will face some good teams and it gives us great preparation to back that up by playing finals quality opposition,” Pyke said.
“We are aiming for a top four position and to be realistic about giving yourself the best chance of progressing in the finals you need to have the double chance.”
Dunnstown showed moments of improvement and was aided by the leadership of Karl Begbie, Evan Mason and Sean Gleeson.
Rhys Cahir, who was coaching in the absence of Justin Abrams, said he was pleased with the progress shown in the encounter.
“The end result today looked a lot worse than it was, but to bounce back from the week before when we were very poor against Creswick was the response we were looking for,” Cahir said.
“Our plan for the next four weeks is probably the bigger picture than what happened today.”
Beaufort 17.11 (113) d Creswick 3.9 (27)
By John McGregor
BEAUFORT seems to have got its mojo back after an 86-point drubbing of Creswick on Saturday.
After a run of losses and a narrow win over Hepburn the week before, the Crows showed confidence and poise as they fight for a top four finish.
The Wickers were knocking on the door of the top eight after humbling Dunnstown last week, but hit a brick wall against the Crows.
Beaufort’s firepower was intense and it kicked six unanswered goals in the first term to lead by 38 points.
Creswick put up some resistance in the second quarter and registered a goal...the first of only three for the game.
The most dangerous Crows players were multiple scorers Lachlan Murray, who slotted four goals, Tim Haase, who had three, and Joe Mason and Jack Duke with two each.
They were backed up by Lachie Pfeifer, Alex Petrie, Brendan Howard and skipper Mick Foster.
Creswick just didn’t fire a shot. A few players had a go, but there was little back-up.
Beaufort coach Dale Power says he can see an improvement in his team.
“Consistently we are playing good footy for longer periods. Our ball movement is good at times. But we drop off a bit some times,” he said.
“Confidence now is really great considering the three losses in a row we had. The players have stuck so tight. They’re enjoying their footy.”
Creswick coach Damian Lubeek blamed the poor start for his team’s downfall.
“Full credit to Beaufort. They rattled us with their run and ball use,” Lubeek said.
Buninyong 12.8 (80) d Hepburn 12.7 (79)
By Tim O'Connor
BUNINYONG’S never-say-die attitude looks to have secured it a double chance in the Central Highlands Football League finals series.
The Bombers produced a comeback that will live long in the memory to beat Hepburn by a point on Saturday and keep its place at the top of the ladder.
That result made it 10-straight wins for the boys in red and black.
With just four rounds of the home and away campaign remaining, the Bombers are two games clear of the fifth-placed Waubra with clashes against Creswick (11th), Bungaree (third), Ballan (eighth) and Clunes (17th) to come.
In circumstances eerily similar to a victory against the Burras in 2014, Buninyong trailed by a big margin in the last quarter before storming home to clinch success from the jaws of defeat.
The Bombers looked a beaten brigade when Jacob Brown converted to give the visitors a 24-point lead nine minutes into the final term, but a stirring fightback ripped the result from the Burras’ grasp.
Jake Dunne became a presence deep in attack for the hosts and kicked the next two goals and then Sam Turner emerged from congestion to close the margin to a single kick.
Joint-coach Jarrod Morgan missed a golden opportunity to level the scores, but cut the lead to five points before Liam Rigby marked and had the ball hit out of his possession. The umpire called a 50m penalty, which took the Bomber tall to close range. He made no mistake from the resulting shot and gave his side a one-point advantage.
This proved the last score of the match as the siren sounded on an epic between two giants of the competition.
The Buninyong faithful roared the club song before Morgan reflected on the magnitude of the victory.
“It was definitely up there (in terms of memorable wins), considering we probably did it in the last two or three minutes,” he said.
Buninyong trailed the Burras by 37 points in a home and away fixture during 2014 before rocketing home to win the game by five points.
Morgan was critical of the way his side played for much of Saturday’s clash, but said the group had spoken throughout the day that the match would be won in the last two minutes.
“We probably didn’t deserve to win, but we got there,” he said.
Morgan was well aware of how important the victory was for his side’s top four ambitions.
“We spoke about needing to win this one to potentially look at not resting guys, but managing a bit better. If guys are sore now we don’t have to play them,” he said.
Ned Gilbert was a force in the midfield for the Bombers, which were led by Dunne (three goals) and young Joel Ottavi (two goals) in attack. Winger Jarrod Rodgers was also influential, particularly in the opening term when he helped his team to a narrow lead at the first change.
For the Burras, Dan O’Halloran was brilliant in the engine room and collected a stack of possession, while livewire Andy McKay was dangerous – mainly in the first half - and finished with three goals. Ricky Ferraro had a strong say around the ground, while Hepburn coach Jason Olver also rated the performance of ruckman Michael Watt in the defeat.
Olver was clearly deflated after the match.
“I’m frustrated at our group. You are four goals up 12 minute mark of the last quarter, you expect to win in that situation,” Olver said.
“We knew Buninyong would keep coming. That’s how they play their footy (and) they’ve done it to us before so we knew that would happen...”
Despite the defeat, Hepburn has climbed from fifth to fourth on the table as a result of Waubra losing to Daylesford.
Springbank 24.14 (158) d Skipton 5.5 (35)
By Tim O'Connor
SKIPTON stuck with the reigning premiers in the first term on Saturday, but was quickly brushed aside in a 123-point defeat.
