Hepburn 12.15 (87) d Buninyong 5.8 (38)
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By John McGregor
HEPBURN got its Central Highlands Football League season back on track with a resounding win against Buninyong on Saturday.
It was a gritty victory by the Burras, but the defeat came at a huge cost to the Bombers.
Buninyong started strongly to lead by 14 points after the first quarter, but injuries wiped out the interchange bench.
The wheels came off well and truly in the second and final terms when the Bombers failed to kick a score.
Buninyong assistant coach Tyler Dittloff said the Bombers lost Adam Scott, Nick Shell, Fraser Russell and Morgan Turner half-way through the second quarter.
Russell lasted five minutes before being helped from the ground holding his left arm.
Scott was returning from an Achilles problem.
There were also wounded Bombers like Sam Van Meel who pushed on.
“Sam played the second half with a four or five centimetre hole in his face. He’s got missing teeth and he’s got to go and get stitches now,” Dittloff said.
“It’s not an excuse at the end of the day, but it’s probably the only game I’ve ever seen where that’s happened.
“When you’ve got a quick running team, you need everyone out there. We had two kids playing from the under-18s, too.
“At the end of the day, if you’re running four down and you’ve got kids out there as well, it really makes it difficult.”
For Hepburn, the win laid to rest some humiliating defeats at the hands of the Bombers in the past.
“We were nine points up at three quarter time, but we’ve had two harrowing losses here over the last three years,” Burras coach Jason Olver said.
“We’ve been five goals up and six goals up at three quarter time and still blew it.
“So pressure was on and they would have known this and we may have folded again. So it was good to come away with a win.”
Hepburn seemed to recover its mojo after shock defeats early in the season and nobody showed it more than the irrepressible Andy McKay.
McKay booted three goals in the final term in a familiar display of skill and daring.
Jacob Brown, Luke Stanton, Brad McKay, Aron Burns, Jimmy Rodgers and Mitch McKay did the damage on the scoreboard.
Segifili Asa Leausa, Finn Anscombe and the cool heads of Daniel Rees and Alan Ware were match-winners.
Under-18 players Mitchell Emmlin and Jake Coxall showed spirit for Buninyong.
First-gamer Emmlin kicked his first senior goal.
Waubra 19.15 (129) d Gordon 10.8 (68)
By Tim O'Connor
The contrast could hardly be more stark on Saturday as a scintillating Waubra outfit breezed past an out-of-sorts Gordon side that is scratching its head for answers.
The Roos showed the dare, skills and even contribution of a team destined for good things in 2017 while handing the Eagles their third-straight defeat.
For Waubra coach Grant Luscombe, the result was his first success against the Eagles and one that really enhances the team’s goals of securing a top four spot come finals.
The Roos are one of three teams unbeaten after five rounds and have a two-game buffer on the fifth-placed Hepburn leading into the AFL Victoria Community Championships break.
“I thought we had 22 contributors. It’s a bit of a cliche, but we really did. The boys really gelled well together,” Luscombe said.
“We’re a young side and it’s a learning curve every game. The boys went out and had a great game. They started off well and continued it throughout the game. And to their credit, they held their nerve when they needed to.”
A dominant first term set up the victory for the Roos, which had a stranglehold on the contest and could have led by more than the 34 points they did at the first break.
Gordon held its own in the second quarter to trail by 35 points at half time, and despite cutting the margin through the efforts of onballer Tye Murphy and key forward Brendan Sutcliffe in the third term, the Eagles could not get back within 20 points of their rivals.
Waubra then booted a string of late goals to lead by 54 points at the final change and the game was essentially over.
Roos onballer Lincoln Barnes ran riot across the four quarters to be the standout player on the ground, while key forward Dean Robertson presented and marked well in a strong performance. Jackson Kinna, Tim Boyle and Austin Murphy led the attacking division with three goals each.
Gordon coach Gary Learmonth admitted there’s not too many things his side is doing well at the moment.
“...we just don’t get first use of the ball, we’re not tough enough, our skills are poor,” he said.
“We are not going great, but there’s probably a few other sides that are with us.”
Sutcliffe kicked six goals in a quality display in attack for the Eagles, while Murphy tried hard in the engine room. Gunnell brothers Mark and Luke and small forward/midfielder Mick Nolan were others that showed glimpses for the home side.
Bungaree 10.14 (74) d Rokewood-Corindhap 4.5 (29)
By Tim O'Connor
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but Bungaree got the job done against Rokewood-Corindhap on Saturday.
