Gordon 22.11 (143) d Learmonth 8.7 (55)
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By John McGregor
Gordon came out firing against Learmonth on Saturday and cruised to an 88-point win.
The writing was on the wall for the Lakies right from the start, with the Eagles taking a 29-point lead at the first change.
Pressure on Learmonth was enormous and the Lakies only had two scoring shots in the first term.
Gordon’s Ash Munari, Jye Cousins, Jack Toohey, Stephen Nicholson and Chris McGuigan spearheaded the attack with goals in the opening quarter.
McGuigan shone with a snap goal towards the end of the quarter which summed up the one-way traffic Gordon was dictating.
Learmonth started strongly in the second term with the first two goals and looked dangerous.
But Matt Raworth snuffed out the Lakies’ offensive attack with a major that steadied the Gordon side, which went on to kick another three goals by half time.
The second half started with a sickening head clash which knocked out Lakies’ Cody Lowe. He was stretchered from the ground, but recovered in the change rooms.
Multiple goals to Munari and Cousins in the third term set up a huge 82-point advantage for the Eagles going into the final quarter.
There were 13 Eagles goal-kickers, but multiple scorers were Munari (five), Cousins (three) and Mick Nolan, Gerard Clifford and Nicholson (two).
Skipper Mark Gunnell was solid in defence, while his brother Luke was the driving force out of the middle.
Tye Murphy, Cam Richardson and Brendan Sutcliffe provided the grunt needed to get the job done.
Learmonth’s top goal-kicker Matthew Bond had a battle to get on the board, but he managed three majors in the end.
Lakies skipper Brenton Powell pushed the limits, but to no avail. Kyle Mackay, Scott Whiting, Oliver Ross, Todd Curran and Richard Zelencich tried hard.
Gordon coach Gary Learmonth was pleased with the way his players used the ball and shared the load.
“It was a good win. Happy with the way we played. Learmonth have been playing some good footy so we had to come out ready to go,” he said.
Learmonth coach Steve Biggin saw his players’ lack of pressure as a letdown.
“We didn’t put enough pressure on consistently. We let them get that run and ball movement that we weren’t able to put a stop on,” Biggin said.
The result sees Leamonth slip to ninth on the ladder, while Gordon remains fifth.
Beaufort 11.14 (80) d Creswick 4.6 (30)
By Tim O'Connor
Beaufort didn’t have too much trouble with Creswick on Saturday.
The Crows got the jump on the Wickers to lead by four goals at the first change before going on to record a 50-point victory at Doug Lindsay Reserve.
Rupert Sangster, Tom Le Lievre and Tim Haase all kicked two goals for the winners, with ruckman Josh McDermott named the side’s best.
For Creswick, Alex Lovel was rated the standout.
The Crows remain second on the ladder following a fourth-straight win, while the Wickers are down the table in 14th.
Hepburn 38.17 (245) d Skipton 4.4 (28)
By Tim O'Connor
Hepburn champion Lee Cox returned to the senior side for the first time since resigning with the club in a 217-point victory over Skipton.
Cox kicked three goals in Saturday’s win, while Andy McKay starred again with a bag of seven majors.
McKay was one of the Burras’ best alongside brother Brad, Daniel Rees and Dan O’Halloran. Lakota Stranks was named the Emus’ leading contributor.
Clunes 11.7 (73) d Ballan 9.9 (63)
By Tim O'Connor
Clunes has eclipsed its mark of two wins from 2016 with a 10-point triumph over Ballan on Saturday afternoon.
The Magpies prevailed in the opening two rounds of the 2017 Central Highlands Football League season, but had to wait until the weekend for their next success.
Coach Nemani Valucava and his boys led the Blues at half time and at the final change before clinching the 11.7 (73) to 9.9 (63) triumph on home soil.
It was Northern Territory recruit Jordan Cullen that proved a match-winner for the Magpies, with the forward booting five goals to be named Clunes' best.
Cullen, who is one of a string of NT-based pick-ups for the Magpies this season, kicked four goals in his debut for the club on June 3.
Ryan Thompson was named second best for the winners after kicking three majors, while Ash Mullane and Darren Tanti featured prominently for the Blues.
Ballan coach Jason McNamara said the Clunes outfit out-muscled his side and was damaging with its outside run and also took advantage of the Blues’ lack of forward pressure.
The Magpies have climbed one spot to 13th on the ladder following the win, and despite losing its first game since round seven, Ballan remains in 10th position.