The Emus trailed by just eight points at the first change before Springbank put the foot down to record another percentage-boosting triumph.
As a result, the Tigers remain unbeaten since round two and sit in second position on the ladder.
Tom Eltringham backed up his seven-goal haul against Newlyn the week before with 10 against the Skipton boys.
Eltringham was named best for his display in attack, ahead of Shannon Donegan and Paul McMahon. McMahon kicked five goals, as did Travis Toohey.
For the home side, Adam Romey converted three of the side’s five majors, while Mitch Jones and Patrick Kluver were rated the standouts.
Looking ahead to round 14 next weekend, Springbank has a difficult encounter with fellow top four aspirants Waubra, while Skipton might give itself a chance of an upset against Newlyn.
Daylesford 14.12 (96) d Waubra 10.10 (70)
By David Bilbrough
DAYLESFORD moved a step closer to a Central Highlands Football League finals berth, upsetting Waubra to the tune of 26 points on Saturday.
The Bulldogs outplayed their more-fancied opponents in all facets of the game, a fact not lost on Waubra coach Grant Luscombe.
“Full credit to Daylesford, they just played better. They were harder around the footy, they won the contested footy, they continually won stoppages. We weren't hard enough by any stretch of the imagination around the stoppages and that was where the game was won and lost,” Luscombe said.
Daylesford helmsman Marcus Goonan praised his players’ focus on the game plan.
“I thought we held our structures really well, played to our game plan and implemented it. We know how good we are internally, I don't think we're rated externally, maybe (Saturday’s result) might change a few people's opinions,” Goonan said.
The Bulldogs set up the win with a six-goal first term, establishing a 24-point lead at the first change that was never really threatened by a Waubra outfit that struggled for fluency throughout the game.
Ken Cummings (six goals) and young gun Cameron Lovig (three goals) book-ended the big win for the Doggies. Cummings ran rampant with three first-term majors, while Lovig's hat-trick in the final quarter snuffed out any hope for the hosts.
Best-on-ground Jordan Alexander led a relentless attack on the ball for the Bulldogs. Sam Winard contested strongly in the ruck, while the class and composure of Tom Thurwood, Xavier Walsh and the architect Rob Rodgers proved crucial in the big win.
For the Roos, Tim Boyle played a lone hand up forward with five goals, his second a beauty from the coach's box. Tom Nijam, Nathan Patrikeos and Jesse Brown battled hard for the vanquished.
Waubra travels to Springbak next weekend and may be without Paul Dodds and Steve Tung because of hamstring injuries. Lachie Johns may also miss after a knock to the shoulder in the first term.
The Bulldogs, now ninth and still four points behind eighth-placed Ballan, will be striving for a third-straight win and a run to the finals when it hosts Carngham-Linton.
Learmonth 32.12 (204) d Carngham-Linton 1.6 (12)
By Tim O'Connor
BRODRICK Campbell did the bulk of the damage as Learmonth belted Carngham-Linton by 192 points at Snake Valley on Saturday.
Campbell kicked 10 goals to take his season tally to 43 and was named best in the side’s fourth win of 2016.
Learmonth’s total was its highest since round six of the 2014 season.
Ruckman Ryan Barnes and coach Brenton Powell were other standouts for the victors, while Tim Clarke was named best for the Saints.
Rokewood-Corindhap 21.10 (136) d Clunes 7.7 (49)
By Tim O'Connor
ROKEWOOD-CORINDHAP officially bettered its win tally from last season with Saturday’s victory over Clunes.
The Grasshoppers claimed their fourth victory of the year – the most in a single campaign under coach Mick Hynes – by 87 points.
Rokewood-Corindhap booted eight goals to one in the first term to set up an unassailable lead.
Caius Barrenger kicked six for the winners, which named Brendan Wall as its best.
Ballan 20.15 (135) d Smythesdale 5.4 (34)
By Tim O'Connor
BALLAN coach Justin McConnell has booted further clear at the top of the league’s goal-kicking chart.
McConnell kicked 11 majors in the Blues’ 101-point victory over Smythesdale at Linton on Saturday and now leads Waubra’s Tim Boyle by 10 majors with four rounds of the home and away campaign remaining.
The haul was the key forward’s third double-figure bag against a battling rival in season 2016, with 13 coming against Clunes and 10 against Skipton.
Star recruit Jason McNamara was named best for the Blues, which kept their four-point gap inside the top eight with a comfortable triumph.
Smythesdale coach Stephen Frys said he hopes his side can take some momentum into the winnable clash against Clunes next weekend after the Bulldogs booted four goals during the second half on Saturday.
He said onballer Anthony Taylor and ruckman Rylan Rattley were among the best for the beaten brigade.
Gordon 18.19 (127) d Newlyn 11.9 (75)
By Tim O'Connor
GORDON was made to work to beat Newlyn, but eventually pulled clear to break a two-match losing sequence on Saturday.
The Eagles, which lost to Springbank and Buninyong in recent weeks, bounced back with a 52-point victory at the cattery.
Steve Nicholson booted six goals and Steve Patterson, Chris McGuigan and Ben Peters were among the best for the victors, which gradually increased its advantage in each quarter.
Dan Wehrung and Will Young were some of the better players for Newlyn.