Led by backman Jack Oostendorp and onballer Matthew Sheridan, the Demons kicked away after quarter time to secure a convincing 45-point win on home soil.
The result leaves Bungaree sixth on the ladder.
Defenders Jackson O'Neil and Ben Harris were among the standouts for the Grasshoppers.
Daylesford 19.16 (130) d Skipton 9.8 (62)
By Tim O'Connor
Daylesford is back inside the top eight courtesy of its easy win over battlers Skipton.
The Bulldogs collected their second-straight success, beating the Emus by 68 points at home.
Luke Carland booted four goals and Jack Nulty was named best for the winners, with Skipton forward Mitchell Weadley kicking four majors before he left the ground with a calf injury. Jarred Crabtree and Curtis Townrow were rated best for the Emus.
Newlyn 8.6 (54) d Creswick 6.14 (50)
By Tim O'Connor
A late 50m penalty and Liam McGregor goal sealed Newlyn’s third-straight victory against arch-rivals Creswick on Saturday.
McGregor converted a close-range shot to give the Cats – which trailed at three quarter time – the lead shortly before the final siren confirmed a four-point triumph.
The result was Newlyn’s third success against the Wickers by 12 points or less in the past three seasons.
Cats joint-coach Dan Wehrung, who was named his side’s best on Saturday, said it was an important win for his team’s finals hopes.
Newlyn had won just one of its first four fixtures before getting the result against the Wickers.
“It’s really important for us and those tight wins, hopefully we can take a bit of confidence that we can get the job done when we have to,” he said.
“Hopefully it builds a bit of momentum for us, having a good last 10 minutes like we did.”
Wehrung said Henry Armour was a standout for his side with three goals, while fellow Northern Territory recruits McGregor, Nathan Hura and Dylan Fishwick also performed well. Young backman Joshua Milne received praise for his performance.
Creswick coach Ryan Knowles said his team kicked poorly in the third term – booting 2.9 – and should have won the match.
“We kicked ourselves out of it really,” he said.
Knowles said it has been a disappointing start to the year by the Wickers, which he feels should have been able to beat Clunes, Learmonth and Newlyn from winning positions in the match.
Best players for Creswick on Saturday included key backman Liam Hepworth, onballer Aaron Sedgwick and forward Clinton Robinson, who kicked a game-high four goals.
Learmonth 26.12 (168) d Carngham-Linton 5.3 (33)
By Tim O'Connor
Brodrick Campbell has again haunted the Carngham-Linton boys, booting 13 goals in his side’s big win on Saturday.
Campbell’s bag follows a haul of 10 against the Saints last season.
The clever forward was on fire as the Lakies recorded a comprehensive 135-point victory against their rivals.
It came during a big day for the club, which had a large gathering of past players and supporters at the fixture.
Learmonth coach Steve Biggin rated Scott Whiting, Shane Rogan, Richard Zelencich and Brenton Powell as other standouts for his side, which sits in fourth spot on the ladder.
Matt Bond (four), Todd Curran (three) and Oliver Ross (two) were other multiple goal-kickers for the home side.
The Saints had Todd Currie and Jock Coutts both yellow-carded and reported during the clash.
Brodie Doolan, Jacob Dawson and Justin and Jarrod O'Brien were among the visitors’ best.
Beaufort 11.10 (76) d Ballan 5.3 (33)
By Tim O'Connor
Beaufort’s impressive start to the season continued on the weekend with a 43-point victory against Ballan.
Chris Drew and Alex Petrie kicked three goals each to be rated among the Crows’ best, alongside ruckman Josh McDermott.
For Ballan, Sam Sher, Jacob Wilkinson and Sam Hitchings found their way into the best.
After five rounds, the Crows are second on the ladder, with the Blues 15th after a run of hard matches.
Springbank 14.13 (97) d Dunnstown 5.7 (37)
By Tim O'Connor
Springbank’s winning streak has grown to 11 games across two seasons following Saturday’s comfortable 60-point victory against Dunnstown.
Towners players wore special blue and black jumpers for the annual beyondblue charity match, but could not match the reigning premiers across four quarters.
Tom Eltringham kicked six goals in the triumph, with recruit Mitchell Couch named best for the visitors.
Dunnstown coach Justin Abrams was critical of a number of umpiring decisions which he felt worsened the margin of the defeat.
He said Dan Harbour played well on Tigers star Bill Driscoll, with defender Tim O’Shea and forward Tim Collins also strong contributors for the home side.