Waubra 23.16 (154) d Rokewood-Corindhap 8.5 (53)
By Tim O'Connor
Tim Boyle led a Waubra forward line that fired in a thumping victory on Saturday afternoon.
Boyle kicked seven goals and was well assisted by Austin Murphy (five) and Jackson Kinna (four) as the Roos crushed Rokewood-Corindhap by 101 points.
Waubra coach Grant Luscombe rated Matt Dawson the standout player for his team with a dominant display through the midfield and said star Lincoln Barnes played well in his comeback from an eye injury.
For the hosts, coach Jarrod Thompson had a good day as the focal point in attack with five goals. He was named the Grasshoppers’ best ahead of teammate Lachie Baker.
Waubra is back inside the top eight ahead of next weekend’s clash with Skipton, while Rokewood-Corindhap remains 16th before the battle with Springbank.
Dunnstown 13.12 (90) d Carngham-Linton 11.9 (75)
By Tim O'Connor
Dunnstown paid tribute to the late and much-loved clubman Phil Collins with a hard-fought win over Carngham-Linton on Saturday.
Collins’ sons Tim (three goals) and Ben played in the success, which was the team’s fourth in a row.
Towners coach Justin Abrams said ruckman Aaron Brennan was a standout for the side, along with winger Mitchell Henderson and Harry McKimmie, who kicked four goals.
The gallant Saints were led by Beau Ketchen.
Bungaree 14.8 (92) d Newlyn 3.5 (23)
By Tim O'Connor
Bungaree barely had to break a sweat as it tuned up for a defining period of the season with a big win over Newlyn.
The Demons embarrassed the Cats in the first half on Saturday, keeping the home side goalless while piling on nine majors of their own to lead by 56 points at the main break.
Newlyn came out stronger in the third term and managed to limit the damage, but the visitors’ success was never in doubt.
In the end, Bungaree won a scrappy encounter by 69 points.
The magnitude of Hepburn’s thrashing against Skipton saw the Burras leapfrog Bungaree into third spot on the Central Highlands Football League ladder, but the Demons remain a game clear inside the four with five rounds to play in the home and away campaign.
And it’s a tough road ahead for the red and blue, with games against top eight sides Daylesford, Springbank, Gordon and Buninyong before a round 17 battle with Ballan.
“I thought our first half was really, really good and it was really pleasing that we kept them goalless for a half of footy,” Bungaree coach Heath Pyke said after Saturday’s win.
“Our attack and intensity around the football was really good for what we’ve got in terms of a relatively young group. I thought our tackling pressure and even our forward pressure was really pleasing.”
Jake Trevenen and Joel Mirtschin kicked five goals each for the Demons, which had winners across all lines.
David Benson controlled the ruck, Matthew Sheridan was lively before coming off the ground in the third term with what Pyke described as a tight hamstring. Steve Ryan was good off half back.
Pyke said he was most impressed with some of the younger players such as Charles Martin in attack, Sam Hammond in defence and Harry Russell on a wing.
For Newlyn, there wasn’t too much to be excited about, but the likes of Dylan McLachlan and Dylan Fishwick tried hard and ruckman Jarrod Fryar drew praise for his efforts against Benson.
Cats joint-coach Chris Dwyer said his team was “nowhere near it” in a poor first half.
“(It is) disappointing because we have been going alright in patches the last few weeks, but we just didn’t bring it (on Saturday) at all,” Dwyer said.
Dwyer said the Cats’ effort was better in the second half.
“We have just got a lot of blokes who are confidence players and they just go missing when they get a bit of pressure on them,” he said.
Next weekend, Newlyn travels to take on an in-form Gordon.
Springbank 8.8 (56) d Daylesford 6.11 (47)
By Tim O'Connor
Springbank defender Shannon Donegan was rushed to hospital after a bad head clash as the reigning back-to-back premiers dug deep to beat Daylesford on Saturday.
Tigers coach Michael Searl said Donegan suffered a fractured skull in the incident and will require surgery during the coming week.
Springbank was outplayed by the home side in the first half, but the Bulldogs’ wastefulness in front of goal meant they only led by 10 points at the main break.
Scores were then level at the final change, before the Tigers kicked two of the three majors in the last term to record a nine-point triumph.
Searl said Marty Anderson did a great job on Daylesford forward Seb Walsh to be named the Tigers’ best, while experienced forward Billy Driscoll and classy onballer Nick Couch helped get the side over the line.
For the Bulldogs, coach Marcus Goonan was left to rue poor kicking, but praised the games of youngster Cam Ralph and ruckman Sam Winnard.